As we approach Consett, we ascend suddenly into fog - Consett, it appears, has developed its own microclimate.
It’s very tempting to make some sweeping generalisations on the basis of that, and while doing so would be a stretch, it is definitely true that there’s a degree of detachment and sense of a self-sufficient community which sets in as you travel out towards the North Pennines.
A desire to be part of, and present in, that community is what drew Kate Lawrence to place her business - Coco Kids - in its current location on Middle Street in Consett.
Coco Kids is one of those businesses which started with an idea, but then found itself evolving rapidly as a result of both external circumstances and finding a new niche.
“I had a child-friendly women’s salon,” says Kate, who first set up her business more than six years ago, “where you could bring your child in while you were getting your hair or nails done.”
The concept was to have an inclusive space that went beyond just being accepting of children and instead reflected the realities of many women's lives by being a place both they and their children wanted to be.
A second, and really important, aspect of the business was children’s parties - an idea born from seeing how much clients’ children wanted to be involved in what their parents were doing. Kate has been delivering those for five years.
When Covid hit, Kate - in common with many businesses in her sector - was unable to ride out the disruption and was forced to close her salon.
She reached out to her sister Andrea Hillery, initially as a sounding board.
“She rang me and said ‘I'm gonna lose the business’,” Andrea recalls, “and I said ‘you're not, you’ll lose the shop, but you're not going to lose the business…what do you really want to do?' She said she wanted to work with kids, so we rebranded."
Together they set about the rebranding - and diversifying - of the business.
"That's why we're set up in County Durham, we're both County Durham lasses."
Andrea called on the experience from her day job in Northumbria University's business engagement team, a role which follows four years with the leadership development programme Common Purpose - both have given her a chance to see how the business community deals with difficult situations.
What emerged from that process was Coco Kids as it exists today - a multi-faceted business, quietly merging product development, eCommerce, external parties and workshops, and the salon in Consett.
“It’s a pamper business for children,” Kate says to sum it up, “which has evolved in wellness and well-being too; looking after children’s mental health while teaching self-care alongside hygiene.”
This kind of evolution and adaptation is one of the quiet marvels of business owners - that ability to spot opportunities and shift your offer to meet demand can almost seem run of the mill when you’re in it, but it’s important to highlight that it’s a characteristic not all businesses have.
For Kate, Andrea and Coco Kids, the self-care element of the offer is broad and spans everything from knowing how to wash your hands correctly to being open and welcoming of questions around gender identity.
The product development aspect is the result of a gap in the market for salon-quality haircare and skincare designed with children in mind - it first of all meant Kate had the products she wanted to use in the salon and at parties, but also had something she could sell online and could be stocked elsewhere.
"I didn't know I needed the products until Covid hit," Kate explains. "The parties were doing so well - when I started there was no competition and it took off like a pocket rocket - then when Covid hit and you couldn't do celebrations, my business stopped. That's when I brought Andrea in and we decided to go down the product route. But I never would have done it if Covid didn't happen."
“We found a really nice manufacturer,” she continues, “who only works with qualified, certified hair and beauty professionals. They took the idea, produced it, branded it up, and made sure it was registered as safe for use on children’s skin.”
At this point in the conversation some of the links between the threads of Kate and Andrea's thinking start to appear - where a desire to be inclusive, community-led and bring new products to market all meet.
“There's a girl just down the road in Consett. She's a barber but she works with autistic children. She took the products straight away and they help with kids detangling hair, so she's found it really beneficial. We want to do some more community interest work, especially working with disadvantaged children.”
On their place in the Consett business community, both Kate and Andrea articulate it passionately.
“We opened up in Consett,” Andrea says, “we could have opened up in Durham, but we wanted to stay in the local community.”
"We're all for the community," she continues, "That's why we're set up in County Durham, we're both County Durham lasses."
County Durham is a place which needs things to change. It ranks as the 65th most deprived area out of the 317 UK local authorities, and Consett itself is amongst the 30% most deprived areas in the country.
In the past ten years, County Durham’s population has got older, with the number of 65-74 year olds increasing by 21.4% between 2011 and 2021.
In the same period, employment has fallen, with fewer than half (49.8%, down from 51.9% in 2011) of those aged 16 years and over now economically active.
Like all mid-sized towns, Consett’s retail offer has suffered in recent years. Middle Street has been the recipient of support from Durham County Council, aimed at reinvigorating the area for independent retailers.
All of this plays into why being present in the town is important to Kate and Andrea.
