Hi Graham here. Back with more of your questions. Keep them coming to the usual address, graham@isabellaoliver.com...

Q: What are your favourite websites?
V: Anything related to stylish fashion such as Vogue.com and Dailycandy.com,
B: I also love the main fashion websites. Also I look a lot at design websites for furniture and interiors, and a couple of blogs of people who are original in their areas.

Q: What are your favourite TV programmes?
V: Will & Grace, Grays Anatomy and Ugly Betty.
B: I love films but also shows such as The Apprentice, 24, The Wire, West Wing, Sex in The City. Unfortunately a few have stopped. When a certain friend of mine is over, we love a few episodes of ER in one sitting.

Q: Who do you find the most beautiful woman?
V: Audrey Hepburn. I think dancers are beautiful as well.
B: My all time favourite is Grace Kelly. Besides Vanessa of course

More next week.....

Hi Graham here with more of your questions,

Q: What is your favourite advertising campaign?
V: There are a lot of commercials I like. The Nike "Just Do it" ads make you excited and make you want to go out and just do it, the Stella Artois commercials are beautiful and the lynx effect ads are hysterical.
B: I love the ones that make you laugh. Also the very old Levi's 501 ad remains a classic.

Q: Who is your favourite designer this season?
V: Phillip Lim, Celine, Fendi. Can I have more?
B: I love Philip Lim too and Tibi and Alexander McQueen

Q: What is your favourite place in London?
V: Home. And then the Royal Opera House.
B: I love the old sections such as Hampstead Village on a misty evening. I also really like the exciting areas where there's a lot of new things going on - it doesnt all appeal to me but the energy is great.

Graham

Hi, graham here. Thanks for your questions. Vanessa is on holiday this week so it will just be Baukjen answering 3 questions this week.

Q: What's the best thing about having your own business?
B: There are so many things. I love that we can implement our ideas without having to wait for approval from other people, receiving nice emails and letters from women who wear our clothes. When it's your own business, its more personal and the high points are even better. Also I love that there's always next season to work on. We are often working on three collections at a time: the one we're launching, the one that comes after and designing the one after that... there's something very exciting about the future now. And last but absolutely not least I love working with the team here at Isabella Oliver.

Q: Whats the worst thing?
B: The hours. I love what I do so its not too bad but it's never ending. I hear this from everyone I know who runs a business. It just never really stops.

Q: What keeps you up at night work-wise?
B: Trying to remember everything I need to do the next day. There's always a few big things which are easy as they'll be in the diary but it's the little things that I worry I'll forget. Really I should just have a notebook next to my bed so I can jot it down and not worry I'll let it slip. Hopefully I'll remember to put that next to my bed tonight!

Well that's everything for this week. Keep those questions coming, usual address graham@isabellaoliver.com

HI Graham here,

Sitting over a bowl of Jelly Beans (thanks Geoff and Becky) I had a quick 3 minute question session with V& B. Thanks again to those who've taken the time to email me, keep them coming.

Q: How would you describe your perfect day?
B: Making pancakes with the kids for breakfast, going for a swim in the sea, a long lunch with friends and family under the trees italian style with the kids playing around us, and when the kids are asleep a long bath followed by a good film curled up on the sofa with Geoff and a nice bottle of red wine. The reality is a bit different though!
V: Breakfast with family, a morning at the stables riding horses followed by a country pub lunch and no plans for the rest of the day - having no place we have to be.

Q: What is your favourite holiday to date?
B: Can I have two? Before having children, I loved the trip Geoff and I made in the USA in my brother's vintage Airstream (also known as Silver Bullet). I am not a camper but this was travelling in style! We would drive to a beautiful location, build a fire, have nice music playing, make great food and enjoy the gorgeous views. After we became parents the holidays changed and my favourite one is a holiday we had in Ibiza where we rented a villa and spent two weeks having a 'relatively relaxed' time (as far as that was possible with 2 kids under 2 years old), visiting quiet gorgeous beaches where we played and swam all day long and ended up eating fresh fish in one of the local restaurants. Ibiza has a party island reputation but there is so much more to it.
V: My favourite holiday was with my husband travelling around the South of France and ending in St.Tropez. Another one was at the Amalfi cost and Capri. Very romantic, beautiful and glamorous.

Q: What was your least favourite holiday?
B: It wasn't really a holiday - it was more a business trip. Last year we went to the States for a conference and just after we arrived we heard our baby girl had become sick and was admitted to the hospital. We had to wait 12 hours for the next plane and time ticked much too slow.
V: I appreciate any holiday!

Well that's it for this week.

Don't forget to email me those question, graham@isabellaoliver.com

Graham

Hi, Graham here.

I sat down with Vanessa and Baukjen today to talk about some of the great feedback and questions we’ve been receiving. We literally get loads of feedback and questions covering many topics, not just about our clothes.

I thought it would be fun to have a quick Q&A session and share some of their thoughts and experiences, so I’ve started this new topic titled ‘3 minutes with Vanessa and Baukjen’.

Each week I’ll spend 3 minutes with the girls asking the most common questions and post the answers in the blog.

Here is this week’s Q&A…..

G: What's your favourite restaurant?
V: I love Balthazar in New York as I have happy memories from there. I don't really have a favourite in general - it's more about the people I'm with.
B: I love The Ivy in London. The service, the decor, the food.. everything really.

G: Who would be your ideal dinner party guests?
V: Stephen Fry - I think he's just amazing, if Diana Vreeland was alive I would love to have her as a guest
B: Billy Connolly, Jamie Oliver, Ewan McGregor - loads of people but the best guests are the ones who you laugh all night long with.

G: What's your favourite food?
V: I could eat Sushi every night and I love Gummy bears. And I do love my mother's meatloaf. And I also love hot dogs - the american way.
B: Carpaccio, anything with spinach, jelly beans (the white ones) and if it was healthy I would have chocolate milk with biscuits every day.

Well that's all for this week. Keep your questions and feedback coming, just email me your questions on Graham@IsabellaOliver.com.

Graham