After years scouring the globe as a buyer for Harrods amid the hustle and bustle of the London fashion world, Susie Corker has found a quieter pace of life in Chepstow.

Susie, who now runs Furniture Smart in the town, moved to London at the age of 20 after growing up on a remote farm with her family in Kenya; a move she says was tough to deal with at first.

"It was a very big adjustment coming from Africa to London as everything seemed very grey and not what I was used to.

"Growing up in such a place was wonderful and the scenery and wildlife you encounter every day in Kenya is something you don't forget."

After a brief stint working as a model, Susie entered the business world when she was selected to introduce the famous Mary Quant fashion range to Canada.

"Mary Quant is such a well-known name in the fashion world and introducing it for the first time in Canada was a fantastic experience. I learnt a lot,"

she said.

"It is a huge country and very beautiful, so travelling through it was a great experience.

As a cultural icon Harrods is renowned throughout the world, so Susie jumped at the opportunity to become a fashion and furniture buyer for the company.

Susie says: "Almost everybody has visited Harrods once in their life and there is no other shop like it in the country.

There were 3,000 employees when I was there and it is like living in a small town.

You could live your whole life in Harrods it is so big and I must admit I got lost quite a few times when I first started.

"Mohammed Al Fayed was a fantastic boss, I think it has changed now but he would stand and look at the shop floor and if he liked what you were doing he would give you a £50 note.

"He has a fantastic personality and I very much enjoyed working for him."

After six years at Harrods Susie eventually left to take up a job with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund.

"I found Harrods to be a very unreal world so I wanted to find something grounding and put me back in the real world," she said.

"Being events organiser for Imperial Cancer Fund was just what I was after and was also very exciting.

"I had the privilege of meeting a variety of celebrities and members of the royal family while organising large balls, concerts and even the world's largest bridge tournament, which was attended by Omar Sharif."

Susie was a regular visitor to Chepstow before eventually moving to the area after her entrepreneur husband Peter set up businesses in Monmouthshire.

"It seems strange but my husband bought me a Pekinese dog for Christmas while I was in Chepstow and I just felt I could not go back to London and leave it.

I have been here ever since," she says.

"I decided I needed something to do while I was here and that is when the idea for the shop came about. I have really enjoyed establishing the business."

Susie insists she has no regrets leaving the city lights of the nation's capital for rural Monmouthshire.

She said: "In Chepstow it is certainly a lot slower paced than London but it is a lovely place to live and I have made some wonderful friends in the area."

2:17pm Friday 4th January 2008

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