The mornings are now officially darker as autumn is well and truly here…
This month in Walks in RED, we catch up with Ruths brother - Olly Davey, co-founder of Heartwood Saunas, to hear a little more about his story, from an unconventional childhood in the Welsh hills to building a business rooted in a love of timber, the outdoors and making things properly.
So, grab a cuppa and join us as Olly shares the experiences, ideas and values that have shaped his journey, and the connection between Heartwood and Ruth’s approach to making things that are built to last.
Hey Olly! Thanks for having us at your new Heartwood home, what a space! The weather might be looking a little gloomy today, but we’re looking forward to catching up and hearing all about Heartwood and the story behind it all.
We should start by mentioning that you’re Ruth’s brother! Can you tell us a little about growing up in the Davey family? What was life like as children, growing up in the countryside, and what do you think those early years gave you?
We had quite an unusual upbringing, although we didn’t realise it at the time. There were five of us children, living in a remote home in the Welsh hills, in the middle of a forest. We were completely off-grid, with no mains electricity until I was about 13 or 14, so no fridge or washing machine. Now that I have children myself, I’m in awe of what my parents took on to give us that start in life.
It wasn’t in anyway easy, and we probably didn’t appreciate it fully as children. Seeing friends meant a three-mile walk or bike ride to the village, so when we went to stay with someone, we sometimes stayed for a week! At secondary school, I didn’t know the television programmes or pop songs everyone was talking about. But I could build things with my hands and use tools, so there were different advantages.
What we had in abundance was freedom.
We spent our days outside, building dens, making things and inventing games. You had to make your own fun. For me, timber was a big part of that: building cabins, treehouses and bike jumps. Making things was simply how I played.
Looking back, there was also a surprising amount of business going on in our games. Ruth and Jenny loved playing shop. My youngest brother, William, and I would pretend to make things and sell them, and Sam created little model worlds where we each had our own businesses. We’d trade matchsticks, pinecones or things we’d made from Play-Doh. It was all play, but perhaps that was our first experience of making something that someone else valued. There’s a lovely connection between those games and several of us now running businesses in rural Wales.
Those early years gave us creativity, independence and resilience. We were trusted with responsibility and learned through doing, which I think helped us become comfortable taking risks and figuring things out. Above all, we developed a good work ethic. Ruth and I share that desire to keep things moving: to make something, improve it and see what’s possible next.
The landscape around Mid Wales is important to both your lives and your work. How has it influenced the way you design and build saunas?
The landscape here in rural Wales is incredibly beautiful, but it can also be unforgiving. Some of its most striking moments come on miserable, misty, wet days. You notice the water running off the leaves, the rivers, the autumn colours and the vivid purple heather on the hills. There’s so much vibrancy, even in that weather.
That contrast has influenced Heartwood’s designs from the beginning. I want to create spaces where you can really experience the landscape while feeling held and cocooned in warmth. It’s a little like sitting in a car during a rainstorm: you’re aware of everything happening outside, but you feel sheltered. In a sauna, you have that connection alongside the heat, humidity and carefully considered details. That contrast gives me a lot of energy, both in designing the spaces and in experiencing them.
Around here, we’re surrounded by rugged hills, old slate mines, stone, rivers and trees. I’ve always been interested in creating architecture that contrasts with those surroundings. Our saunas don’t necessarily try to disappear into the landscape. A modern, well-made building can provide a beautiful contrast and a place from which to appreciate nature in all its forms.
That’s a question running through our designs: how do we make the most of the natural surroundings, and help people experience them more fully?
Can you take us back to the beginning of Heartwood? What inspired you to build your first sauna?
I first experienced traditional saunas while travelling in the Alps. After a long day skiing, we’d head into the sauna, step outside into the snow, and repeat the cycle a few times. I was blown away by how it made me feel: the sense of recovery, the energy afterwards, and simply how good it felt.
Later, my partner and I moved to a remote, off-grid property in the Dyfi Forest. She was a professional mountain biker, and we’d spend long days outside training, often coming home cold to the bone. A sauna felt like the perfect antidote to the wet, windy Welsh winters… a way to properly warm through and recover.
I initially looked into buying one, but I couldn’t find anything that met the quality I was looking for. Having grown up working with timber, making things in the forest and the workshop, I thought I could design and build something better myself.
I became quite absorbed in the details: the materials, the construction, and all the little things that could make the experience as good as possible. I started asking myself a simple question: how would you build a sauna if you weren’t making compromises on cost? I certainly didn’t have unlimited money, but I wanted to start from scratch, consider every detail, and explore just how good a sauna could be.
