The huge popularity of fashionable countrywear has come at a good time for Zara. Jenny Needham reports.

IT was a love of all things horsey that led 39-year-old Donna Dobson to open Zara Countrywear, in Barnard Castle. Ironically, sales are going so well, she has little time now to ride.

“Things are going really well,” says Donna. “Right from being a little girl, it was my dream to open a shop selling horsey gear. I used to spend hours in the tack shop over the road.”

But Zara – named after Donna’s two-and-a-half year old daughter – isn’t just for horsey types. Countrywear is big in the city now and all sorts, from ladies who lunch to busy farmers’ wives, beat a track to her door. “With last winter being so bad, I got a lot of ladies in who wanted to be warm, but also wanted to look nice,” says Donna.

The shop stocks Toggi, Harry Hall, Chukka, Lazy Jacks and Alice Collins, among other labels, and Hunter wellies will be making an appearance soon. “They’ve been a nightmare to get hold of. They’re so fashionable that Harrods and Fenwick and big stores were putting in huge orders,” says Donna.

Some of the most unusual items in the shop are the Joey D bags. “He’s huge in New York,” says Donna. The quirky bags are made from recycled jackets, curtains, upholstery materials, cartridges and kit bags. Each one is unique. Donna also sells more horsey items, such as bits and other tack, but not everything is in the shop. She also sells on her website, which is “ticking over nicely”.

Busy Donna also does the books for the other family business, plant hire, as well as looking after Zara, who has inherited her mum’s love of horses. “There is war on if I don’t let her ride down to the field,” says Donna.

PICK OF THE SHOP

‘Iwould have to have something by Toggi, who make shirts, jumpers and jackets. They are such good value and so classic you can get them out of the wardrobe year after year and enjoy wearing them.”

■ Zara Countrywear, 20 Market Place, Barnard Castle.

Tel: 01833 -630922

21 years at the top

BEAUTY At The Top beauty salon on Northgate, in Darlington, is celebrating 21 years this summer. The tranquil haven is based directly above Hons hairdressing and is owned by Christine Blakeburn.

It was while she was studying art at college that Christine decided to go into the beauty business. “I wasn’t a typical art student,”

says the 42-year-old. “I always kept up-to-date with the latest fashion and would never go to college without my make-up and hair all done.”

The salon offers a variety of treatments – facials, massage, manicure and waxing, the non-invasive lunchtime facelift CACI – as well as pamper days for special occasions. Her prices are very competitive ranging from £6 for an eyebrow shape to a full body massage for £25.

■ To book contact the salon on 01325-369149.

INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed artist Julia Burns will be selling original art at affordable prices at the Yorkshire Show, in Harrogate, from July 13 to 15. Julia, whose large abstract canvases sell for up to £5,000, also produces small, quirky original animal paintings, featuring hens, owls, pigs, geese and mice, that cost as little as £28 each and are fast becoming collectors' items. Based near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, Julia says: "Every one is different." She can be contacted on 01439-770496.

redhenoriginals.com

■ DESIGNERS’ Marketplace is returning tomorrow for a big summer special showcasing over 30 stalls at Middlesbrough town hall crypt, from 11am to 4pm. You’ll find art, prints, photography, textiles, fashion, accessories, ceramics on sale direct to the public, minus gallery and boutique mark-ups.

Middlesbrough’s new tearoom, The Olde Young Teahouse, will also be taking a stall to promote its 60 flavours of tea and its home-made cakes.