http://KPTV.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=483927;hostDomain=www.kptv.com;playerWidth=630;playerHeight=385;isShowIcon=true;clipId=10856175;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=Auto%2520-%2520Video;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=false;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=fixedKPTV – FOX 12As far as needs go, being held isn’t that odd. So, perhaps it’s not that surprising that Samantha Hess is there to fill it.

And as the owner/proprietor of Cuddle Up to Me – Portland, Oregon’s first and (currently) only “professional cuddling shop” – she’s gotten pretty good at it. (There is another professional cuddling shop that operates out of Rocklin, Calif., called Cuddle Connection.)

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Yes, for $60 an hour – which includes hair strokes, hand-holding and an assortment of positions – Hess will provide spooning (big or little) and “the level of human contact that we want or need in order to be our optimal selves.”

“This business has taken off,” Hess told local Fox affiliate KPTV. “I’ve gotten as many as 10,000 emails in a week.”

Hess maintains the business isn’t “adult-oriented” and that the idea came from a period of emotional distress in her own life. “I was at a place where I thought paying someone to hug me and not have ulterior motives sounded like a great idea,” she added. “I decided, why can’t this be a thing that we can easily and safely reach for?”

She started cuddling at clients’ homes before opening her studio, which offers four themed rooms and now includes three other cuddlers besides Hess.

Talking is optional during the sessions, which are taped to ensure safety. (A meet-and-greet is also required before the first session.) Pajamas are encouraged, and “natural reactions” are dealt with via a change of position so as not to become “the focus of the session,” as Hess explained.

Incidentally, Cuddle Connection would like to help you get started on your path to professional cuddling: If you’re interested in starting your own professional cuddling center, you can find more information on how to do so here.

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