WHEN Lisa Green had trouble setting up a shop, she decided to take her stock straight to customers.

Mrs Green, 37, had planned to open a fashion outlet in Consett, County Durham, but finding the right building at the right price proved impossible.

As property after property fell through, she was left with a growing stock list and nowhere to sell it.

She said: "I had my heart set on a shop, but I was coming up against all these obstacles. In the meantime, I had all this stock piling up.

"I looked at the likes of Ann Summers parties and wondered if handbags and shoes would work."

She organised hostess parties in the home she shares with engineer husband Kevin and their five-year-old daughter, Sarah, in Shotley Bridge, near Consett, to try to sell the mounting boxes of shoes and accessories.

It proved such a success, she has set it up as a business, called Girls Night Inn.

She said: "Handbags and shoes work well because they are very tactile, and women like to have a good close look before they buy."

An open Girls Night Inn event will take place in Snods Edge Village Hall, near Consett, from 10am to 3pm on Saturday.

Mrs Green can be contacted on 0771 568 6376.