"It builds connections with local businesses," Kate adds, "and there are a lot of businesses in Consett, and a lot of them are family run."
"When we get customers coming from Newcastle," Andrea continues, "because a lot of people come through from Newcastle or Durham, when they drop their kids off and go get a coffee at Madison's we're helping the local economy. That's what we want to be doing."
In moments like this, when the flow of the discussion goes back and forth between the two of them, you can see how fluent they both are about the business, and how intune they are.
A benefit, no doubt, of working with your sister - but is that experience all positive?
"We have sibling quarrels every now and again, I'm not going to lie!" Andrea says, "but they're minor. We work really well together, we have strengths that complement each other - I'm quite sales and marketing heavy in my background, Kate has the clinical and beauty background."
"Bringing her into the business was the best thing I've done," Kate says of Andrea, "I wouldn't have got through COVID without her. That's the honest truth."
"I started the business when I was on maternity leave because I wanted to do something to make her proud of me."
Kate Lawrence
Andrea Hillery
With the party and workshop programme now growing rapidly, Kate has taken on another member of staff to help deliver sessions - a young woman still at college, studying childcare and building experience working with children (and their parents) while working with Coco Kids.
It’s part of a longer term plan to free up Kate’s time from the delivery to focus on the business, rather than always being in the business - and also give her the weekends back to spend with her young daughter.
"It's quite hard, I'm not going to lie," Kate explains, "I get a lot of mum guilt because I'm working through the weekend and can't be with my little girl. That's why I'm looking at more staff, to take my weekends back to have to spend with her,"
"Through the week when I'm running stuff after school she can come with me," she continues, "and she loves meeting the other children, playing with the kids and making new friends. But the weekends are private parties, which she obviously can't join!"
Through the struggles and the mum guilt, Kate's daughter has also been a motivator for starting the business.
"The drive came when I had the little'un," she explains, "I started the business when I was on maternity leave because I wanted to do something to make her proud of me."
There's a sense of doubt - and imposter syndrome - that often goes with running a business, especially for women, and especially for mothers. It’s something Kate has experienced.
"She'll call sometimes saying she can't do it, with that self-doubt," Andrea says, "I'll tell her 'You can! You can!', just to keep her on track and motivated."
Lessons from Kate’s own life also push her on, with a childhood and teenage lack of self-confidence and self-esteem motivating her to work with children, and particularly focus on wellbeing.
"I'd love to go into schools more," she explains, "I've started a wellness after school club where kids can come and learn about making cosmetics, what goes into them and why. We also do self-care charts which you fill with things that make you happy."
"Skincare is next. There isn't anything on the market which isn't for teens but for a younger age range. So, you wonder what parents are using on their kids' skin when they're teaching them daily routines of brushing your teeth and washing your face?"
It's rewarding work, but also commercially-minded.
"Every weekend we're chock-a-block," Kate explains, "the issue we've got is trying to fill the salon during the week when kids are at school. Which is why I'm picking the after school clubs back up."
Alongside work with and around schools, there are also other community interest sessions.
Andrea explains how some of that work is already happening: “Kate just did an event at the weekend for a neurodiverse farm. It was their opening day event and they had a class with children with disabilities, and they just loved the slime making, because it’s sensory and reduces stress and anxiety.”
The slime making is an element of the pamper parties which is finding its own independent audience, with Kate and a new member of staff also running a workshop for Karbon Homes as part of their Easter programme for children on free school meals.
It's a good platform for growth, with more audiences for workshops and sessions combined with plans for an expanded product range.
"We brought out the haircare range during Covid - we did that together," Kate says. "Skincare is next. There isn't anything on the market which isn't for teens but for a younger age range. So, you wonder what parents are using on their kids' skin when they're teaching them daily routines of brushing your teeth and washing your face?"
"There's also the product promotion side," Andrea continues, "I had an idea of getting an exclusive range in a department store. Being a bit ambitious! Wholesale as well, that's where the product side is going next."
"Kate's background is in aromatherapy," she explains, "there are only a few essential oils you can use on children. We want to use her expertise and bring that into the new product range."
Can we see the existing products, I ask - and Kate brings over an array of bottles and tubs. Shampoos, conditioners, hair sprays, body wash, shower whip.
"Do you want to see the whip?" Kate asks, "you can have a look at the whip, if you like," she pauses, "…it's just a fancy soap!"
"It's tutti-frutti," says Andrea, "and the children love it!"
They open the tub and the scent fills the room.
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