A TALENT for song writing when a part of high school band Reflection led Kris May (pictured) to towards his new business start-up.

The former Fairwater High School, Cwmbran, student began his career in the town's Asda supermarket but fate soon intervened.

He said: "I suffered a tendon injury in my knee and needed six weeks rest.

"At home I was bored and started exploring ways in which I could become self-employed. "The WDA was advertising a helpline at the time and I used it.

"I also ran my idea past Bob Griffin at Newport and Gwent Enterprise."

The essence of Kris's idea was for a range of premium quality greetings cards featuring his own unique verses.

"The advice I received was to do some test marketing and I was offered a free stall at the Taste of Enterprise scheme at Newport's indoor market.

The test went well and about this time Kris received further help from an unexpected quarter - his mum, Julie.

"Mum has always had a flair for design - to the extent that friends are always asking her for advice about decorating their houses.

"One day she saw me designing some cards and made a few suggestions. Since then she has been helping me out on the design front as much as she can."

The cards come in a range of colours and are all entirely handmade with ribbons and small accessories such as cute wooden numbers.

Kris presented his business plan to The Prince's Trust awards panel and secured a £1,800 loan with a £200 grant to top it off.

He has invested the money in presentation aids such as perspex display cabinets which hold a good selection of his cards and would look good on the counter of any store selling premium goods.

His next challenge is finding some local outlets to stock his cards.

"I did have my cards on the lingerie stall EVE at Newport Market but unfortunately it ceased trading.

"I want to establish a range of outlets, some of which will be card shops, while others will simply be nice retail or leisure environments."

The deal is a simple one, Kris sells the cards for £1.50 to the retailers and they sell the cards to the public for £3.

The challenge is for this 20-year-old to get that initial foot-in-the-door.

He said: "I'm young and I have to overcome existing trading relationships.

"Some retailers do not believe their customers will buy cards for £3 but, encouragingly, all have said that they think the quality justifies it."

With the aid of local IT company Spear IT, Kris has just launched a website for his business which you can visit on www.just-4-u.co.uk