CO OWNER of fashion boutique Bramhall and Miles, Toy Barwick, laughed as she recalled how hesitant she was to quit her job as an agribusiness banker when first opening a clothing store in Moree.
This month though, her and her business partner, Sarah Kirkby, have celebrated ten years since they opened the doors to their country boutique- which hasn’t been constricted by rural isolation at all.
The boutique, which doubles as an online store, was recently named as one of the best Australian shopping sites to bookmark by the influential fashion blog, Who What Wear.
The Who What Wear instagram page has a following of 1.8million and aims to connect readers with expert fashion advice from across the globe.
Ultimately, the website has a lot of pull in the fashion world and next to websites like the world famous Iconic, was Bramhall and Miles, the store opened by two Moree women who wanted to bring fashion to the country.
Both Sarah and Toy live with their families on properties- Toy at “Weeroona”, Gravesend, a cropping, sheep and cattle enterprise and Sarah, on “”Brigalow”, Moree, a purely cropping production.
Before meeting her husband and moving to Moree, Sarah was heavily working in fashion at Sydney, doing everything from styling models to retail.
When her and Toy met, they spoke about the possibility of opening a fashion boutique in the country, but it was their husbands who gave them the push to actually execute the plan.
“We thought we’d gone mad,” Toy said.
Despite the hesitation, both Sarah and Toy were pleasantly surprised with how well their store was received by locals and out of towners.
So much so, the store has become a bit of a fashion guide for rural women- delivering the brands you’d find in David Jones and across the world.
Sarah said it’s been important for them to offer their consumers something “special”- which has prompted a lot of research and even an overseas trip to source the brands not everyone has.
“We’re always looking for something new and different,” she said.
Recently, the store started stocking the new range of Clare Vivier clutches, which hits the shelves of Bramhall and Miles the same time they hit stores around the world.
Another goal for the business was to support the industry supporting them, Agriculture.
Toy said trying to source fashion labels that use natural Australian fibers such as wool and cotton has always been important to them.
This has prompted them to stock Australian high quality brands such as Jac+Jack, Lee Matthews and bassike, among other international brands.
With the opportunity to purchase clothing that can usually only be found within the city walls, Toy and Sarah said they get customers visiting from all over the district.
That’s why when they launched their website and Instagram page three and a half years ago, they were able to service more rural women easier.
“The website and instagram page has allowed us to reach an audience we wouldn’t normally reach,” Sarah said.
“It might be a really quiet day in the shop but we could completely sell out of a clothing item from online sales.”
Toy and Sarah said the most rewarding thing about their business has been giving rural women the chance to buy elegant, feminine clothes without having to catch a plane to Sydney.
“We have women come in wearing their workwear who completely transform themselves with beautiful outfits,” Toy Said.
“We think girls in the rural industry are beautiful and we love being able to supply them with something gorgeous to wear.”