Partner Story — 002
HUUM
The flame, the steam, the glow. Three generations of Estonian craft.
"The sauna played a significant role for Estonian peasants over centuries, long before modern spas introduced it to the world. That inheritance is what we build from."
2012
Year DROP was designed
55 kg
Stone capacity, DROP
Red Dot
Design award, 2015
Estonia
Made in Tallinn
Tallinn, Estonia
Not a heater.
The heart of the room.
HUUM was founded on a single insight: sauna heater design had been neglected for decades. Function existed. Craft did not. In 2011, founder Siim Nellis — a third-generation stove-maker — approached the Estonian Academy of Arts to change that.
The DROP was the result. A wall-mounted heater inspired by a water drop, holding 55 kg of stones in a compact form. Less metal. More stone. The gentle, long-lasting steam of a traditional smoke sauna — in a form worthy of the room it heats.
Why We Partner
01
The Name
HUUM draws from five languages at once. In Estonian, huum means flame, glow, blaze. In Latin, humidium means steam and humidity. In ancient Germanic, xŪma means shade and shadow. In Old Icelandic, húm is twilight. In Livonian, Ūm is daybreak. Every dimension of the sauna experience, encoded in a single word.
02
Origin
Siim Nellis is a third-generation sauna stove producer. His grandfather was a skilled stove-setter. His father builds high-quality sauna stoves today. In 2011, Siim contacted the Estonian Academy of Arts to evolve the design of the sauna heater — a category where aesthetics had been neglected for decades. The result was the DROP.
03
The DROP
Inspired by a single water drop, the DROP is wall-mounted, rounded, and holds up to 55 kg of sauna stones — more than most wood-burning heaters. Less metal means more heat from the stones, not the casing. The result is the gentle, long-lasting steam of a traditional smoke sauna. In 2015, it received the Red Dot product design award.
04
Material
Stainless steel throughout. Stones sourced for thermal mass and longevity. Every heater passes through a carefully monitored manufacturing process in Tallinn, Estonia. HUUM uses recycled materials where possible and designs for energy efficiency — not as a marketing claim, but as a founding principle.
05
Technology
The UKU control system lets you heat your sauna from anywhere via the HUUM mobile app. Overheating protection, child lock, and integration with lighting, ventilation, and steamer controls. HUUM's position is that smart technology should disappear into the ritual — not compete with it.
06
Partnership
Contrast Market chose HUUM because they share the same conviction: that the sauna heater is not a commodity. It is the heart of the room. HUUM's precision engineering, award-winning design, and deep respect for Estonian sauna heritage make them the natural choice for anyone building a serious contrast therapy space.
Explore HUUM heaters in our collection.
Available through Contrast Market. Expert consultation and installation support.