In 2004 I purchased my first sewing machine. After a lot of practice I created a garment that I wore to a party. To my surprise people wanted to know where I had purchased it - before I knew it I was selling my garments in a top women's boutique.

As I was now at my sewing machine most days, my children. Jack and Bella, asked if I could make them a T-shirt of their own. As I had found it very hard to find them T-shirts that looked smart and didn't have too much fancy stuff and branding all over them I decided to go ahead with their request. I took Bella and Jack with me to find some fabrics. Bella loved pink so everything had to have a touch of pink but luckily Jack didn't have the same obsession and helped me find some great fabrics for boys. I will never forget the gorgeous smiles on their faces when I showed them their first Oliv T-shirts.

I was shopping in a children's boutique a few days later and they wanted to know where I got Jack and Bella's T-shirts from, they placed an order, and thus Oliv kids began in 2005. I chose the name Oliv as it was Bella's middle name and easy to remember. As Bella had helped me with my first T-shirts I thought it was appropriate for her to be a significant part of the product.

Tragically in August 2007, just before her 5th birthday, Bella died. She was a perfectly healthy child when I dropped her off at school but she never woke up from her afternoon sleep - a bleed in the brain. As you can imagine, my world had turned upside down. I didn't think I could go on with Oliv kids.

After quite some time I found some wonderful fabrics on the internet and thought about how much Bella would have loved them. I thought back to how her face would light up with the most beautiful smile when I made her a new T-shirt and thought that each T-shirt I make could put the same smile on another child's face. So before I knew it I was back in full swing with Oliv kids and it has been the best therapy for me. Due to demand (and that it was taking over the house) I opened my own Oliv retail outlet just before Christmas 2007 which has a workshop out the back - the perfect setup.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my website - I hope my designs put a 'Bella' smile on your face.

Regards,
Abi Freeman