A Bridgetown bootmaker’s shop from the 1940s has been given a fresh purpose.
Opening the doors of Kader Boots Co’s new Bridgetown store last year signalled a new chapter for Kara Lauder and her husband, Nathan Haagensen.
The western fashion brand was founded 10 years ago in the red dirt of Rio Tinto mining town Paraburdoo, when Ms Lauder began designing leather boots inspired by the Australian environment.
With the aim of providing high-quality, ethically crafted western boots, clothing and accessories, her passion project gradually evolved to supply stockists around Australia and New Zealand.
Kader has also made a foray into the US market, with one stockist in Arizona.
Relocating the business to Bridgetown in 2021 felt instinctively right to Victoria-born Ms Lauder.
“We found Bridgetown, and it looks so much like a Victorian town that I felt at home,” Ms Lauder told Business News.
“It has the hills, it’s green and has all the seasons with lots of deciduous trees.
“Everywhere that you buy in town has a view, everything is just really pretty, and everyone is really friendly.
“It just happens to be a good place to have a business as well.”
In 2025, the couple bought three buildings at 101 Hampton Street for $600,000, one of which housed a bootmaker in the 1940s.
Strategic shift
Although Ms Lauder and Mr Haagensen loved their time in the Pilbara, their decision to move Kader to the South West has paid off for the business.
Last year, 149,000 visitors came to the South West, compared with 48,000 in the state’s north-west, according to Tourism Research Australia.
And with a visitor spend of $187 million during that period, the economic benefit from tourism in South West towns was twice that experienced up north.
Unlike the highly seasonal Pilbara, the South West receives visitors all year round; a factor that has helped with sales at Kader.
Australian designs make Kader stand out. Photo: Ella Loneragan
Alongside the growing customer base, Ms Lauder and Mr Haagensen are grateful for the small conveniences of living in a well-connected town.
“We were just happy to be able to fill our kettle with water from the tap, because we can’t do that in the Pilbara,” Ms Lauder said.
“We’re happy to not have shade sails over the top of our clothesline.
“We’re happy for food to not be mouldy on the shelf in the supermarket.
“(Bridgetown) is an hour to drive anywhere. From Paraburdoo we’re in the car for six hours to get anywhere.
“It was very easy [to move to Bridgetown] when you put it in perspective.”
What once felt normal – long drives, extreme heat and limited services – now serves as a reminder of how far the business has come.
“We loved the Pilbara ... but we are very much at home here in Bridgetown,” Ms Lauder said.
New chapter
The recent purchase of 101 Hampton Street provides space not only for retail but storage, administration and a workshop.
During the past year, Ms Lauder and Mr Haagensen have been restoring the historic buildings, transforming the site into a home for Kader, complete with a large wooden cowboy boot out the front and saloon-style doors.
The former C Goldring Bootmaker. Photo: Bridgetown Historical Society
With their new facilities, Ms Lauder and Mr Haagensen are expanding their operations.
Kader’s core product, its boots, will remain manufactured in Mexico.
Like many Australian bootmakers, Ms Lauder has found manufacturing locally was not financially viable.
But the new workshop allows Kader to increase the number of smaller leather goods made in-house.
The Hampton Street site has been transformed. Photo: Ella Loneragan
“Our belts, wallets, bags and certain things that we can affordably make here, the ottomans, like cowhide furniture, we will make here,” Ms Lauder said.
Originally made solely for Kader’s store décor, Mr Haagensen’s handmade furniture has caught the eye of numerous customers.
That led the couple to add furniture to their product range.
Later this year, Ms Lauder is hoping to introduce cowboy hats to their offerings.
And she is always looking for new Australian designs to feature on their signature boots.
Ms Lauder is hoping to include a Paraburdoo-based Innawonga elder, who holds a 10 per cent stake in the company, and their family in the creation of future styles.
Branching out
When she launched the business, Ms Lauder observed a gap in the market for cowboy boots designed in Australia.
“Everyone was wearing the same brand,” she said.
“Ours are very different, very Australian, and we have an amazing manufacturer, so the quality and comfort of our boots stand out.”
While the boots have been popular in Western Australia, Tasmania is Kader’s next biggest market.
“(Tasmanians) love our boots,” Ms Lauder said.
“It’s a leather worker who sells them, so they [customers] know they’re really good quality.
“Half the selling of them is explaining the quality.”
The boots are made from US cowhide. Photo: Ella Loneragan
Outside of Australia and New Zealand, however, Kader has come across barriers.
Ms Lauder said interest from a distributor in the UK was being explored.
But Ms Lauder said it had been challenging to sell in the US.
“All of our boots fit Aussie feet really well, but they’re very wide for Americans,” she said.
“For us to properly stock America, we have to make a whole separate shipment that is all just narrow.”
For now, Kader is placing greater focus on domestic markets.
Riding the trend
The surge in country-western fashion has been a welcome tailwind for the business.
From cowboy boots and hats to country music and rodeos, the ‘western aesthetic’ has evolved into a trend around the world.
Rodeos, once niche events, are now selling out, drawing city-based crowds and creating new opportunities for brands like Kader.
“(Sellouts) never used to happen,” Ms Lauder said.
“City people are loving it and they’re loving the lifestyle.”
Ms Lauder and Mr Haagensen travel to several rodeos a year to sell product and grow their exposure.
“It’s great for us and a great position to already be established for market,” Ms Lauder said.
The rise of country-themed bars in cities may be another expression of the adoption of the country-western trend, but Ms Lauder doubts it will last long.
“We’re just looking at it as a temporary thing,” she said.
“We’ve always got our country customers.”
