Tapanui Hammer Hardware manager Jackee Soper said their wholesalers required them to buy more seedling plants than they could use in Tapanui.
Knowing there was no nursery in Roxburgh she decided to take some of the surplus there to see if there was a market for them.
There definitely was and one trip became fortnightly through the spring, Mrs Soper said.
Chatting with customers made her realise there was scope for more than plants as people asked if she could hardware items, too.
"And it's like, oh, can we bring hardware? Why not? So it was a matter of finding a building, which has not been easy ... We can only have this till the end of January."
Thanks to really good staff in Tapanui, Mrs Soper was able to go to Roxburgh from Thursday until Saturday each week with a full range of stock.
"We've got some items that haven't moved in Tapanui for quite some time.
"So we've brought here with fresh eyes and put them on sale.
"And then we've got just your normal everyday stuff, which eventually would be what we would bring if we would just open a store here."
If the shop became a permanent fixture it would be open three or four days per week, Mrs Soper said.
Their first days had been really busy, she said.
