Pilbara women blazing a trail

It was a love of life in the outback that brought two Pilbara women together to take on the huge US western clothing marketplace.

Kara Lauder and Jess Edwards will swap the red dirt for the red carpet of Hollywood next monh armed with a suitcase of outback-inspired boots designed in Paraburdoo.

The boots will be put in front of celebrities at gifting suites the day before the Academy Awards, offering their business a chance to gain traction in the US.

Ms Lauder, the brains behind Kader Boot Co, moved to Paraburdoo in 2015 with her husband and child after eight years of fly-in, fly-out work in the region.

“I’ve travelled the US and Australia a lot and found there were not many Australian-designed boot options ... so I thought I’d give it a shot at doing myself,” she said.

“We obviously don’t have the resources of these multi-million dollar companies that we are up against.

“For now it’s a bit of patience for people but we will slowly get into stores and get our mobile shop up and running.”

While Ms Lauder originally came to the Pilbara for mining, Edwards was drawn to the region’s pastoral life.

Edwards said she loved sharing her stories, which was the reason behind her starting the Jillaroo Jess Facebook page.

“I came from a family where the country life skipped a generation so I made my own way back to the bush,” she said.

“I have had the opportunity to leave but this place just gets under your skin.

“I was one of those annoying people who kept harassing Kara to see when she would start selling her boots and we kind of just became friends from there.”

Edwards said she hoped this story would encourage more wom-en in the Pilbara to do amazing things.