PICK a card, any card - Merle Smart will have one for every occasion and, if she hasn't, she'll make one especially for you. All Merle's SmartCards are hand made, either in Merle's shop in Yarm, or as she sits alongside her barrow in Darlington's Cornmill Centre.

The cards cover every eventuality. Merle says: "I recently was asked to make one to celebrate an adoption, and I've done a few for triplets. They're the sort of cards you can't find in the usual shops, so it's good to be able to make them."

SmartCard started by accident about five years ago, thanks to a bit of charity work.

"I'd been working for an osteopath and when my children were grown up I had time to do a bit of voluntary work so I started helping out at Teesside Hospice.

"When they had a craft fair, I made 12 cards as my bit. I don't know why really because, although I'm quite handy and I've always done a bit of sewing, I've never done that sort of thing before."

The cards were snapped up immediately and word spread. People kept asking her to make more and then she took a stall at a craft fair and found cards were selling as quickly as she could make them.

She took a stall in Helmsley, travelled back and forth from her home in Yarm and watched her house be gradually taken over by cards.

"Every cupboard and drawer was full of cards or the flowers, paper or motifs to go on them. The lounge was full of cards drying. In the garage there's a treadle machine for cutting out shapes and as for the spare bedroom... "

But now she's in her workshop in Yarm, above Ruby Snowden Antiques where she can work in wonderfully organised peace, with a showroom where people can come and discuss orders. She's also done things other than cards, including orders of service for weddings.

Cards start at £1, with very special gift tags at 40p. The most popular cards are the 3D boxed ones featuring flowers or teddies, or wedding cards with a bride and groom. Prices for those range from £4.99 to £6.99 and they can be personalised. Most of them don't have messages on the front "because often people like to frame them".

As business has grown, so the rest of the family has become involved - husband Dave, student daughter and even Merle's father, currently off ill, but keen to get back to the barrow.

"It's all been a bit of a shock to the system really," says Merle. "But it's lovely dealing with people with something to celebrate.

"Mind you, I haven't been asked for a divorce card yet."

* SmartCards has a barrow in the Cornmill, Darlington for two weeks of most months. They are there today, tomorrow, all of next week and then the week beginning February 25. From February 11 to 16, they are in the Cleveland Centre in Middlesbrough.

The shop is at 10, High Street in Yarm and is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm. They also do mail order. Tel: 01642 658003 / 07711 559248.