A FORMER Army officer from Mary Tavy and her business partner from Plymouth have come out of the BBC Dragon’s Den television programme with a scorching £50,000 and the support of a formidable and well connected Dragon.

Rachel Day and her friend, Merry Whitaker, walked into Dragon’s Den asking for £50,000 of capital to be invested in their business in exchange for 10 per cent of their company, which is called LoveKeepCreate.

The bespoke business takes precious pieces of clothing belonging to a loved one and turns them into a keepsake. It ‘recycles’the item into a quilt, blanket, soft stuffed animal or picture frame to remember that person.

The dynamic duo pitched their idea to Dragons - Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Nick Jenkins, Touker Sulleyman and Sarah Willingham.

The programme was aired on New Year’s Day but was actually shot in May.

Rachel said: ‘It was a terrific experience. We were nervous anyway but it didn’t help as were at the studio for 7am and we weren’t called until 4pm, so all we could do was pace the corridors and go through our presentation and all the possible questions the Dragons might ask us.’

Many a businessman and woman have seen their potential business ideas burnt to ashes under the scrutiny of the fiery ‘Dragons’ but Rachel and Merry held their nerve to attract investment offers from Nick and Sarah. However, after discussion by the infamous ‘wall’ at the back of the room, the two women chose Dragon Deborah.

Rachel said: ‘We worked out before all the scenarios and responses if the Dragons made an offer but the last thing we expected was them to agree to our original bid of 10 per cent!’

Rachel became great friends with Merry when they trained together to become Army officers at Sandhurst 13 years ago.

Her husband Chris was also in the Army, as an electrician in the Royal Signals, and now runs Day’s Electricals in Tavistock. The couple have three children - Freddie, aged six, Charlie, three and newborn Harriet.

The idea for the business was conceived when, in 2011, Rachel sent a beautiful keepsake, fashioned from her eldest son Freddie’s babygrows, to Chris, who was serving in Afghanistan. She put a picture of it on Facebook and the orders began to flood in. Merry joined her and the LoveKeepCreate company was launched in 2013.

The keepsakes appeal to people who keep special items which they no longer need — such as baby’s first hospital outfits, a wedding dress, grandad’s favourite old shirt or an old sports jumper. LoveKeepCreate turns these outfits into beautiful, bespoke keepsakes.

Well, the ladies certainly impressed Dragon Deborah Meaden with their presentation and business potential. Deborah, whose parents own the Moorland Garden Hotel in Yelverton, looked absolutely delighted when the enterprising pair chose her above the other Dragon investors.

She said: ‘I loved Rachel and Merry’s story and the very beautiful and often moving keepsakes they were designing and making - each with their own story behind them.

‘I was also pretty impressed by how quickly they had grown their business and that they understood the importance of growing in a planned and organised way.

‘The moment when the combination of great idea, well executed by good people, comes into the Den you are bound to attract a Dragon’s attention and I am pleased to say they chose to accept my offer of investment.’

Now Rachel and Merry are passionate about bringing textile keepsakes in to the mainstream keepsake market. They already are employing eight people at their base in Plymouth.

‘Being in Dragon’s Den was not all about the money, it was more about the concept and getting the idea out there nationally,’ said Rachel.

’Since the programme Deborah has been fantastic and really friendly, coming down to our base at Mutley Plain Plymouth. We’ve done a lot in the last six months and since the broadcast of Dragon’s Den on New Year’s Day and all the interest we’ve had with a three-week-old baby as well it has been really hectic!’