A HUSBAND-and-wife team who set up a bespoke framing business is standing up to competition from China.

Chris and Amanda Abel set up Frame-Abel five years ago on Marston Moor Business Park in Tockwith, after the picture manufacturer they both worked for went out of business.

Two years ago, they opened a new showroom and workshop in the former brewery development in the centre of the village.

Amanda said they did not compete with the mass market, because there was a demand for frames for special things that did not fit into a standard frame, or need to be preserved. “There’s always a story behind what people bring in,” she said. “It’s always something special, like a drawing, or something they’ve found in the loft, like their grandfather’s army medals.”

The business works with local photographers and artists, and their work will be on display at the Tockwith Show on August 6.

Chris said: “Many framers are disappearing from the high street, but our business has grown steadily year on year and 2011 has been our best yet.”