A Social Sauna: How a backyard addition is bringing Shorewood women together
SHOREWOOD, Wis. (CBS 58) — Behind her cozy Shorewood home, Paige Hammond has created a Nordic paradise.
"When I get into something, I get very into it," she told CBS 58'S Jenna Wells.
Paige Hammond
Hammond's love for saunas started years ago: First at gyms and spas, then at McKinley Marina's Hot Spell sauna.
Two years ago, a trip to Finland turned Hammond's sauna enjoyment into a near obsession.
"This feels like it was supposed to be in my life," she said. "I can't technically afford to go to a private sauna place every day, and I want to sauna every day."
Thankfully, her husband likes saunas, too - and Costco has everything.
"We keep joking that Costco should really be paying us dividends at this point," Hammond laughed.
After a big delivery, and some hard work, their very own sauna was up and running, but through the winter, Hammond found herself spending a lot of sauna sessions solo.
"I would try and get everyone I know to come sauna. But like, not everybody loves sauna as much as I do," she said. "I know it's not for everybody. Like, it's sitting in a hot box."
So, in February, she posted in a Shorewood neighborhood Facebook group.
"I said, essentially, I have a sauna. I sit in it alone sometimes," Hammond explained. "I would love to have people come and, like, experience it."
To her surprise, more than sixty women responded. The sauna only fits six at a time, So Hammond set up a sign-up system.
"Five strangers that are all women that live in the village of Shorewood come over here and they meet each other," Hammond said.
Since then, she has hosted more than dozen sessions.
"I saw Paige's post on LinkedIn. Somebody in my network must have been connected with her," said Hammond's neighbor, Sara Mae Polinag. "I was like, Shorewood... women... sauna... I'm in."
She is now one of a few repeat visitors.
"Were you nervous at all that you were just showing up to a stranger's house?" Jenna asked.
"I mean, I probably should have been, but honestly, no," Polinag laughed. "I think part of that is because I knew it was like, honestly, with women."
While the sessions often start with small talk, they never end that way.
"It just kind of feels like we're we've all kind of known each other for a long time, and this is our first time meeting each other," Polinag explained.
"It's crazy how fast you can connect with women when you're in this situation, like, when you're sweating with them, I guess," Hammond said.
The spontaneity is reminiscent of making friends on the playground.
"You would see a child outside, and you would walk up to that kid and be like, I'm a kid and you're a kid, should we be children together and go play?" Hammond remembered.
The connections have grown bigger than the backyard.
Hammond recently launched a website called Shorewood Women's Social, a space for neighbors to organize similar gatherings.
"I wanted to give people permission to do what I was doing and give them an outlet to kind of get this out to people," she explained.
More than 100 women have already joined, and they're getting events on the calendar.
While the group is exclusive to Shorewood, Hammond welcomes others to steal her idea.
"I hope people see this, and I hope it inspires them to want to do something really similar in their own communities," she said.