After years working in A&E, a Cheltenham mum has swapped her nurse's uniform for funky aprons, pictures and bags.

Catherine Colebrook has always been passionate about sewing, even as a little girl, and first set up her own business when she was 18 making wedding dresses.

"It was fun," Catherine says, who is dressed in jeans and a pretty floral top.

"At the time all my friends went off to university but I'd had enough of the school environment and wanted to get out and do something more productive.

"And then I decided to become a nurse."

Catherine nursed for about 14 years in Bath and moved to Cheltenham 10 years ago, and promptly fell in love with it.

She got married at St Philip and St James' church in Leckhampton and lives in a lovingly-restored terrace in Tivoli with her husband Mark, who works for GE, and two children, Lily, six, and Jude, three.

"Even when I was a nurse I used to make wedding dresses for friends and do creative bits and bobs," says Catherine.

But it was having children which really made up her mind to go into business making funky retro pictures, gifts for children, colourful tea towels, aprons and bags with witty slogans.

"I really wanted to be around while the kids were little," says Catherine, 37.

"Lily was starting school so I just had this idea and made a few things. One of my friends had a christening and I made a picture for her and different ideas came together at the same time.

"Then at Christmas I made a lot of pictures and had a little sale and that went really well so I booked a stand at Sudeley Castle and quite a few shops approached me about stocking my stuff. It's just grown from there."

Catherine's eye-catching pastel coloured aprons are now sold at Pod in Montpellier and The Art Group publish her card designs which are available at Boots. A buyer from Habitat has commissioned her to produce some prints and her pieces have been featured in Ideal Home and The Times' Style magazine.

"It's been a little bit mad trying to keep up with it all," laughs Catherine as we chat in her workshop, which is essentially a converted room in her house.

This is where everything happens from pressing babygrows on her ironing board which is clad in a cover by Cath Kidston (one of her favourite designers) to picking up orders from the Pedlar and Not on the High Street websites, which sell her products, and packing everything up to post out to customers.

There is a large mirror with rose lights dangling off it, a chandelier and floral cushions scattered over a leather sofa. It's a gorgeous place to work but Catherine admits it can get a bit manic at times. She relies on her family and friends to keep her grounded.

"My children think it's quite cool. I've named a card after them – Lily Loves Shoes, which she is very proud about, and Judosauraus Rex."

"It's quite hard doing the whole business from home but my husband helps me and I'll ask my friends what they think about new ideas."

Catherine's next project is to go into children's wear and she's also working on a book.

"My friend lives in Sydney and she even saw some of my cards," says Catherine. "It's been brilliant, I feel really pleased about the way it's built up and all come at the right time."

■ For details visit www.catherinecolebrook.com