A venture born at the school gates; shopping Mums set up clothing business together after becoming friends while dropping kids off at school my shop Elephants and Flowers, Royal Arcade, Cardiff.

MUMS Jo Hammond and Shelley Wharf got to know each other when they were dropping their children off at the school gates.

They became such firm friends, they took the big step of going into business together.

Jo and Shelley, who have five children between them, would often talk about what sort of business they could set up.

But it was an idea that Jo had on holiday that led to the creation of Elephants and Flowers, which sells a range of nightwear, T-shirts, bags and flip flops. And their dream became a reality when their shop opened in November last year in Cardiff's Royal Arcade.

Jo was leaving her children Emer, 10, Anouk, seven, and Malachy, five, at Cwrt Rawlin school in Caerphilly, when she would bump into Shelley, wife of the Glamorgan cricketer Alex Wharf, dropping off her sons Tristan, 10 and Alf, seven.

Then Jo went on holiday to Hawaii and saw a range of funky pyjamas called David & Goliath, that was really popular and flying off the shelves.

"They have shops in London, where the products sell really well but there was no outlet anywhere in Wales," said Jo, 36, who was a hairdresser before having children.

"So we decided this is what the shop would sell and we also went for a brand called American Cats, which has featured in American programmes like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Will and Grace.

"The pyjamas and clothes are very funky and have a tongue-in-cheek edge to them."

The pair get round childcare issues, especially during the school holidays, by sharing their time between looking after the children and being in the shop.

"It works really well," admits Jo. "I can look after the children while Shelley is in the shop and then she can have them while I am in the shop."

But Jo admits it has been quite a difficult year.

"It has been very hard, the retail market just isn't very good at the moment, especially with all the work going on in Cardiff," said Jo. "But the new developments in the city will hopefully mean it will get easier in the future."

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FUNKY: Shelley Wharf at the Elephants and Flowers shop in the Royal Arcade, Cardiff PICTURE: Andrew Davies