Why Woolshed Online? What drove these dynamic mothers to want to delve into the world of ecommerce and the competitive market of retail? Woolshed Online was a created out of a thought experiment from two women living in the country running a business and bringing up two young families. How can we value add to women living in rural Australia that want to have access to high quality woollen or natural fibre garments?

It was from this thought they begun exploring and taking note of how woollen garments are retailed online, it became quickly apparent that what was being offered online was not meeting the needs of your middle-aged busy mum looking for a quality and fashionable range. It was from the realization that the girls went about sourcing a woollen range that they themself would want to wear.

Meet the girls:

Kim Maylor is a passionate individual raising 3 young children and running two successful businesses. Kim has always had a passion for business and fashion. Her strength lies in knowing what she likes and want she doesn’t. She uses this simple but very underestimated set of skills to source what similar women are looking for.

Kim was born and raised in her hometown of Williams located in the wheatbelt of Western Australia. Her family have a long history of sheep farming in the region. Kim was driven by opportunity and in her early 20’s decided to start her own hair dressing salon in Perth, this business was very successful for many years.  It was when Kim began to start her own family she felt the draw of home. A business opportunity arose in her hometown and this is when her and her husband Simon Maylor purchased the Williams Woolshed. The Woolshed was a prominent business within the town and they saw an opportunity to improve the business while at the same time keeping the option to raise their family in the country. This underpinned their decision to purchase the business.

Kim set about wanting to create a retail experience that you don’t normally find in rural Australia, she was passionate about finding her customers quality woollen items. Country towns and quality fashion options are not two terms you hear often together, it was this paradigm that Kim wanted to expose and challenge. Her question was simple why can’t people in rural Australia have the access to stores like city residents, why can’t we offer quality high end products in the country? So, with these simple ideas she set about solving these challenges.

Sara Duff  is a high achiever in everything she does. Sara grew up in Collie, Western Australia, a mining community in the South West. This is where Sara learned the valuable lessons of what hard work and aiming high can achieve. Sara spent many years as teacher throughout the wheatbelt and this also included a stint of teaching overseas. She found herself in Williams as a young country teacher and it was here that she met her husband, Ryan. Ryan's family were generational farmers in Williams, however he sought a career off the farm in local government.  After an adventure of travelling, Ryan and Sara took an opportunity to relocate to Narembeen, another small wheatbelt community in Western Australia. It was there they formed lifelong friendships and strengthened their belief in what strong local rural communities can achieve.

After many years in Narembeen the pull of  Williams, was all too much, and they decided to bring their young family home. Sara was employed by the local primary school and Ryan was the Williams Shire CEO. Although Sara loved her job and was passionate about teaching, she to wanted to explore the options of running her own business and provide opportunities for country people. It was when these two families on a similar journey connected to create the Williams Woolshed partnership which 10 years down the path is as strong as ever.

Sara could see the potential in the retail space at the Woolshed. Why can’t people living in rural Australian have access to quality products that reflect the area they are in? With this question in mind, Kim and Sara set out to completely revamp the Williams Woolshed retail offering. They have over many years now reshaped the Woolshed into a sort after, must stop, retail space that customers have trust they will be buying quality products.

The girls want the Woolshed brand to speak to rural Australia, they truly believe that living in a country town is such an amazing way to bring up a family.  

Sara and Kim can be found at the Williams Woolshed in Williams, WA. They enjoy nothing more than interacting with their customers to understand their story. They  enjoy dressing and providing advice to their customers. They value nothing more than a customer feeling great about how they look and feel in the garments they provide.

The girls work with a range of quality Australian brands. Toorallie, a Melbourne based brand, is one in which the girls have really enjoyed working with. Toorallie have long history in Australian wool growing and fashion, one that the girls really relate too. They love the partnership they have created over the years with such a quality and fashionable brand such as Toorallie.

Jumbo Ugg is also a very prominent brand within the Woolshed, the girls have worked very hard to be seen a leading retailer in Ugg boots here in Western Australia. The girls have grown this part of the business significantly and the Woolshed is now known as a leading retailer on Ugg boots. There is a full range of Uggs from slippers through to your traditional styles. The Woolshed is a must stop for your next Ugg boot purchase.

The girls love working with a range of quality brands that are Australian owned and use Australian natural fibres. They will continue to reshape and find new fun vibrant retail offerings for their customers, this is what drives them to do what they do. Drop them a line - they love hearing from customers. They can be contacted via sara@williamswoolshed.com.au or kim@williamswoolshed.com.au