By REBECCA DIXON

Published at 09:41, Friday, 12 March 2010

A HUSBAND and wife team have set up in business together at a new development in the Allen Valleys.

Joint ventures: Chris and Joyce Charlton.

Chris and Joyce Charlton are sharing a unit at the former Smelt Mills site just outside Allendale.

Downstairs, Joyce has her physiotherapy practice, while upstairs, Chris has opened a kitchen showroom.

Chris said: “I took early retirement from my job as the director of a kitchen furniture manufacturer five years ago but my contacts followed me and kept asking me to do bits and pieces for them so I decided to go back into the business.”

The business name, Red Onion Kitchens, came from a flash of inspiration.

Chris said: “I didn’t like the sound of Chris’s Kitchens or names like that and the name red onion came to me from nowhere. It fits nicely with the culinary theme though and I’ve used an image of a red onion on my business cards.”

The barn-style loft of the workshop offers plenty of scope to show off his designs.

Meanwhile downstairs, wife Joyce is also discussing lifestyles but for very different reasons.

A qualified physiotherapist, she has been working in the industry for 25 years.

Having worked in both the NHS and private sectors, Joyce now has her own clinic with a branch in Sunderland and the new practice at Allen Mills.

She said: “I treat back and neck problems including whiplash and I work with sports injuries and work related injuries as well.”

Joyce has already had a good response to the new clinic and she said: “People seem pleased that there is a service in the local area that they don’t need to travel too far to reach.”

Customers can also purchase art work from the kitchen showrooms.

All the artwork has been created by Jane Murray.

Joyce said: “We are acting as a temporary gallery space for Jane’s work; it looks great in our kitchens here and her work is all of fruit and vegetables so buyers often display it in their kitchens at home.”

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk