Duluth's Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna business used the pandemic to its advantage.

It initially started out as a community sauna business, where people would use the mobile, health-focused sauna for individual or group use.

As with many businesses, the pandemic disrupted this plan. So Cedar and Stone pivoted and ventured into sauna manufacturing for homes and cabins. It hired more staff and established a manufacturing facility in West Duluth.

The company's custom-designed, Nordic saunas built with high-quality, sustainable material is meeting an unmet need, a news release from the company said.

Customizations include increasing sauna space for customers with large families, adding outdoor showers or including smart technology so users can enable the sauna's stove remotely.

"Now revenue is up rather than down," the release said.

The Duluth Studio Market, which we covered back in February and checked in on in March, opened last week.

Owned by Stacey LaCoursiere, the artisan market sells curated items from fair trade companies and local artists. Merchandise includes pottery, jewelry, childrens gifts, illustrations and local apparel.

The space, located at 512 N. 45th Ave. E., also doubles as a photography studio for LaCoursiere's marketing business, Duluth Studio Co., which offers commercial photography, videography and design services.

LaCoursiere's initial plan was to open in late spring but that was pre-pandemic. Back in March, she told the News Tribune that rolling with the punches is "what you have to do as an entrepreneur."

She's certainly rolled with the punches, and opened the business last week.

Northern Minnesota was one of the nation's "top trending destinations" over the Fourth of July weekend.

Airbnb hosts in the area saw a 50% increase in income compared to the same holiday weekend last year, according to Airbnb.

In addition to northern Minnesota, rural areas, in general, were also popular destinations for holiday travelers.

Rural hosts in the U.S. earned more than $200 million in June an increase of over 25% compared to the same time last year.

We all know what's influencing these figures: COVID-19.

To Airbnb, the weekend's outcome shows that people are itching to travel, but don't want to go to great extents to do so.

Kelly Busche covers business and health for the News Tribune. She wants to hear from people currently on unemployment, especially as we near the end of the additional $600 in unemployment benefits that runs out later this month. Drop her a line at kbusche@duluthnews.com.

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The Memo: Airbnb travel up, a new business and more - Duluth News Tribune