And so it was when Jane Magnus met Dena Pezzano-Pharaoh in front of Braidwood preschool in 2015.

Both mums admit they'd been "eyeing each other off" for months before finally uniting over a mutual admiration of cowboy boots.

"We both had on cool boots and I went over to Dena and said, 'I like your boots'," Jane laughs.

"And she said, 'I like yours too'. That was the beginning."

Today, the women are the creative forces behind women's fashion label Saloon Design House; dresses, skirts, shirts, waistcoats and scarves inspired by the "beautiful, hardworking" women of their tiny NSW home town.

The Saloon signature is a fitted, high-waisted dress with long sleeves and a long straight skirt, like those worn by the wiry and hardened women of American western movies.

The dresses and other pieces are constructed of world-famous Liberty cotton fabric, with highlights of vintage fabric, velvet and checked cut-offs from the local patchwork store.

"It's part bohemian, part country couture - it's midwestern but classic," Dena says.

"Someone wrote in our visitors' book recently that the pieces were 'tough but pretty' and we realised they'd nailed it."

The Saloon showroom, located at the top end of Braidwood's main street, is more than a shop - it's an experience. With rustic furniture, exposed brick walls and giant chandeliers, clients "come in and spend hours" browsing rack upon rack of Saloon pieces and admiring the 129-year-old building.

Jane and her family had been living in the shopfront when her partner issued an ultimatum: come up with a business idea or they'd have to lease the shop to someone else when they moved upstairs.

Jane did have an idea - and, in a moment of divine timing in front of the preschool months earlier - she'd met the woman who could help her achieve it. As a freelance fashion designer in Sydney, Dena had worked with brands like Dragster and Kirilly Johnston, as well working in costume design across theatre and film, before moving to Braidwood.

"I had a plan as soon as I met Dena and realised she was a dress maker," Jane says.

"I was a social worker with no fashion experience, so Dena is like the woman who makes all your dreams come true.

"If I hadn't met her, Saloon would still be a fantasy in the back of my mind."

An average day at Saloon "flies by", Dena says, with the women designing and sewing all morning before the kids arrive at the shop after school (Jane and Dena have five children between them). They work as late as they can - "we'd stay here until 10pm every night if we could" - before heading home for dinner, homework and bedtime.

And while the two creatives spend weekends at the showroom, sewing and selling to clients at the same time, the women of Braidwood have taken it upon themselves to help market the brand.

Almost every other weekend, five or six Braidwood women don the Saloon label and head out to the bush to shoot stylised images among the rocks around the town, Picnic at Hanging Rock style, or along abandoned dirt roads. The images tell the Saloon story across Instagram and the business's website, and have helped the label garner a following in Canberra and Sydney.

But Saloon is about to get some serious national exposure thanks to the National Gallery of Australia, which has commissioned 80 pieces for its gift store in line with new blockbuster Love and Desire. Love and Desire is an exhibition of pre-Raphaelite masterpieces from the Tate in London, and when a curator was looking for "long dresses in Liberty print" to stock at the gallery shop during the blockbuster, Saloon was the perfect choice.

It's meant Jane and Dena have had to commission a dressmaker in Sydney to help sew, and Jane's aunt Julie - who's 80 and makes the Saloon scarves - will have to work some overtime.

"We are so excited and honoured to have the label on show at the gallery," Dena says. "It's such a privilege."

The vision for Saloon is to stay small, according to both women, who want to maintain the freedom to create "whatever we want" and earn a modest income.

But is it hard to stay inspired in a tiny town, population 1650?

"Oh gosh no - all we have to do for inspiration is look out the front window of the store," Jane says.

"We've got so much we want to do - we need another 50 years to execute on all the ideas we have.

"Braidwood is our inspiration. The women of Braidwood are our inspiration. It's the art, our lifestyle, the bush - just a snippet of someone walking down the main street in a bit of leopard print will get us all excited.

"There's so much fodder. And we'll always keep it fun - sometimes things just get a bit too serious."

Saloon, 137 Wallace Street, Braidwood. Open Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sundays from 11am to 3pm. More info at saloondesignhouse.com