Fashion is a notoriously difficult and fickle affair but a Scottish success story is the fledgling fashion knitwear business, Hilary Grant.

Hilary set up on her own in 2011 after completing her textile design degree at Duncan Jordanstone University, completing internships with designers including Alexander McQueen, and spending time working for a start-up in the Highlands, doing everything from market research and designing their packaging to developing concepts into commercial samples. It was then that Hilary realised she wanted to realise her own creative vision in the fashion and creative industries and so Hilary Grant, the fashion knitwear label, was born.

She's based in The Orkneys and works from a small studio where she has grown her premium casual-wear business to successfully place products in department stores, small high-end boutiques and gift shops, and is now starting to build her export market. She is planning a trip to Japan in November with the help of a UK Trade Mission – part of the UKTI.

Hilary acknowledges that working as a microenterprise comes with its fair share of challenges. 'It can be quite lonely and when you have set backs, you have to pick yourself back up, because there's no-one else to do it! But it does make you a lot more resilient and self-reliant,' she says.

But she has worked hard to build support networks to help her too. She was one of 10 businesses selected to be part of a business incubator scheme called Fashion Foundry, and although that scheme is now coming to an end, she remains close to the other people involved and they provide mutual support. She's also received support from Cultural Enterprise and the Scottish Business Gateway.

Hilary is really looking forward to the first Small is Beautiful conference taking place in Glasgow this June. 'I'm really excited about this event. It will be a great opportunity to meet inspiring people and network outside of my usual circle of peers within fashion and textiles. I hope to be able to explore more of the issues which are particularly key to microenterprises like mine and hear from experts who can give more insight into strategies I can take back into my business.'

Do you have a story like Hilary's? We'd love to hear it! Leave us a comment, email us at hello@smallisb.com or send us a tweet @smallisb!