TWO new business owners have spoken of their determination to make their mark on Devizes as another shuts up shop to concentrate on writing a book.

Linda Baker and Steve Taylor have set up Sassy Chic in Sidmouth Street and Glen Hickey and Jess Shergold are about to open a cafe called Sprout in St John's Street.

But artist Joanne May is calling time on her gallery which opened in the High Street in December, 2014, to spend time writing a book called The Hare In The Moon which she expects to take two years to complete.

She said: "My time at the gallery has been even better than I hoped with continued sales on hare prints etc and my last show a couple of months ago sold 8 originals and 25 prints in one day.

"The only reason to close the gallery is to free up time to work on the book and I hope to open another gallery in the future once the book is complete."

But newcomers Ms Baker and Mr Taylor hope they are here to stay with their home interiors shop after returning to their home town of Calne after eight years of running a bed and breakfast in the Burgundy region of France.

Ms Baker said: "In France, they are very strong on recycling and up cycling and we thought we would incorporate this ethos in our next challenge. The first challenge was finding the right town to set up our shop. We searched around but the draw to Devizes was always there.

"It is a vibrant market town with a discerning client base, we found our ideal property on Sidmouth Street and proceeded with our plans."

The next step was to source suppliers and Ms Baker, who enjoys furniture painting, is particularly pleased with Frenchie chalk and mineral paint which despite its name is a UK company. From January the shop will offer furniture painting classes.

Mr Hickey, 42, and his sister-in-law Mrs Shergold, 44, have also done their homework before deciding to open a cafe in the former video and DVD shop.

He said: "We have done extensive research and know exactly what the other coffee shops and cafes in town sell and how much they charge. We think there is a gap in the market for us."

Mr Hickey, who previously worked in IT but is an avid cook, will be concentrating on seasonal food from local producers and also offer a wide range of speciality coffees.

He said: "We will be having coffee tastings and I think it will be the excellent range that will set us apart."

He said the unusual name was suggested by one of Mrs Shergold's children. Sprouts are expected to appear in the decoration and on the menu in some form.

The cafe is due to open on Monday and will run from 10am to 4pm until Christmas after new year will be open from 8am to 5.30pm for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea.