MOTHERS and daughters often have a stormy relationship, but one pair get along so well, they have launched a business together.

Nurse Julia Dunne and her mother, retired office manager Laura Martin, opened vintage housewares shop Primrose Cottage in Long Hanborough, two months ago.

The business, which sells a mix of antique furniture, ceramics, glassware, pictures and mirrors, is a true family affair.

Mrs Dunne’s father, retired carpenter Richard Martin restores wooden furniture they find, while brother Robert, who has a unit at Brackley Antiques Centre, also pitches in.

And Mrs Dunne’s husband Kevin, a clinical development director, helps with marketing.

Mrs Dunne and Mrs Martin have experience in the vintage and antiques trade, as Mrs Martin sold stock through Yarnton Antique Centre for 10 years before retiring and their items are carried in Witney antique store The Pill Factory.

Now, the pair have transformed what was a hobby into a full-time venture.

Mum-of-two Mrs Dunne, 37, who works one day a week at the John Radcliffe Hospital’s vascular surgery unit, said: “Mum and I have always worked well together.

“We’d thought about opening our own shop for a long time and were keeping our eyes open for the right unit. We travel all over the UK to auctions, sales and antiques markets to find suitable items and that is the bit we like best.

“Our tastes are quite similar but if we don’t agree on what to buy, instead of arguing, we just take turns and try to be fair.

“Mum tends to do more of the furniture buying, while I go for smaller items, particularly things that are a bit quirky, such as a box of antlers, a vintage chopping board, vintage quilts and old church pews.

“Mum and I also make our own cushions and our plan is to keep our sewing machines in the back, so we can do that while minding the shop.”

Rather than take out a loan to fund the business, including the cost of renting Primrose Cottage, they used Mr and Mrs Martin’s savings.

“We didn’t want to borrow money and take on debt,” Mrs Dunne said.

The family are using social media, including Facebook to promote their shop and have handed out leaflets in the village and surrounding area.

One of their toughest challenges was pricing items for sale. She said: “We don’t want to overcharge but then again, we work so hard to find what we sell, so we don’t want to let it go for nothing.”

Mrs Dunne, who lives in Long Hanborough but grew up in Marsh Baldon where her parents live, said the new venture fits in well around being mother to twin girls who are five next month.

She added: “The girls at are school in Combe, so I can shut up shop for 10 minutes while I nip out and fetch them, then they come back with me for a short while before I cl