Bringing a love of art to the high street

Jo and Sarah, who both live in Harrogate but have roots in Normanton and Hull respectively, set up the Love Your Art concept after a meeting of minds at a party led them to give up their jobs and set up in business together.

They began three and a half years ago by showing original, contemporary art in Jo's home, organising open weekends every three months in her West End Avenue studio where visitors could buy art and talk to the artists.

"We filled the studio, the stairwell; there was even art in the bathroom, the kitchen, the bedroom, everywhere," recalls Sarah.

Driven by a passion for art and helped by years of commercial experience, Sarah and Jo started sourcing artists, worked as art agents and designed an artists' website, before a chance encounter with a private buyer led to the investment they needed to launch their first store in York last month.

Artist Jo, a former creative director of Hallmark Cards, and Sarah, a former television documentary producer and director for Yorkshire Television, see Love Your Art as a way for "people to buy beautiful, high-quality pieces of art for their homes at affordable prices, in an atmosphere that isn't traditional, intimidating, highbrow or elitist but fresh, bold and contemporary".

Among the artists tied exclusively to Love Your Art are Yukio Namba, who has only ever exhibited in his home country of Japan; Ann Bridges; Anna Hymas; Christian Furr; Ian Rawling; Jo Oakley; and Jo Caswell herself, with her still lives of fruit and flowers.

"We think we've spotted a gap in the market as their just isn't an art brand where you can go as the next step after buying posters," says Jo.

"We have loads of friends who have said they've outgrown buying from IKEA or Athena and can't spend £3,000 on artwork but want something quite special and quite for their walls - or even for their sofa," says Sarah.