What’s in a name?

Lynette Blythe cherishes the memory of daughter Elenor Rose, who tragically died when she was just four days old.

So naming her bridalwear business in Marsh after her little girl was a difficult decision to take, but one which Lynette has never regretted.

“The shop has Elenor’s name above the door,” says Lynette. “She would have been 11 this year. When I was thinking of a name for the shop, I really wanted to call it Elenor Rose, but I was in two minds about it. I didn’t want to ‘tarnish’ her name. But a friend convinced me that it was the right thing to do.

“People ring and ask to speak to Elenor or ask whether Elenor is my mum’s name. But it’s just really nice that people see her name and everyone is saying her name for all the right reasons.”

The beautifully decorated shop at Westbourne Road also evokes happy memories of Lynette’s younger brother Michael, who passed away from lymphoma, a form of cancer of the blood, last September, at the age of 30.

Michael helped to decorate the shop and Lynette says: “Being here just reminds me of some of the silly things we used to do.”

Lynette is also raising money for research into lymphoma by competing in next year’s Great North Run – despite the handicap of fracturing a vertebrae in a fall at home.

“I’ve found a personal trainer and I go to the the gym once a week,” she says. “I want to get to the stage where I can give something back. I want to be able to look up and say to Michael ‘I told you I’d do it!’”

Lynette Blythe at Elenor Rose Bridal, Westbourne Road, Marsh, Huddersfield.

For Lynette and family, losing Michael is “something we still have to get over”. But she adds: “It has brought us close together as a family.”

Time spent with her parents, her husband Wes, son Dominic and daughters Elleese and Lola is time to be cherished. “We spend time in the garden, going for walks and meals out,” says Lynette.

Lynette grew up in Golcar and attended Colne Valley High School. “I always wanted to be a travel agent,” she says. “I don’t know why. I think it’s because I like holidays!”

She got an apprenticeship with Sunseekers in Wood Street in Huddersfield town centre and each Thursday attended the Travel and Tourism College in Leeds. When the conmpany went out of business, 17-year-old Lynette joined Travelworld at Aspley before moving to the My Travel branch at The Woolshops, Halifax.

After 10 years in the travel business, Lynette got a job with a company looking after corporate clients attending F1 races. “I love Formula 1,” says Lynette. The job took her to famous tracks in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Abu Dhabi. Another highlight was siting down to dinner with racing driver Mark Webber.

Lynette went back to travel agency work while setting up her bridalwear business – working three days a week at the travel agent’s and three days on her own business. Eventually, she took the plunge.

“The bridal shop was getting so busy that I had to make the move,” she says.

Uncertain whether she was doing the right thing, Lynette sought advice from Huddersfield Town commercial director Sean Jarvis.

She says: “He gave me a ‘kick up the backside’ by saying he had confidence in me. He said ‘I think you’ll make it; you deserve to make it’

“I went to talk to him on the Thursday and I handed in my notice at the travel agents’ the following Monday,”

Says Lynette; “Sean is the first person I’d email for advice. It’s nice that people take an interest.” Lynette repays his help by supporting the Town Foundatino and its early morning breakfast clubs.

After almost three years in business, Lynette moved her bridalwear shop from Waterloo to bigger premises at Westbourne Road, Marsh.

Lynette Blythe at Elenor Rose Bridal, Westbourne Road, Marsh, Huddersfield.

“My business was above a furniture shop so I had to work really hard to get people through the door,” she says. “Westbourne Road is one of the busiest roads in Huddersfield so it made sense to come here.

“The shop has two big windows and at night when we leave the lights on and with the window displays the shop just sells itself. I love being here.”

Elenor Rose does a brisk trade with local brides, but also attracts customers from further afield. “We have people travelling from all over to come here,” says Lynette. “We have had three brides from London whose families live around here, others from Sunderland and Liverpool – and even from Cyprus after one of my brides was married out there.”

Lynette gains most of her customers through referrals on Facebook, with customers commenting on her friendly style. She’s always ready to put the kettle on and has even been known to turn travel agent again to help couples book their honeymoons.

“I had a bad experience myself with a wedding dress shop,” she says. “I thought it would be nice to have a shop where it was ‘laid back’ and felt more like going to a friend’s house.

“It’s nice because you get to know the people and their families. I was like that at the travel agents. I’m still in contact with some of my customers from those days.”

Lynette has never forgotten a valuable lesson from her days behind the desk. One day, at five minutes to closing time, a couple entered the tavel agency where Lynette was working.

She says: “Looking at them, I thought ‘that’s all I need – they’ve come to book a holiday at Butlins’. It turned out they had won £3m on the lottery and I ended up booking them a £19,000 holiday. They came back several times to book cruises and trips to Disneyland.

“We had a team talk at work the next day about why we should never look down on anyone – and never judge a book by its cover.”

Role: Owner

Age: 38

Family: Married to Wes with Dominic, 20, daughters Elleese,

17, and Lola, eight

Car: Mini Cooper

Holidays: Somewhere sunny where we can switch off recharge our batteries! We go to Turkey quite often and we have holidayed in Florida.

Work: Bridal, prom and evening wear

Site: Westbourne Road, Marsh

Phone: 01484 443193

Email: elenorrosebridal@gmail.com

Website: www.elenorrose-bridal.co.uk