WOMEN who commission work from Jacey Lamerton's handmade handbags company, Alfie Sixpence, don't have to flip a coin and hope.

Jacey, who works from her home in Kelfield, says: "With the bespoke bags, individual clients contact me to create a bag to complement a specific outfit often for a wedding, the races, a christening or a ball.

"There is a specific Alfie Sixpence style, but I consult closely with the client on colour, size and decoration and create a bag just for them."

Now Jacey, who also sells an off-the-peg range, is hoping to bag a couple of titles at The Press Business Awards 2006 for Small Business Of The Year and the Women In Enterprise Award.

Jacey started her venture in October 2004 at a busy time - when younger son, Bertie, was just six months old and her elder son, Joe, was two. Her husband, Garry, was in the throes of setting up his own merchandising advice company.

But even though she sorts her work around them, the business has attracted huge interest. She has been asked to design a range for Leeds-based vintage website, Steptoes Dog, and is now in talks to supply boutiques in York, London and Dublin.

In an attempt to catch up with her waiting list, Jacey is just about to sign up her first outworker.

Prices for her hats start at £80 and depend on the fabric and trimmings used. Bespoke bags are made from the finest satins, silks and velvets and then trimmed with silk flowers, feathers, beads and ribbons.

She said: "I loathe the fact that Britain's high streets are dominated by chain stores, stocked with mass-produced clothes. One of the things I love about York is that we have some wonderful little boutiques and fabulously creative people."