WHO needs Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen when you've got Helen Emanuel?

The 49-year-old is Whitstable's answer to the television designer, famous for his appearances on interior design show Changing Rooms, and has run Emanuel's in Tankerton Road for almost 20 years.

The shop is an Aladdin's Cave of treasure and opening it was the realisation of a childhood dream for the mum of two. Liz Crudgington found her among the fabrics for chat.

Your shop is like a Tardis - does it feel like 20 years since you opened?

Not at all! The shop is lovely but some people still don't realise we're here, even after 20 years! Last week I met a woman who lives round the corner who had no idea we existed and had been going all over the place to get her fabric. I see John Lewis as our main competitor because they have such a wide range but people come to us for a more personal service.

Have you always been interested in fabric?

I've always loved all kinds of arts and crafts. I wanted to be an artist but it didn't happen. I was looking after my ill parents and I had to go out to work rather than art college. I got there in the end, I just did it the wrong way round!

I've always made things. If we went to the beach I would pick up shells and make something with them. I also used to do a lot of decorating at home because my parents were ill so I learnt skills quite early on and met people like upholsterers and curtainmakers.

I used to design stuff for Berkertex Brides which was quite fun. I didn't design my own dress though, I got married when I was 18 and I was quite naive about things like that.

Have you always been in Whitstable?

I've lived here longer than anywhere else. We moved in 1984 and my husband Gary has strong links with the area. His family always came down as caravanners and hop pickers before that. My brother moved down, then my aunt and it's such a lovely place we wanted to follow them. I've always been a country person and I wasn't happy living in London.

I started working from home when we moved down here but it quickly took over the house. Almost every room had something in. There were tracks under the kids beds and I had the garage converted into a workroom, as well as one of the other bedrooms and my stuff was all over the ground floor. It got to the stage where we had to decide whether to get a shop or to stop doing it so we decided to go for the shop.

Was that quite a daunting decision?

It felt like the right thing to do. We were careful not to over exert ourselves and we decided to buy a shop rather than rent so we had more security. We lived above the shop to begin with, and extended the shop and the flat. We're not money grabbing and sometimes I think we don't charge enough for jobs but we care more about making the customers happy so they will come back. We have some customers who keep coming back until we've done their whole house - then they start all over again! And we've even got some customers who we worked with as a couple, then they split up and we work with both people and their new partners which I think is a lovely vote of confidence for us, even though it feels a bit strange at first!

What's the best part of the job?

I enjoy designing the projects the best. But I also love working with the customers and getting to know them and what's right for their homes.

Sometimes we might be the only person our customer sees all day, especially if they are elderly. We like to spend time chatting to them - I see it as giving something back to the town who have helped us survive for 20 years here. Sometimes we just pop in to make sure they are okay.

We've also got a great team here. It's like a big family. Most of them have been here a long time and make sure we really offer a personal service.

Have you been involved with any particularly memorable jobs?

We did a massive house in Rye from top to bottom and it was great to work on. We've been to Switzerland, France and finished some lovely jobs in this country as well. I've worked with other interior designers on some celebrities' homes but I don't like name dropping so I won't tell you who.

What about your own house?

I never get time to do it! It needs decorating but I might have to get someone in. There are so many things I like I find it hard to make up my mind sometimes.

Tell me about your family.

My son Gary works with us. He was a Butlins Redcoat for a while and he still sings - in fact he's appearing at the Yantze restaurant in Tankerton soon. But he wanted to get involved in the business and he built our website and does very well. Our other son was in the TA and was called up to Iraq for a year. He's working in a port now.

What was your first job?

I was a hairdresser. I enjoyed it but I developed some health problems that meant I couldn't stand up all the time so I had to do something else. That's when I ended up in banking for a while, until I moved down here. It wasn't what I wanted to do but it was very good for me because it made me confident with accounts which is important when you run your own business.

Would you change anything about Whitstable?

I'd like Tankerton to get more attention. It often feels like the poor relation. I don't think we have ever had a full complement of shops along here. It's difficult for traders and I think if you are not in the service industry you would suffer. It's the wrong location for retail alone. I think the arrival of Tesco in Tankerton is brilliant because it brings so many more people to the area. I'm not sure I could say the same about Domino's Pizza though!

What do you do when you're not working?

I have an elderly father to look after, and I also enjoy sports. I'm involved in the Canterbury Netball League after joining a mums' team at St Mary's School. I used to play goalkeeper or goal defence but I umpire now.

For more information call 01227 770039 or visit www.emanuels.co.uk