A YEAR out spent travelling provided a Worcester couple with the inspiration to open their own jewellery shop when they returned.

The result is Fatlip - a name conjured from waves breaking on the ocean - which opens its doors in New Street on Saturday, February 11, just in time for Valentine's Day.

Featuring the skilled handiwork of South American and South East Asian families, it offers a range of attractive and reasonably priced jewellery and accessories.

Run by Steve and Sarah Watmore from Barbourne, Fatlip was born during a year spent travelling from Ecuador to Cambodia.

"We gave up our jobs and left Worcester in 2003 knowing that when we returned we wanted to work for ourselves," said Steve.

"We chose jewellery because it is light to transport and could be found in every country we went to."

After scouring local markets in all the 10 countries that they visited, the couple returned to the UK in 2004 and began selling the jewellery at music festivals. A website soon followed and led to the establishment of a wholesale business early in 2005.

"Now we've found a great location to sell directly to the people of Worcester and anybody visiting the city," Sarah added.

"Our jewellery comes from small family businesses that we stumbled across, most of whom just had individual market stalls targeting tourists. Since we began selling their products, we are delighted to have been able to help the families grow their businesses, and always look forward to seeing them on return visits."

Some of the items are one-off buys from very out-of-the-way places that they are unlikely to revisit.

"There is one bag we sell that is the brightest and most detailed we have ever come across," said Sarah. "We'd gone on a day trip to Bac Ha market in the remote highlands of northern Vietnam, home to the Flower H'mong tribe.

"The women there carry these fabulous drawstring bags to carry supplies on the long walk home through the mountains. We surprised the rest of the group and our guide by returning to the minibus with 50 of them."