A high street shop that has been empty for more than six years is set to open once more.

The former Femme Fatale store in Tenterden has been replaced by Raffman and Huckster.

The independent "conscious miscellany" store is run by former art stylist and Smarden resident Gea Pereira.

"There has always been a shop in me. My job as a stylist involved filling out other people's briefs, so this time I have been filling my own and doing something important to me," she said.

"The name refers to a Raffman, which is a seller of miscellaneous goods, and a Huckster, which is a sort of Del Boy character really.

"I have described it as conscious miscellany as we have such a wide variety of products available, and I'm trying to be eco-friendly with everything being consciously sourced.

"We have everything from vintage Kokeshi dolls to beautiful merino Irish linen, vegan candles, plus the refill station which is vegan-friendly."

The mum-of-two, who has lived locally for eight years, says she is "incredibly excited" to open the store, which has been left empty for more than six years after lingerie company Femme Fatale left in 2016.

"I like slow living on a small scale, and I hope the people of Tenterden will like that," she added.

"I've always loved this shop – I used to walk past it daily when it was Femme Fatale. I never went in when it was open, and then one day I decided I would try out for it.

"The landlords are fantastic and I'm really excited to open!"

While working on the front of the shop, Mrs Pereira and the decorators uncovered a slice of Tenterden's history – a sign from a 19th-century predecessor.

"We were working on the place where our sign was being planned to go, when I suggested to one of the guys that he scraped the paint off," she explained.

"To our surprise, there was glass under there and after uncovering it, we found the sign for G.W Hukins in pretty much perfect condition.

"I am a bit of a history fanatic so I dug around in the paperwork for the shop and found that Hukins was a clock- and watch-makers back in the early 1800s."

The new shop owner has pledged to leave the sign – which is thought to have been covered for more than 90 years – in place as a tribute to the history of the town.

"We did consider attempting to safely remove it and display it in the window, but it wouldn't be right," she explained.

"It has worked out fantastically well really as we did not have to change our colouring too much to fit in with it."

Raffman and Huckster is set to open in Tenterden High Street tomorrow next to the Cranbrook bakery and delicatessen.