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PRICKLY BUSINESS: Gynelle Leon

A FORMER fraud analyst has opened London's first shop dedicated to cacti and other unusual exotic succulents.

Gynelle Leon, 30, decided to set up Prick in Dalston, east London after she started collecting huge specimens, and soon found she was often driving hundreds of miles to nurseries to find the perfect “living sculpture”.

She bought her first succulent, a five-foot euphorbia, five years ago, and started building a collection. “Quickly I realised how they transformed my home and increased my wellbeing,” she told the Hackney Gazette.

“They also outlived a lot of my relationships so I really appreciated their loyalty."

She added: “I love cacti and succulent for their graphic forms and hardiness – their symbolism for strength while also being able to bloom delicate flowers. So I decided to make the shop I always wished existed.”

IT'S EASY BEING GREEN: The store opened in east London in July

She opened Prick last month with more than 150 types of cacti, ranging in price from £3.75 to £475.

Most of her plants are from Holland, others are bought from auction. “As they last for many years, many people grow tired of them, can’t look after them or even pass away,” she said. “So I sell them on to a good home. It feels more like an adoption service.”