Every new business starts with that first idea and for Oyster Moon it was our 25Words!

You know how it is? We've all been there, trying to find something a little different for that special birthday or occasion and as we all get on a bit and have so much - those gifts get harder to find. We found ourselves in the same boat and decided to design something unique where no two would be the same.

Our mum turned 85 (sorry mum, but you look great) and we thought what on earth could we possibly buy for her. So one afternoon, over a cup of tea, she told us about her first date with Dad. Dates, places, what they did and how special it was, what a great memory.

We took that special occasion and those words and turned them into a gift for her. She was thrilled and it makes her smile each time she looks at it.

It turns out that we also learned some things about our parents, a nickname our Nanny gave Dad and where the love of Newberry Fruits and Mars Bars started and so, captured in 25Words, the lovely afternoon they spent together at the cinema will live on down through the generations.

In the last two years, we've designed countless 25Words for people for all sorts of occasions and have heard back from many happy customers to say how much the gift was loved.

Doesn't get any better than that.

We are two sisters who both love to draw and paint and thought we should start a business. Two years on and we had no idea how Oyster Moon would take over our lives. With a lot of encouragement from family and friends and hard work we've grown from just a few ideas to a range of designs and products.

You see it all the time in the magazines "I started my small business on my kitchen table and now I'm a millionaire!" Well, not quite, but we did start on the kitchen table, in fact some of our best designs are still created there in between meals.

We first sold our designs at local craft events and then found some shops who liked what we do. We built our own website - learning along the way. One of our favourite things to do is our own photoshoots. Spending the day at the coast really gets the creative juices flowing. We are constantly learning the best way to update our social media, not always an easy thing.

The best advice we could give to someone thinking about starting their own business is stay true to yourself, work with your strengths and love what you do, because you will spend a lot of time doing it! Hours and hours behind the scenes creating new product, figuring out the best way to package it, ship it, sell it, promote it and most important of all, how to keep your customers happy and coming back for more.

After two short years we certainly still have a lot to learn, but we do love it when a new design comes together. When the watercolour flows just right or you wake up thinking about a new line and rush to scribble it down into one of the hundreds of notebooks, before life takes over and the thought is gone.

Our dream for Oyster Moon - we're going to reach for the stars.