Mill & Hide – a new gift, homewares and horse products store about to open its doors in Yass thanks to Kate Lenehan pictured and her business partner John Sheahan
October is Small Business Month, and quite fittingly a new business is coming to town. Mill & Hide is a fresh startup, looking to open its doors this month and is located between Country Charm and Café Dolcetto.
The business will comprise of homeware, giftware and basic horse care. Embracing a country theme, Mill & Hide comes from ‘windmill’ and ‘hide’ as in leather. The products sold in the store display this rural vibe, showing off an array of cushions, rugs, furniture, candles and dinnerware and notably, housing the brand of Maxwell Williams.
Kate Lenehan and John Sheahan wanted to create another reason to stop and shop in Yass through this little gem of a business.
It may be considered a risk to open a new business during a global pandemic, but Ms Lenehan was very confident in the decision.
“If you are going to have a business that you believe in, you go for it. We are not worried about the COVID situation. This building came up for auction, and it was a good opportunity, so away we went,” said Ms Lenehan.
The Mill & Hide store has been fully renovated, with new floors, paint and changes to areas at the back of the shopfront. It also hosts an upstairs storage area which has undergone renovations to maximise the shop front’s display area.
This is not the first time Ms Lenehan and Mr Sheahan have gone into business together, as they are both the founders of Agstock Pty Ltd which they created in 2003. Their entrepreneurial endeavours also include a steel business in Tumut.
The shopfronts for Agstock Pty Ltd are in Gundagai and Tumut ad they are members of Combined Rural Traders, Australia’s largest group of independent rural merchandisers. CRT has over 350 members throughout Australia and provides partnerships with suppliers.
The duo has a lot of experience with livestock, fencing, fertiliser and animal health, to name a few. They put a lot of focus on community and shopping local and have currently employed over 14 staff at their flagship businesses.
Ms Lenehan stated that “we sell a lot of livestock in Yass at SELX. We decided that we would do something new that we don’t do in other towns.”
Ms Lenehan was born and bred in Coolac and has a farming background. She runs her own property and is self-proclaimed horse crazy. The equine obsession is one of the reasons Mill & Hide will be offering horse care products, including shampoo, fly spray, bridles and saddle pads.
Mill & Hide have also finished their sales position interview process with many people in town and have hired locally to keep the business in the community.
“We want to work with the community here in town and give another reason to come and stop in Yass. It’s obviously a pretty popular town, and in a good location, we are hoping this shop encourages people to travel and come to this community as well,” said Ms Lenehan.
By Ryan Betts