There was no business plan at that stage. I simply wanted to build a really good sauna for our home. Friends and family came to use it; the feedback was lovely, and gradually people started asking me to build one for them. Before long, designing and making saunas for people across the UK had become my full-time work.
Heartwood grew organically from there. Looking back, it brings together so many things I’ve always loved: working with timber, building cabins, designing spaces and creating architecture. I never set out to start a sauna business; I just wanted to make something exceptional for myself. But as more people experienced it and wanted one of their own, that original project evolved into Heartwood and the opportunity to share that same experience with others.
You’ve combined a love of the outdoors with a business centred around rest and recovery. What does wellbeing mean to you personally?
For me, wellbeing means being present, recognising what really matters, and having fun and excitement in what you’re doing. It’s about enjoying your life and feeling connected to it.
I don’t think that means feeling good all the time. There are peaks and troughs, and both are part of it. You can’t have the highs without the lows. I find it healthy to try things, challenge myself and spend a little time on the edge of my comfort zone. There’s something energising about discovering what you’re capable of.
It’s also about checking in with yourself and finding a balance between your ambitions, your relationship with your partner, time with your family and the things you want to experience for yourself. I want to live a colourful life, with room for all of those things.
So wellbeing goes beyond physical health for me. It’s a state of mind: knowing what matters to you and making space to live in a way that reflects that.
Ruth’s work is all about our relationship with our feet, and I know the outdoors has always been a big part of your life, too. Can you tell us about the boots you wear and what you look for in a good pair?
Being outdoors has always been a huge part of life for me, Ruth and all our siblings. I look for footwear that’s comfortable, functional and properly made, because I tend to wear the same pair for almost everything I do.
Ruth’s shoes have certainly been put through their paces with me. They’ve had a hard life, but they’re still going strong. Every few years, I bring them back to her for a tidy-up and a polish. I’m amazed by how hard-wearing they are, but also how comfortable. Once you’re used to them, it’s difficult to go back to anything else, especially on long days.
Something I really appreciate is how they get better with age. I don’t buy things expecting them to stay exactly as they were on day one. I want to use them, give them a life and enjoy the way they age. That’s part of the appeal of Ruth’s shoes: they’re designed to be worn.
When you have a pair of shoes for ten or fifteen years, repairing or resoling them along the way, you develop a deeper connection with them. You appreciate the materials, the thought that’s gone into making them and all the places they’ve taken you. That’s what I look for in the things I choose to buy: quality that you can feel, and something you’ll enjoy using for a long time.
There’s a shared ethos between Heartwood Saunas and Ruth Emily Davey Shoes: a belief in making things properly, using quality materials and creating something that will last. In a world where so much is designed to be disposable, what does it mean to you to make something with longevity in mind, and how does that approach influence the way you work?
We grew up with a simple principle: if you’re going to do something, do it properly. I think that underpins both Heartwood and Ruth’s shoemaking. If you’re putting time, energy, materials and resources into making something, it should be worthwhile—something you’re really proud of.
What motivates me is creating things that mean a lot to people: things they love, enjoy and use for a long time. When something becomes a valued part of your life, its longevity really matters. You want to keep enjoying it for years to come.
In Heartwood, we try to think in decades. How will a sauna look after ten years of use? How will the materials age? How can we make the most of the space and help it last as long as possible? Those questions influence the decisions we make from the beginning.
We live in such a throwaway economy. Too often, you order something online and, when it arrives, the quality doesn’t live up to the photographs. I’ve always wanted our saunas to exceed those expectations: to look even better in person, and for people to feel impressed by the materials, the craftsmanship and the details when they step inside.
I see that same care in Ruth’s shoes. Photographs and video can only communicate so much. When you put them on and spend time wearing them, you begin to fully appreciate the thought and work that have gone into them. Some qualities only become clear through using something, and that’s the kind of quality we both care about.
You’ve both ended up running businesses built around making things by hand, albeit very different things. Did you ever imagine you’d both end up on this kind of path?
When we were younger, I wouldn’t have predicted that Ruth, I and our other siblings would end up building our own businesses around making quality things. But the more I look back, the more inevitable it seems. Making things and finding ways to create something that other people value, whether a product or an experience, has always been part of who we are.
It’s easy to see that thread in retrospect. At the time, we were following our interests, without knowing where they would lead.
See Olly’s work at Heartwood Saunas
