When Christine Asher’s husband bought her a sewing machine, little did she know that it would lead to a new life.

She had no idea that the gift – bought to cheer her up during a period of illness – would result in her opening her own business, a stylish children’s boutique that is making a name for itself in Ilkley.

Herbert & Stella entices customers with its cosy, colourful interior and stylish, top-quality clothing and toys. Christine, a former doctor of Chinese medicine, loves going to work in the former cobbler’s shop, and is embracing her new, exciting career.

“I adore the shop. As soon as I went in I knew it was perfect, with its cute little windows,” she says, “The customers are lovely and all the other businesses have been so supportive and helpful.”

Christine trained in Chinese medicine at Middlesex University and Beijing University in China. Specialising in fertility treatment, she went on to have a successful career, practising from bases in Otley and Menston. But after becoming a mother she looked for a change.

“I found work came with a lot of emotional responsibility. I did well, but after I gave birth to Romilly I wanted to do something different. When she was a few weeks old, patients were coming to the house for treatment, which wasn’t always easy. I put too much pressure on myself to be there for everyone,” she says.

Christine fell ill with postnatal depression and social phobia. “It all came to a head when Romilly was about five months old,” she says, “I was really ill, and as I gradually recovered my husband bought me the sewing machine.”

Naturally creative, she quickly mastered it and set about making a play house for her daughter.

“I had been wanting to make a Wendy house for ages, so I put appliques all over inside and out. It is interactive – I made little apples and strawberries and a vegetable patch with a scarecrow. Making it gave me a focus,” she says.

Sewing, coupled with the “fantastic care” Christine received from her local healthcare services, helped her to recover.

“I didn't leave the house a lot,” she recalls. “I was very anxious and found social situations quite stressful. Sewing helped me to move away from these anxieties. I’d concentrate on what I was making at that moment.”

She learned a host of different needlecraft techniques on YouTube. “Crochet was one of them – for the Wendy house I crocheted little trails of flowers around the door.”

Once she had finished the little house, she began making vintage-inspired children’s clothes. “I joined a class at the Sewing Shed in Ilkley and learned a lot.”

Over the next few months she made clothing including pint-sized romper suits and pinafores in vintage prints.

Christine thought about selling her creations on eBay, but didn’t think she would be able to earn enough, and didn’t want to be isolated. “I realised that if I did that I’d never leave the spare room,” she says.

It was when both her parents and in-laws spoke about their struggle to find a good selection of affordable, good-quality children’s clothing locally that Christine spotted an opportunity.

Having worked in a completely different field, the idea of running a children’s boutique had to be thought through very carefully. “I realised that it would be a major life change,” she says. “I wanted to return to work and craved a challenge, but not such a pressurised role.”

With the support of her husband, chartered surveyor Tom, and their families, she decided to take the plunge. A year on, she has no regrets.

Setting up the shop, which also sells gifts, furniture and home decor, was hard work, she says, but worth it.

The shop is named after Tom’s late grandparents Herbert and Stella, who ran a haberdashery shop in Huddersfield called Asher’s The Haberdashers. “Being surrounded by fabric, pins and tape measures is clearly meant to be,” says Christine.

She has carefully chosen suppliers who combine quality with social awareness. “The background is important to me – it is good to know where something has been made and by whom.

“I love finding things that are a little bit unusual. We have some wonderful toys from Peru that were hand-knitted by artisans. They have names and little outfits,” she says.

Clothing brands include Frugi, Mayoral, Belle & Boo, Ava and Luc and Olive and Moss, while carefully-selected gifts from a range of quality suppliers including Bam Bam, Trousselier and Radio Flyer.

As well as naming the shop after them, Christine and Tom are also planning to bring Herbert and Stella’s car back into use. “We found it in Tom’s uncle’s garage. It is a Morris Traveller 1000 with wooden panels – we are going to refurbish it,” says Christine. “We’ve bought a caravan for £50 and are going to go around Yorkshire to fetes and country shows with a pop-up shop.”

Christine looks forward to a rosy future. “There is something fresh to work on every day, and I love meeting new people. It doesn’t feel like work.”