TWO Chobham women who have been friends since childhood are running a business selling vintage plant pots after struggling to find stylish ones for their own homes.

Jess Sawyer and Lucie Thornton set up Queens Of Green Design during lockdown after discussing how they could swap their 9 to 5 jobs for a joint business that they could work around their families.

“Like many others during the pandemic, we had found ourselves buying more and more houseplants, but we struggled to find any interesting pots to put them in,” Jess said.

“Sharing an eye for design and a love of antiques, we decided to see if vintage pots could fill the gap and were amazed at the variety and quality on offer.”

They started by communicating on Instagram with people they knew and then built a website, which is primarily where they sell.

Jess said she and Lucie buy the pots at car boot sales, markets and shops with antiques and collectibles.

“We have broadly similar tastes,” she said, “although I’m more into mid-century ceramics and Lucie really loves floral chinoiserie.”

They have sold at various pop-up shops, and Jess said the pop-ups give them a chance to meet their customers, who are across Surrey and the South East.

“We post the pots which we package incredibly carefully. Packing a vintage or antique ceramic comes with its risks but we’ve probably posted up to 300 and not one has been broken.”

Jess said the friendship has survived the rigours of running a business: “We’ve stayed really good friends. We complement each other and both really appreciate that we get to work together and we get to do it around our families.”

They met after their mothers became friends through a parents’ group.

“Lucie’s four years younger than me and we grew up pretty much like sisters. We went on holiday together, spent lots of time together and attended two of the same schools,’’ Jess said.

The family friendship has passed on to a third generation through Jess’s daughters, aged six and nine, and Lucie’s five-year-old.

“They’ve got a similar relationship to us and it’s nostalgic seeing them playing together.”