A sauna hat made from Norwegian wool. A floating sauna in New York. And a collaboration that grew across the Atlantic.
This is the story of MARKA.
Want a MARKA of your own? At Løyly, you can buy the moss-green sauna hat with a braided hanging loop, no turn-up cuff and no KOS logo. It has the same fit and function as our other adult sauna hats.
Shop MARKA in our online store
A Norwegian idea on Saratoga Lake
KOS Sauna is New York's first public, floating sauna. It is located on Saratoga Lake in Saratoga Springs and is inspired by something we know well from Norwegian sauna culture: warmth, cold water, and community.
Founder Kate Butchart lived in Oslo for seven years. It was there that she became hooked on floating saunas, before taking the idea home to the USA and creating KOS Sauna.
When KOS later looked for a proper sauna hat for their guests, they wanted more than a standard product with a logo. They wanted Norwegian wool, authentic craftsmanship, and a hat that could become a natural part of the experience on Marka – their sauna boat on Saratoga Lake.
They found their way to Løyly.
Not just a logo
The collaboration started with an idea for a dedicated sauna hat for KOS, but quickly evolved into a product development project in which both Kate and we were closely involved.
MARKA is made from thick, Norwegian wool felt and sewn in small batches in Western Norway. The moss green color was complemented by a hand-braided strap in three colors. On the KOS version, the orange logo was embroidered locally in the USA.
It was important to us that the result didn't just look right. The hat also had to function well for the people who would actually wear it.
Back and forth across the Atlantic
That meant samples. And adjustments.
During development, we sent physical samples from Norway to Kate in New York. She had people with different head shapes and sizes try on the hats, so we could see how the size and fit worked in practice.
Kate collected the feedback and sent it back to us. We adjusted the size and fit, made new samples, and sent them across the Atlantic again.
Samples and feedback went back and forth between Norway and the USA in several rounds until both Kate and we were satisfied. Only when the final sample was approved by both parties did the model move on to production.
This may be a small part of the story when you see the finished hat today. But for us, it says a lot about the collaboration. MARKA came into being between Norway and New York, through testing, feedback, and adjustments.
Norwegian craftsmanship. An American expression.
Production takes place in Norway, while KOS has put its own stamp on the model in New York. The hand-braided strap is made by us. The KOS logo is embroidered locally in the USA.
This makes MARKA a product that in many ways belongs in both places: Norwegian wool and craftsmanship from Western Norway, with a form and identity developed together with the people behind a floating sauna on Saratoga Lake.
Pre-ordered before delivery arrived
When production started, the finished hats were sent in several batches from Norway. This simplified customs and clearance handling and allowed the local embroiderer to work continuously.
Even before the hats had arrived at KOS, around 20–25 had been pre-ordered. Kate's feedback was hard to misunderstand: the members were looking forward to them, and the response was very good.
For us, however, it was about more than demand. The most important thing was to see that the hat was actually being used – in the heat, between sessions, and as a natural part of the sauna environment.
From product to people
Throughout the summer, the pictures began to arrive. First small glimpses of the collaboration. Then joint posts, pictures of members in the sauna, and people who had taken MARKA home with them.
This was exactly what we had hoped for. A hat that was used, showcased, and talked about.
KOS also continued to tell the story: about the Norwegian wool, the felt processed at Sjølingstad, and the hats sewn in small batches in Western Norway. They also explained why a sauna hat has a function when the temperature rises – the wool felt protects the head from the most intense heat.
Thus, the collaboration became bigger than the product itself. It became a small bridge between Norwegian craftsmanship in Western Norway and a growing sauna culture on the other side of the Atlantic.
MARKA comes home
Eventually, we became so fond of the model we had developed together that we asked KOS if we could include it in our own collection in Norway – without the KOS logo. They agreed.
The name MARKA comes from Marka, KOS's sauna boat on Saratoga Lake. The model now sold at Løyly is based on the same hat that was developed through samples, feedback, and adjustments between Norway and New York.
100% Norwegian wool. Approximately six millimeters thick wool felt. The hand-braided strap as a distinguishing feature.
Same story. Two sides of the Atlantic.
Designed with KOS. Crafted by Løyly.
