A SOFA is a sofa, a rug is a rug, but accessories tell the story of what a home-owner is all about.

With that in mind, Anita Robinson and her daughter, Suzanna, have just launched the Poppy & Rose Vintage Boutique in Bishopthorpe Road, York.

And it has taken off so quickly that she is pitching for the New Business Of The Year title and the Women In Enterprise accolade in The Press Business Awards 2010.

For Anita, a collector of vintage pieces, her long-cherished dream came true when she successfully bid for the premises at auction.

Within two months they transformed the former estate agency premises into a haven for homebuyers and such was the public’s reaction that it has exceeded all business plan targets.

Shoppers, it seemed, loved the perfume soap-scented atmosphere along with stock ranging from colourful crockery, a cast iron bath rescued from a Glasgow tenement and rose-print towels to a ceramic sink, patchwork quilts and a white iron bed.