From full-time nurses to budding entrepreneurs, it's been an interesting journey for Tracey Paiva and Amanda Hamza.

On Wednesday they opened the doors to their store 'New Additions', offering a colourful, modern range of maternity wear, baby gifts and body-care products. And with the opening both realised a dream that was three years in the making.

"The idea for the shop came out of my own frustration at trying to find maternity clothes here when I was having my kids," says Mrs. Paiva. "I just couldn't believe that no one was really focusing on this; I just decided it needed to be done."

She had resorted to using the Internet and going overseas to find clothes when pregnant with both her daughters, McKenzie, now three, and ten-month-old Kaitlyn.

"By the time you add-up plane fare, the cost of the clothes and duty, it really is ridiculous; you end up paying twice the amount that you should do, just to try and look and feel comfortable while you're pregnant," she says.

When she told her friend, Godmother to her daughters and former nursing colleague Amanda Hamza about the idea, their business partnership began.

"I could see her vision right away, and I was ready for a new challenge," says Mrs. Hamza. "We wanted to start something with a new approach; a place where mums-to-be can come and feel welcome while still getting professional service and good quality products."

The two women have been friends since 1995 when they both worked at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital as operating theatre nurses. Mrs. Paiva still maintains her position at the hospital; however Mrs. Hamza left the profession five years ago to pursue a new career as an interior designer. Neither had direct experience in owning and running a business which made the support they have received from their families and friends all the more important.

"We're very fortunate to have people in our respective families who have experience either as entrepreneurs or in business generally," says Mrs. Paiva.

"They gave us such great guidance about 'do's and don'ts' as we developed the idea, as well as with practical things, from babysitting to bookkeeping!" Mrs. Hamza adds: "We really couldn't have done it without them. They helped us with everything from drafting the initial business plan and partnership agreement to renovating the shop itself ? thank goodness Tracey's husband used to be in construction!"

The ladies also give high marks to the professional services they received from the Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation and the Bank of Butterfield's Corporate Services Department.

"We got great feedback on the business plan and wholehearted support from the staff at the Small Business Corporation; it's a great resource," says Mrs. Hamza.

They also spent many hours of research to find suitable suppliers for the type of product they had in mind: affordable, practical, attractive maternity wear, the main element of their stock.

"We found the Americas Mart Atlanta that represents about 20 different vendors of many lines of clothing and accessories; it was great to find one point of contact for pretty much everything we needed," says Mrs. Paiva. She adds that their first buying trip was not exactly glamourous: "We spent four days, eight hours each day looking at this huge amount of merchandise in all their maternity lines, their gift ideas, creams and fragrances," she says.

"There was so much to go through and a lot of detail; it got a bit gruelling, but we wanted to make sure we got it right and picked products that would make sense for Bermuda."

Having finished the business plan in November of last year, they decided to approach the Bank of Butterfield in January and say that the staff they have dealt with have been "absolutely wonderful (and) very supportive." With financing and a supplier in place the search for a location began. After a frustrating four months of looking with no luck they found their 68 King Street premises almost by accident.

"One of the lovely girls at Sea Venture Shipping who handle all our shipments mentioned in conversation that some space next door was going to be vacant, we followed up quickly and were lucky enough to get it," says Mrs. Paiva.

From the checkerboard-painted floor to the brightly coloured d?cor, the interior of the shop is designed to reflect the ladies' goal of making buyers feel welcome and comfortable, whether they come alone or with children. They have designated an area for a changing station and plan to have toys and drawing materials on hand to keep young ones amused while their mothers shop. Tomorrow the store will host a foot spa for customers to try out for free.

"It's a fun atmosphere that we hope will make people enjoy their shopping experience here and encourage them to come back, for themselves or for others," Mrs. Hamza says, obviously proud of how she has applied her design skills to create the look of the store. "And we feel the product we carry will bring people back as well, judging by the reaction of customers since we opened," adds Mrs. Paiva.

"In the maternity line we have everything from career wear to smart casual, from swimwear to very casual, and accessories to go with them. We're getting nursing wear in next week and we also have gifts for babies and toddlers."

They also stock a range of body butters, lotions, perfumes and foot care products specifically designed or recommended for expectant mothers. "We want to help women who don't want to lose their sense of themselves when they are pregnant, help them to feel special and look good," Mrs. Paiva says. Gift vouchers and maternity or baby registry services are also available.

Mrs. Paiva will continue to balance nursing with entrepreneurship for the short-term while Mrs. Hamza runs the store. Opening hours are 9.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. from Tuesdays to Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.

"But we're flexible and customers can give us a call if they need to see us outside our normal opening hours," says Mrs. Hamza.

Bermuda's two newest businesswomen are clearly delighted with their new venture and are already thinking about the future, planning to expand into designing and decorating children's bedrooms once the store is up and running successfully, a move described by Mrs. Hamza as "our phase two goal.

"For now we're just ready to listen to what the customers want and be guided by them to see what their needs are," says Mrs. Paiva. "We're grateful to be off to such a good start."