The Waikouaiti business, on State Highway 1 in the centre of town, was opened by Alex Wilson and Hilary Rowley about 10 years ago. Their aim was to provide women of all ages and sizes with quality, flattering and comfortable clothing that was proudly New Zealand made.
The couple, who have been working together for about 15 years, complemented each other with their respective skills.
Both originally from Central Otago, Mr Wilson was from an art background and did the printing, while Ms Rowley, who has been making clothes for years, was into draughting and design.
Prior to opening the Waikouaiti store, which has an adjacent work-room, they were working from a studio and selling privately.
At that stage, they were living at Seacliff - they have since built a home at Orokonui - and wanted premises that were handy so they did not have to "use up millions of litres of petrol" commuting to Dunedin.
For a while, they were based in an old ward at Cherry Farm.
They never intended opening a shop, but while they were working, people used to look through the window and came in to buy garments, Ms Rowley said.
By having a store, especially with such a prominent state highway location, it had put them "in the public eye".
The couple agreed their distinctive work had lots of their personalities in it "because we're not quite straight forward" and they sometimes took the mickey out of fashion.
"We can do funky stuff, keep it in small runs and change any time we like. We can change every week," Mr Wilson said.
A series of prints of Massey Ferguson tractors on skirts and dresses sold particularly well in Wellington.
While there was definitely a recession happening, the couple agreed they would "get through it".
"You need a vegetable garden," Mr Wilson added.
Ms Rowley believed rentals for business premises in Dunedin were excessive. The same size space in the city would cost "heaps more".
During a trip to New York, they discovered a shop could be rented in the lower east side of the city for $2000 a month, with a potential audience of eight million people.
The shop is open from Wednesday to Sunday, and the couple were not heavily focused on profit nor were they keen on major expansion.
They had a "pleasant" lifestyle, enjoying their new home, garden and view. Both were keen gardeners, growing all their own vegetables, including onions, capsicums and chillies, and wrote a gardening blog.
"Work life balance, that's what they call it, eh," Ms Rowley said.
