We planned a next step together!

A NEW LIFE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A SOLO AFFAIR, AS THESE COUPLES PROVE

‘WHEN I REACHED MY LATE FIFTIES, I REALISED IT WAS NOW OR NEVER’

“We turned my hobby into a business!”

RENEE KATHURIA, 60, AND PAUL BERRY, 61, LIVE IN BECCLES, SUFFOLK, AND WORKED AS GPS, BUT AFTER RETIRING THEY SET UP A JEWELLERY BUSINESS. LAST YEAR THEY OPENED THEIR SHOP, OLIVER AND J JEWELLERY, NAMED AFTER THEIR TWO CHILDREN, OLIVER, 24, AND JESSICA, 28.

RENEE SAYS THE IDEA OF OWNING A JEWELLERY SHOP HAS BEEN IN MY HEAD SINCE THE 1970S WHEN I WAS AT MEDICAL SCHOOL. I WAS ON HOLIDAY IN GREECE AND FOUND A GIFT SHOP RUN BY A GIRL SLIGHTLY OLDER THAN ME. I WAS SO IMPRESSED BY HER AND THOUGHT

I’D LOVE TO DO THIS TOO. THE IDEA STAYED WITH ME ALL THOSE YEARS. TEN YEARS AGO, I THOUGHT IT WAS TIME TO GO FOR IT, SO I TOOK A SIX-MONTH JEWELLERY COURSE WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF JEWELLERS. THE CHILDREN WERE

STILL AT SCHOOL, SO I THOUGHT THE TIME WASN’T QUITE RIGHT TO COMMIT TO THE SHOP. THEN I REACHED MY LATE FIFTIES AND REALISED IT WAS NOW OR NEVER; THAT IF I DIDN’T DO THIS THING THAT I’D BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR 30 YEARS, I’D NEVER

DO IT. I DIDN’T WANT TO LOOK BACK AND THINK, “WHAT IF?”

I WENT BACK TO THE JEWELLERY DIPLOMA COURSE IN THE EVENINGS, WORKING AS A GP BY DAY FOR A YEAR. WHEN I COLLECTED MY CERTIFICATE I WAS THE OLDEST THERE!

DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT TOGETHER AS A COUPLE IS GOOD

FOR A RELATIONSHIP. PAUL IS MY BUSINESS PARTNER AND HAS BEEN WITH ME FROM DAY ONE. FINDING THE SHOP PREMISES WAS JUST

GOOD LUCK, AS I SPOTTED THE SHOP FOR SALE. IT WAS A BIT SCARY, AS THIS WAS THE FIRST POINT AT WHICH WE COMMITTED TO START OUR BUSINESS.

WE SPENT FIVE MONTHS REFURBISHING THE SHOP AND LOOKING FOR JEWELLERY DESIGNERS, BEFORE OPENING LAST OCTOBER. WE NOW HAVE ABOUT 28 DESIGNERS AND A VERY WIDE VARIETY OF STYLES.

WE’VE NOW DONE SO MANY THINGS WE NEVER WOULD HAVE DONE AS GPS, SUCH AS VISITING JEWELLERS IN THEIR WORKSHOPS. I’M ATTENDING A SILVERSMITH COURSE, AND MAKE RINGS AND BANGLES AT HOME. IT HAS BEEN SUCH A BIG CHANGE FROM OUR PREVIOUS LIVES BUT I’M LOVING EVERY MINUTE.

I LOVE THE FACT I’VE MADE THIS

LEAP WITH PAUL – WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN VERY CLOSE, AND GOING ON THIS ADVENTURE TOGETHER HAS BEEN SO MUCH FUN.

PAUL SAYS… HAVING THE SHOP HAS BEEN RENEE’S DREAM SINCE SHE WAS A STUDENT, AND MAKING THINGS HAPPEN IS SO EXCITING. RENEE COULD HAVE DONE IT BY HERSELF, BUT IT IS SO MUCH EASIER DOING IT TOGETHER. IF WE HADN’T DONE IT, WE WOULD HAVE CARRIED ON WITH LIFE AS IT WAS, BUT NOW WE HAVE FOUND SIDES OF EACH OTHER WE NEVER KNEW EXISTED. WITH THIS ADVENTURE WE ARE GROWING TOGETHER. oliverandj.co.uk

“We made our holidays our ‘every days’!”

HELEN AND FRAZER CUNNINGHAM, 55 AND 59, LIVE ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT, WHERE THEY’VE BEEN RUNNING VINTAGE VACATIONS FOR MORE THAN 14 YEARS. THEY HAVE ONE DAUGHTER, FABER, 24.

HELEN SAYS WHEN WE BOUGHT A CLASSIC AMERICAN CARAVAN, A 1965 TRADEWIND AIRSTREAM, IN 2004, WE WERE GOING TO USE IT AS A HOLIDAY HOME ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT AND RENT IT OUT OR USE IT FOR PHOTO SHOOTS FOR EXTRA CASH. I WAS A STYLIST AND FRAZER A PHOTOGRAPHER, SO WE HAD WORKED TOGETHER, BUT NEVER PLANNED ON BUILDING A BUSINESS TOGETHER.

IT ALL CHANGED WHEN A JOURNALIST CAME TO STAY AND WROTE ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE. WE READ THE REVIEW AND JOKED THAT MAYBE WE SHOULD GET ANOTHER CARAVAN. I THOUGHT ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WOULD BE TO HAVE A WHOLE FIELD OF THESE CARAVANS. WE REALISED NOBODY HAD DONE THAT AND WE’D HAVE NO COMPETITION, SO WE BOUGHT A SECOND AIRSTREAM. WE NOW HAVE

‘THINKING ABOUT THINGS TOO MUCH STOPS YOU FROM DOING IT’

18 VINTAGE

CARAVANS. BEFORE

FABER STARTED SECONDARY SCHOOL, WE DECIDED TO LEAVE LONDON AND MOVE TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT. I THINK WE LEFT OUR PREVIOUS JOBS AT THE RIGHT TIME; I FEEL AS IF WE GAVE THEM UP BEFORE THEY GAVE US UP.

MY HUSBAND AND I GET TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME TOGETHER.

THE ONLY PROBLEM IS SOMETIMES WE FIND IT HARD TO DETACH FROM

THE BUSINESS AND ACTUALLY RELAX! FRAZER SAYS IF YOU THINK

ABOUT THINGS TOO MUCH, IT STOPS YOU DOING IT. THAT’S WHY WE JUST WENT FOR IT. WE MOVED TO THE ISLE OF WIGHT NOT BECAUSE WE WERE SICK OF LONDON; IT’S JUST THAT WE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA OF “GLAMPING”, AND THOUGHT IF WE DIDN’T DO IT, SOMEONE ELSE WOULD. MY WIFE AND I JOKE THAT SHE IS THE MANAGEMENT AND I’M THE LABOUR. BUT WE WORK SO WELL TOGETHER AND PUSH EACH OTHER. vintagevacations.co.uk