TWO Liverpool graduates who say they were “frustrated at the lack of job opportunities” in the creative sector have launched their own business.

Liverpool Hope University graduates Emma Gilmour and Amanda Jones set up Beat City Images to sell limited edition photographic prints and works of art.

They sell to domestic customers but also hope to sell to restaurants, hotels and offices.

Ms Gilmour and Ms Jones completed their postgraduate studies at Liverpool Hope in 2008.

Ms Gilmour said: “We wanted to put our degrees to good use and had found it difficult finding other work in the recession so we decided to make our own.

“We didn’t want to leave Liverpool as it is a vibrant city, full of creativity, that has influenced a lot of the work we produce.”

Ms Jones said: “We do everything ourselves, from designing and building the website to producing the paintings and writing cash flow forecasts.

“We were surprised how much help was available to new businesses which encouraged us to start Beat City Images.

“We had a £500 start up grant from Liverpool Vision and some great advice from Striding Out.”

As well as using digital photography, Ms Gilmour says she is now creating images using “experimental film processes that stand out from the crowd”.

Beat City Images sells through its website, but also exhibits at art fairs, including the Memory Lane Christmas Fair earlier this month.

Its work is also on show at Studio Liverpool in Parliament Street, Liverpool, and at the Lion Tavern in Tithebarn Street.

Beat City will launch a range of greetings cards early next year, following on from its current range of hand-made “steam punk”-inspired greetings cards.

Ms Jones said Beat City hoped to hold another exhibition of its work in March.