dispatches
TheJoyofSweat
In Russia, inviting a new neighbor to a sauna
is the preferredway to break the ice
st. petersburg
“B
irchoroak?”asksSergeiLesu-
kov, holding up two twiggy
bundles resembling tiny brooms.
“Birch is good for aches; oak helps
lower blood pressure. If your body is
in a bad way, I can always beat you
withboth.”
It’s early morning in the St.
Petersburg suburb of Toksovo, and
Lesukov, a retired teacher, is stroll-
ing the grounds of his
dacha
wearing
nothingbut aHawaiianbeach towel.
I’ve recently rented the cottage next
tohis,whichapparentlymeans that I
just have to try out his
banya
.
“The hotter the stones, the more
steamwemake,”he says,pilingAltai
cedar into a small stove. “Themore
steam, themorewe sweat.”
At 55, Lesukov is hirsute, fit, and
good-humored—all qualities that
he says can be put down to his daily
sweat. “Just look how wrinkle-free
I am!”
Apart from therapeutic benefits,
banyas
play an important social role
inRussia.VladimirPutin isadevotee,
recently recountinga tale inwhichhis
saunacaught firewith formerGerman
ChancellorGerhardSchröder inside.
“Theybreak the ice,”saysLesukov,
“and tellme if I’mgoing to likeanew
neighbor.”With this,he leadsme toa
lowwoodenbench,a bundle of birch
twigs inhand.“Think of itmore like
agentlemassage,”he sayswithagrin.
My eye is drawn to a neat row of
empty bottles, and I suggest that
maybewe could skip straight to that
part ofLesukov’s daily routine.
“First timers don’t get to drink
vodka,”he says solemnly. “We don’t
want you passing out on the lawn.”
—DANIELALLEN
ShadyBusiness
The arduous taskof
bringingnew colors
into theworld
california
I
n a barrenwarehouse inVernon,
California, SaraMcLean, 44, stands
looking at a longwhitewall. Until
recently, thiswall was coveredwith
hundreds of cards, arranged on a
spectrum from “WineGoblet” to
“Bourbon Truffle.” She spent nearly
five years here, helpingDunn-
Edwards Paints determinewhich
“historic” colors to includewith
“trending” ones in a new collection.
McLean is among a small group
of people in the U.S. qualified to
introduce new colors to theworld—
which, in terms of difficulty, is like
finding newways to say “the.” She
just finishedwork on the Then,
Now& Forever collection, a project
that cost about $10million and
resulted in 300 new colors.
In order to find hundreds of hues
that are aesthetically pleasing and
unique, McLean spent countless
hours looking at historical interior
decorating books and archival paint
brochures and consultingwith
architecture and design experts and
theDunn-Edwards lab. The task
involved “many pots of coffee,” she
says, “and lots of wine.”
Finally, McLean had to name
her creations. While she’smostly
pleasedwith the resulting handles—
Pewter Patter,
Eat Your Peas,
Outlawed
Orange—she
allows that
therewere
difficulties.
Withwhites
and creams
in particular,
she says,
“there’s
only so
manywords
you can
use.”
—JAMES
BARTLETT
22
DECEMBER2015
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
