It has been 25 years since Kingfisher School Gear first began outfitting local school children, but one thing has not changed and that’s their commitment to quality.

“Our main aim has always been to produce high quality, Australian-made products that look and feel good on the kids,” said Laurelle Honeysett, who runs Kingfisher School Gear alongside her husband Stephen.

Laurelle has always loved sewing. She began making her own clothes at age 12 and even made her own wedding dress. She first began making school uniforms to help out a friend, but it quickly grew into a full-time business.

“Other schools started to ask if we could do theirs and it just progressed,” said Laurelle. “We realised pretty quickly it was going to be a much bigger opportunity than I could do at home, so we rented a premises.”

Ever since, Laurelle has overseen the local manufacturing of uniforms in the factory at the rear of their retail business.

“It is a lot of work and it keeps us very busy,” said Laurelle. “We've taken on various different forms over the years; we used to outsource so people would pick up the work and take it back home, then we started employing staff on the premises, putting people through traineeships and that sort of thing. Now we are down to a couple of part-time staff and we work really hard!”

The uniform patterns are all Laurelle’s own designs and she is conscious of making well-fitting clothes with fabric that lasts.

“Some uniforms are pretty ordinary fit-wise. We have tailored them over the years and ours are a little bit slimmer and are a little bit more fitted. If I see something that's wrong, I just adjust it as we go,” said Laurelle.

“School uniforms are worn for a very long time. They have to be strong and durable. They need to be good quality and the stitching needs to be good — so that’s why we continue to make them here. It’s hard work competing with what's made overseas, but that was our vision when we started and I've stuck with it.”

Uniforms from Kingfisher School Gear are competitively priced and, with the exception of shoes, you will find everything you need to equip your child for the school year in store.

“We try to maintain good, competitive prices. We might be a dollar or two more expensive here or there, but in other places we are able to be a little bit cheaper than others. Across the board I think most people wouldn't pay much more, if any at all, to buy all their things here.”

Since 2010, Kingfisher has also been the Central West’s leading supplier of dance wear.

“We do everything from basic class uniform, shoes, tights through to costumes,” said Laurelle.

“And I'm trained to do pointe shoe fittings as well. People come from Parkes and Dubbo, Mudgee, Bathurst, Lithgow for pointe shoes because we are the only big dance store this side of the mountains.”

This Saturday, 14 December, Laurelle and Stephen invite you to celebrate their 25 years in business with storewide discounts and gifts.

“I just want to thank the community for supporting us these 25 years. It hasn't always been easy, but we've loved it,” said Laurelle.

“It is really special now to be seeing those little kids from our early days bringing their own kids back to get their first school uniforms — that is special.”

151 Summer St

ORANGE, NSW, 2800

(02) 63612252

Kingfisherschoolgear.com