"I must have been a magpie in a previous life!" laughs Fran Jordan.

Fran's squirrelling' instinct stems from rifling through her mum's button tin as a child.

Inspired by the colours, shapes and textures, Fran's childhood interest has developed into a pleasurable pastime - only the bits and bobs she now frequently sifts through tend to be the beads and accessories she buys from charity shops and recycles and customises.

"I've always worn costume jewellery and beads and I thought it couldn't be too difficult to make my own," says Fran. "I started making things and seeing how other things were made. I taught myself."

Creating her own glass beads sounds an intricate and delicate operation. "I started to hire a studio to do them. I use a very powerful blow torch and a long rod of glass, about 2ft long - the glass is sourced in Venice," she explains. "I heat it in the flame and the glass melts under the heat. I then twirl it round on the mandrel and it moulds into a bead shape. As it cools I keep turning it, the colours return and it looks fantastic.

"Everything I do is different. I don't like mass-produced things, I like things that are one-off," adds Fran.

Encouraged by friends who teased her that she could never wear all her creations, mum-of-two Fran decided to pass on the benefits of her artistic skills to others.

The result was Cakewalk, a collaboration between Fran and her pals Emma Straw and Helen Cotterill, who she met through their mutual love of handicrafts. The trio were finalists in Enterprise Island, a Dragon's Den-style scheme organised in conjunction with Bradford Council to encourage local entrepreneurs.

Fran says the shop, in her home town of Ilkley, showcases the friends' art and craft creations.

"We have all had an ambition to open our own shop. I've always had an ambition to showcase the work of other designers as well and we are able to do that," says Fran.

Where did the name Cakewalk come from? "The name is Emma's idea. It is based on an old African dance - it's a bit like deportment - and the winner wins a cake. It's a bit quirky and the things we're selling are quirky and all made by talented Yorkshire people."

They launched the business just before Christmas, giving customers chance to pick up something a little bit different as gifts. "It's been fantastic. People really like the fact we are selling one-off things. They love vintage, they know it is not mass-produced," says Fran.

Valentine's Day is their next big push and will be the perfect occasion for Fran to fashion her creativity into one of her favourite emblems, the heart motif. "Hearts are a major motif. Visually they are very attractive," says Fran.

Spirals are another favourite. "That goes back to mazes and stone carvings - for me spirals have a mythical appeal but they're a strong design as well."

Regardless of style and design, Fran believes the popularity of the unusual pieces she and her friends sell is down to the obsession with recycling.

"I think that is very much part of it," says Fran. "And people are beginning to really want something that is individual and makes a statement. You know you will not bump into somebody wearing the same thing.

"We've just had some items of vintage clothing and people love the idea that it has some history to it."

Recycling is one thing. Customising and reconstructing or repairing precious pieces tucked away out of sight in a box instead of twinkling on the wearer are possibly the most exciting and satisfying assignments for Fran.

She tells me about the set of broken cultured pearls she's currently working on for a customer. "She wants them remaking,using other beads," says Fran. "I want to make something more wearable and that is what I love doing.

"I love taking something that has been lying on a dusty shelf and making it more useful again."

I'm curious to learn more about Fran's style. "Very colourful Boho chic," she says.

"I like to think it's not tatty but smarter," she adds. "It's something you can dress up as well as dressing down."

Fran believes she was born with an artistic flair. "I think I've been arty from the womb!" she laughs. "I did a degree in fine art and went through the stage of teaching and illustrating cartoons.

"I still do a bit of adult teaching and was a full-time cartoonist for a while but then I started doing a course in silver smithing at Bradford College. I've been doing that part-time for three years and I'm also doing a course on Precious Metal Clay, which is fine silver, at home."

Felting is another of her skills which she uses to great affect customising accessories she buys. "I buy things from charity shops. Some of the things are donated or some are new things I buy from the catalogue.

"I'm always keeping my eyes open for anything that interests me like the recycled scarves. I put the felt details on them and turn them into something unusual and sell them so they find another life, another home instead of being lost in a box."

  • Fran and her friends are hosting a Valentine's bazaar at Cakewalk on Saturday, February 9, from 10am to 5.30pm. For more information visit www.franjordanjewellery.co.uk