Today we received a request from a lovely woman who wrote in, saying she was so inspired by Isabella Oliver that she has decided that she too is going to launch a maternity wear line and could we please give her as much advice as possible?

When we started Isabella Oliver we received loads of help and advice and really appreciated the time that people took to assist us. Keeping this in mind, we try to do the same for others as we often get emails from people asking for advice on certain matters and we've always helped. Truth be told we've also been bitten once or twice where they had a company in a non competitive market and then 6 months after speaking with us suddenly launched maternity wear. Not a great feeling and of course we never hear from these people again.

Needless to say we thanked her for her kind words but said no. Competition is great as it drives you and inspires fresh ideas, however some things are best left unsaid!