A "professional cuddler" has set up a cuddle shop in the hipster town of Portland, Oregon.

Samantha Hess, who has written a book on the importance of the human touch, has called the shop "Cuddle Up to Me" and offers one-to-one platonic cuddling sessions for $60 per hour.

Ms Hess began her cuddling business in 2013, but this is the first time she has opened up a premises. The shop has four studios that have cameras in to record the sessions and ensure safety for both customers and Hess. Ms Hess has trained three employees in the art of platonic touching, to run the business on a day-to-day basis.

“I was at a place where I thought paying someone to hug me and not have ulterior motives sounded like a great idea,” Ms Hess told KPTV. “I decided why can't this be a thing that we can easily and safely reach for?”

“We can customize each session depending on your comfort level,” she added. “So, I have people who will come in and we won't touch at all. We'll just sit and read together.”

Business has already been booming, and according to Ms Hess the shop has had more than 10,000 emails from interested people.

Ms Hess initially found it difficult to find a landlord who wasn't skeptical about her intentions. Portland, the home of one of the world's only not-for-profit pubs and a juice bar where customers power the juice machines by bike, seemed the perfect home for her business.

The city in Oregon is also known as a magnet for 'hipsters' - it is home to plenty of alternative industries and craft ale breweries - the lifestyle there has been sent up on popular comedy show Portlandia.



Samantha Hess (right) is the owner of the Cuddle Cafe

The concept of the shop is slightly different from the Japanese cuddle cafe that hit the headlines in 2012, where male only customers paid for platonic female time, including back patting and sleeping alongside one another.

“It's a simple service." said Ms Hess. "It's the same for a man or a woman. We are a family-oriented service. We're not adult-oriented in any way. We just make people feel loved and accepted for who they are.”

Cuddle up to Me is open from Monday to Saturday. More information at cuddleuptome.com