A COUPLE who started a Helmsley furniture showroom "in a moment of madness" are celebrating 18th birthday of both their business and their son.

Husband and wife team Jeremy and Jane Dzierzek are heralding the anniversary of Westway Country Furniture, which specialises in prestige oak.

They left behind their respective careers in engineering and administration in what they describe as "a moment of madness" to open the business on the same day that their son, Matthew, was born.

At first it was dubbed Westway Pine, selling furniture from the front room of their Helmsley home. As the business developed and began restoring antique pine furniture, they started looking for larger premises in the town.

Today, as Westway Country Furniture, it operates from 1,800 sq ft premises on Carlton Lane, where by way of celebration, the couple have launched a new range of handmade English pippy oak furniture.

Updated: 11:26 Friday, August 05, 2005