About Us

A pandemic question, a converted garage, and the discovery that heat does something remarkable, not just to the body, but to the space between people.

the name

Varm Seder

Norwegian for “hot cedar”

Western red cedar at heat. That’s what hooked founders Jennifer and David from the beginning.
Add in a love for community, and you have the spark behind Varm Seder Sauna.

The phrase “varm seder” means “warm cedar” in Norwegian (frequently used in descriptions of perfumes or sauna wood). It is pronounced as “VARM SEE-der.

Jennifer Younger

Co-Founder

David Gudgel

Co-Founder

Quick History Bite

Two hundred years ago, the Sts’ahp-absh, the people of the Sammamish River, the Meanderers, lived where the river meets the lake. Their village was called Tl’awh-ah-dees, meaning “something growing or sprouting.” Nearby, on what is now the Copperworks campus, sat a place called *Stah-tahb-uhb: “many people talking.”

*Stah-tahb-uhb: “many people talking.” A gathering place. Right here. Long before any of us arrived. We are honored to carry that tradition forward.

“Nordic sauna culture was never meant to be solo.
At Varm Seder, we’re all about building a community gathering space.
Meet new people. Deepen relationships.”

the origin

How a garage became a ritual

When the world locked down in 2020, Jennifer Younger and David Gudgel asked themselves a simple question: what do we need to get through this? The answer was warmth, not the idea of it, but the physical, bone-deep heat of a sauna. They built one together in their West Seattle garage, out of western red cedar. That first breath of hot cedar hooked them immediately and they used it constantly. Sauna became a refuge.

slippers
Spring 2020 — West Seattle

Jennifer and David convert their detached garage into a cedar sauna. What starts as necessity becomes a daily practice and a lifeline through the pandemic.

pile of towels
2023 — Kenmore

A career change brings them north to Lake Washington. They build again. Same ritual, new setting, and a growing realization that the heat matters most when others are in it too.

Eucalyptus leaves
The turning point — Puget Sound

An invitation to a public sauna session on the waterfront with ten strangers. Commencement Bay waiting outside. They almost said no. They went. The quality of connection they’d built privately extended naturally, and immediately, to a room full of sweaty people they’d never met.

LOI-loo” (A Finnish term for the steam released when water hits hot sauna rocks).
Today — Brewery Row, Kenmore

Varm Seder Sauna opens alongside Copperworks Distilling, De La Soil Restaurant, and Ember Smokehouse at the doorstep of the Burke-Gilman Trail, becoming a gathering place for the community.

Cedar sauna space hand built by Varm Seder Sauna

what we believe

why this matters

Welcome to Varm Seder Sauna. We’re glad you’re here.

At 180°, you can’t half-pay-attention. Screens don’t survive a sauna. You’re just there, together, present.
Nordic sauna culture was never meant to be solo. At Varm Seder, we’re all about building a community gathering space. Meet new people. Deepen relationships.

“LOI-loo” (A Finnish term for the steam released when water hits hot sauna rocks).

With each ladle of water on the stones, a wave of steam the Finns have celebrated for centuries moves through the room, and with it, something opens up.

We value the many wellness benefits of sauna, but what we treasure most is the sense of connection it fosters. Time spent together has a way of restoring us, too.

Heat Up Your Inbox

We will only send you emails about new offerings and events. We don’t share your info and we won’t spam you because we hate that too.

Heat Up Your Inbox

We will only send you emails about new offerings and events. We don’t share your info and we won’t spam you because we hate that too.