2011

Let's start at the very beginning

Back in 2011, Becky bought her first home, a little cottage nestled in the quaint village of Tockholes, Lancashire. 

Inspired by her love for her cottage Becky and her Mum, Pauline, decided to set up a business selling kitchen accessories.

2013

A budding business

Sales were steadily growing and Becky decided that she needed to store the stock elsewhere as her bedroom was filled to the rafters with mixing bowls and teapots. 

After a quick Google search she stumbled accross a unit for rent in a disused school in Penwortham, Preston. Despite being incredibly creepy, the space was fantastic and enabled the business to flourish. The first two official Silver Mushroom employees were hired, David and William.  

2014

A family affair

The business continued to grow and in turn so did Becky's work load. Over a Sunday roast, Becky and her younger sister Emmie decided to join forces to expand the business further. 

After studying Interior Design at university, Emmie brought with her a passion for homeware and the sisters expanded Silver Mushroom's range from the kitchen to homeware.  

2019

Expansion in more ways than one

We quickly outgrew our new premises and made the move from the office space to our own Silver Mushroom warehouse. Ready for the next chapter, we got to work. However, Becky had other plans...

Becky gave birth to Charlotte shortly after moving to our new premises, navigating the challenges of not only entrepreneurship, but now parenthood as well. Luckily Charlotte loved to play in the office and Becky was fantastic at multitasking. Our team of five rolled up their sleeves and took it in turns to babysit, answer the phones and pack the orders. 

The big screen

We launched our biggest ever marketing campaign, our own Silver Mushroom TV advert that aired on ITVbe.

This was a dream come true and a truly memorable experience.  

"Fill your home with things you love, with help from Silver Mushroom." 

2020

Lockdown

The year the world changed for everyone. Overnight, our sales increased by over 1000%. We were not prepared for this level of growth. Our small team of five turned into 35 and we packed orders around the clock, 7 days a week. 

We still couldn't keep up.  

2021

Crunch time

After the most stressful year both personally and professionally, we realised we couldn't cope any longer. We handed over our precious stock to a fulfilment centre to handle the operational side of Silver Mushroom, picking and packing our orders, storing the stock and so on.

We had hoped to feel the benefits instantly, have time to rest, expand our range and rebuild our incredibly disheveled post-pandemic business. 
But something didn't feel quite right. 

The fulfilment centre we had chosen hadn't been totally honest in their experience of fragile goods, amongst other things. We saw more broken mixing bowls, incorrectly packed orders and careless mistakes than we every thought imaginable. 

We faced a grim decision; find a way to bring our operation back in house, or close Silver Mushroom for good.

 

2022

New beginnings

Having dedicated the last 11 years to building our business, we were determined to give it our all to give Silver Mushroom one last chance.

We took the plunge and signed the lease on a 10,000sq foot warehouse, hired an experienced warehouse team and opened our second business, CK Fulfilment. 

We began to run a successful operational business, not only for Silver Mushroom but for other small businesses who had experienced the same difficulties as us. 

It was the best decision we have ever made!

2023

Packed with love

The decision to open CK Fulfilment enabled us to rebuild Silver Mushroom, hire a fantastic team that we concider our extended family and help other business owners.

So far we have partnered with 25 businesses, some start-ups, some established enterprises, and we're inspired and thrilled to be a part of their exciting journeys. 

 

2023

The dipping of the toe

After getting back on our feet, we decided to explore an avenue that had piqued our interest for many years. We designed our own product and had it manufactured. The Swing Chair. 

This move was pivotal in the final stages of our recent rebrand, opening our eyes to the limitless creativity of designing our own collections.

2024

The new Silver Mushroom

If you are reading this, you are currently browsing our newly created website, home to our curated collection of own-brand products. 

Designed with love and made with care, we hope you find a piece or two from our new collection to cherish. 

 

We excitedly await the next chapter. 

Love Rebecca & Emmie x