CAHM, a flourishing manufacturer and supplier of fragrance and wellbeing products, has opened a new shop at the award-winning Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley, near Leeds.
Founded in 2020 in the middle of lockdown, CAHM is owned and run by Whitby-born Amy Hogarth.
CAHM’s products are stocked in over 100 gift shops and garden centres across the UK from the Orkney Islands to Cornwall, with a new contract having just been signed to supply Booths, the upmarket northern supermarket.
Amy, who now lives in nearby Horsforth, specialises in diffusers, candles, hand and body lotion, bath salts and aromatherapy products.
She explained: “This is a tremendously important step for us. Having started making candles during lockdown in my kitchen, the business grew swiftly. After moving to an industrial estate in Shipley, we were then given this fantastic opportunity to open a shop and manufacturing centre in the Mending Rooms at the fabulous Sunny Bank Mills. This is the perfect base.
“CAHM incorporates my initials AH and reinforces our mission to spread a positive mental-health message through beautiful design-led gifts. Our sustainable products are hand-made by a small team of dedicated and passionate people, ensuring the quality and design for which we have become known is retained.”
Amy’s varied career, primarily in corporate travel and hospitality, included a spell at the Savoy Hotel in London, where her customer-facing role saw her look after rock supergroups such as the Kings of Leon and the Rolling Stones.
She recalled: “I got stuck in the lift for half an hour with the Kings of Leon, which was very embarrassing as I am a huge fan, and I had to tell the Rolling Stones that they couldn’t wear their trainers at the Savoy. They were charming and didn’t make a fuss.”
Amy studied Human Geography at the University of Leeds and when she was looking for help to launch and develop CAHM, she turned to the Help to Grow Management course at the University. She is among the latest of 250 small and medium-sized enterprises that have been helped on their journey by the Government-funded course at the University over the past two-and-a-half years.
She continued: “I am also tremendously grateful to William and John Gaunt, the owners of Sunny Banks Mills for providing such a special home for us. It is ideal. Sunny Bank Mills is a vibrant community and an amazing example of how to repurpose and revitalise an old textile mill.
“There are many like-minded businesses to CAHM at the Mills and we are already working together with another occupier, Amity Brew Co, to promote our products. There is a real synergy to what we are both doing.”
During the past 12 years, Sunny Bank Mills, one of the most famous family-owned mills in Yorkshire, has been transformed into a modern office and mixed-use complex for the 21st century, with more than 100 diverse companies on site creating 500 sustainable new jobs.
William Gaunt, co-owner and managing director of Sunny Bank Mills with his cousin John, commented: “We are absolutely delighted to welcome Amy to the Mending Rooms. Her business is already thriving and we trust it will continue to flourish here. Her dedication and passion are a joy and we are proud to be part of her exciting journey.”
John Gaunt added: “CAHM is a tremendous addition to the diverse range of businesses we have at Sunny Bank Mills. From a vinyl record shop to a jeweller, from a brewery to a gin specialist, from a cheesemonger to an interior decorator, we have a wonderful array of tenants who are all driven by the pursuit of excellence within our creative environment.”
Amy is supported in her business by her partner Phil Dawkes, the former BBC sports journalist.
For further information on CAHM, please visit www.thecahmcollective.com or visit Amy’s shop at 3 The Mending Rooms, Sunny Bank Mills, 83-85 Town Street, Farsley, near Leeds LS28 5UJ.
