GLASS charms for wine glasses are the basis of a thriving business that enables its director to work and look after her young children.
Suzanne Kelly, a French and Spanish teacher from Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, set up Charming Weddings in October 2002, specialising in wine glass jewellery.
She discovered the unusual wedding favours during a trip to the US, and brought some materials back with her to experiment. She said: "I decided to offer the wine charms as an alternative to traditional wedding favours.
"The charms mean that each guest at an event will have a personalised charm attached to their wine glass. They proved really popular and, as a result, I decided to turn the idea into a business venture."
Operating from home, Suzanne originally ran Charming Weddings as an extra job to teaching.
But since taking time out to have her second child in June last year, she now has the time to concentrate on both her business and family.
She enlisted the help of Business Link earlier this year for guidance and Business Link account manager Mike Mann provided advice.
Ms Kelly set up a website, www.charmingweddings.co.uk, and has published a company brochure to target wedding planners, both locally and nationally.
With the help of Business Link, Ms Kelly wants to use her language skills to branch out by translating the website into French and Spanish.
For more information about Business Link, contact 0845 600 9006.
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