IT'S funny how an idea can be hatched, can pupate for a few decades and then emerge and take off so many years later.

But this is the case with a marvellous idea which has winged its way across the channel, alighting in the business hands of brother and sister, Miles and Amanda Ackroyd, and director, Stephanie Harrison.

Easy Tiger is the name of the company which will have lepidopterists fluttering, for it has bought the exclusive rights to market paper butterflies in Britain known as magic flyers.

They were invented by Spanish-born artist Mariano Vilaplana, in France around 30 years ago but he didn't exhibit them until recently. Since then, the butterflies, which measure some 10cms by 10cms, have become all the rage across Europe and the United States.

They are "wound" up by a simple rubber-band mechanism and literally fly out of cards when they are opened

Mr Ackroyd, who, with his sister, was involved in setting up Nordale Foods Ltd, together with its subsidiary company the Original Yorkshire Pudding Company, saw the butterflies on sale in shops in the south of France and bought a few to bring home.

Miss Ackroyd takes up the story: "When Stephanie and I first saw them we thought they were marvellous; so simple a design but so effective and perfect for anyone wanting to advertise their business.

"If you were promoting a product and wanting to send details to an outlet, you would simply wind the butterfly up and place it in a card. When opened the butterfly unwinds and flies out -- what better way than this could you find to grab attention?"

Even though the design looks simple, we are told that they are actually a highly technical invention.

"Each one is hand made in China," explains Miss Ackroyd. "They cannot be mass-produced because the wing size and overall weight is crucial in its effectiveness."

"There was an address in France on one of the wings so I sent a fax asking if they had an agent working for them in England and if not, would they be interested? The reply I got was: 'no we haven't, and yes we would!'"

That was in November, and a lot of faxing and phoning has been done since to launch the product, as well as a trip to France to meet the makers.

Promoting their product at an international exhibition at Olympia, London, brought about a serious amount of interest from major companies. They have also clinched a £30,000 deal with a group dealing in summer breaks, explained Miss Ackroyd.

"Harvey Goldsmith's publishers and Chrysallis records are other interested outlets," she adds.

"The giving of pens and key-rings is now dated, but no-one has so far given a negative response to these paper butterflies. The potential is huge.

"We are also looking into the possibility of bats for Halloween, hearts for Valentine's day and Christmas angels, but that is for the future."

To market their product Mr and Miss Ackroyd have converted an old farm office in a farmhouse which is the home of their director, Stephanie Harrison and her husband.

The venture has the backing of Barclays Bank who have been impressed with the new gizmo saying they are sure it will take off in a big way.

Barclays Small Business Manager Colin Marshall said: "It's not every day that you come across a product as unusual and innovative as this."

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.