Sisters capture beauty of Cambridge on their Christmas cards

Cambridge resident Fay Ostler and her sister, Pamela Walker, turn their beautiful paintings of the city into Christmas cards.

Featuring iconic Cambridge landmarks such as King’s College and the Round Church, the cards are for sale in, among other places, Primavera in King’s Parade.

Originally from Darlington, Fay has lived in Cambridge since 1989.

“We both had always made art,” she says, “and when I left work and Pamela, who was a teacher, decided to leave teaching, we thought ‘Why don’t we do a bit of art and see if we can sell it?’

“We mainly do fairs at Christmas. We started off doing paintings and felted art with embroidery and we did a Christmas fair just to see how we did.

“We did quite well and people wanted Christmas decorations and pictures. Pamela did a few paintings purely for Christmas cards and birthday and wedding cards.”

They decided to “take a chance on it” and got the cards printed professionally.

“Whether it’s a Christmas card, a decoration, a painting or a print, the Round Church always sells out, or is very popular,” says Fay.

Fay and Pamela, who still lives in Darlington but makes regular visits to Cambridge, first sold their cards before the pandemic.

During Covid, Country Living magazine accepted their work for online summer and Christmas fairs.

But it is decorations that are the sisters’ best-selling items. Fay and Pamela’s paintings and felted art are also for sale in Primavera, under the Greengage and Riley business name.

“Now we’re in the tourist information office as well - that’s a new little outlet for us,” says Fay.

The sisters have plans to expand with colourful cards to complement their watercolours and pastels.