A CHRISTMAS gift from her daughter led an Oxfordshire designer to sell greetings cards and home accessories across the world.

Working from her home and garage in Kidlington, Lesley Stevens supplies unique cards and cork place mats and coasters via her website.

The former in-house and freelance textile designer began Decorque in 2012 after her daughter Harriet arranged for a special printing of one of her creations.

Mrs Stevens said: “I create all the designs and don’t buy any digital images. Most are inspired by nature and the natural world.”

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She added: “Around 90 per cent of my cards start with hand-painted images. All are from my own sources and archives. For instance, all the roses I use are photographed in my own garden.

“I draw and paint from real life or photographs and bring in other elements that can be photographic or drawn in Illustrator and are brought together in Photoshop to create an imaginative design.

“Not many people use such mixed media - many of my card designs are often mistaken for photographs!”

Since starting in 2012, Decorque has grown rapidly and has sold to distributors in New Zealand, France and Belgium, plus individuals across Europe and North America.

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Mrs Stevens said: “We started back in 2012 with the cork place mats and coasters, some plastic place mats and a small range of cards, but we quickly added art prints, wall art, handmade cushions and lampshades.

“My greetings cards range became extremely popular and I have expanded the entire range significantly over the past few years.”

Decorque’s designs can be viewed here.