OWNERS of an art shop celebrated 18 years of business with a party surrounded by the people who have made it a success.

At least 100 people were expected to join Helen Dancer and Stephen Bird at The Art Gallery, in Victoria Road, Ruislip Manor, on Friday (30) night to celebrate the anniversary of the business.

Speaking last Thursday (29), Mrs Dancer said: "In Ruislip Manor, with a business like ours, it is difficult, but we are pleased we are still here. It's like being in a business community because we are all small business owners and there's a slot of support.

"You can walk down the high street and see people you have known for 20 years and that is really nice. It's like being in a village rather than a high street.

"The Ruislip Manor Chamber of Commerce has really brought everyone together as well."

Mr Bird owned an interior design company when he decided to open the gallery with Mrs Dancer.

She said: "He asked me to join him and being young I thought I could do it. He put the money up and I opened the shop and it went from there.

"Five years ago we were doing so well that we decided to move across the road to where we are now, because it is a bigger premises. We could have moved anywhere but everyone knew us in Ruislip Manor and we didn't want to see bye to them."

However, like many businesses, the gallery has been affected by the credit crunch because people do not need what they provide.

Mrs Dancer said: "Two years ago we made a conscious move to go back to how it was 15 years ago when galleries sold different pieces of art work so no gallery looked the same.

"Big dealers then took over and you would end up seeing the same art work everywhere. "That was killing us because we couldn't compete with the big guys so we decided to get original work in by national artists and that has been our saving grace.

"We are not taking anywhere near what we should be but we are actively trying to keep the wheels turning. We are still trading and hanging on in there and that is good. That is not being negative, it's just being realistic.

"We are doing well for the climate. A lot of other galleries we know are shutting shop or retiring early because it's just so hard."