Dianne Gee has run the Lucknow Skin Shop and Boot Barn for 27 years

She and her now late husband Geoff ran a manufacturing business out of Sydney and were regularly called upon to supply the Lucknow Skin Shop and Boot Barn.

As well as being manufacturers, Mrs Gee's husband was also a sheep skin buyer.

The year was 1996 and he was travelling to the Cowra abattoir when he noticed the iconic Lucknow business was having a closing down sale.

"He rang me and asked what I thought about buying the place," Mrs Gee recalled.

Although she loved the climate and the idea of four seasons, never had she imagined moving to the Colour City to purchase a business.

In fact, had someone other than her husband suggested the idea, she would have told them "they had rocks in their head."

But they took the plunge and 27 years later, Mrs Gee couldn't imagine life without the Skin Shop.

"We bit the bullet because nobody was doing anything like this. We thought we'd have a go," she added.

The shop looked a lot different in 1996 to what you see today.

Strictly a winter store at the time, Mrs Gee and her husband often found themselves watching television during the summer days due to a lack of customers.

Since then, it has more than doubled in size and become a place to shop all year round.

"People are loving it," Mrs Gee said.

From Sydney to Port Macquarie, Newcastle to the south coast, people drive for hours on end just to set foot in the store.

"They've always driven numerous hours to shop here, but it's getting further afield now because word of mouth," the owner added.

The most recent major expansion came in 2014 thanks in large part to Mrs Gee's youngest son and business partner, Nathan Gee.

Together, their goal has always been to stand out from the crowd.

"We look around at what not's being done because there's no point being like everybody else," she said.

Three generations now contribute to the business, with Mrs Gee's grandchildren Scarlett and Toby very much leading the advertising charge. It's that familiarity which the owner believes keeps people coming back.

It's also those customers which has Mrs Gee thinking about anything except retirement.

"I really like the interaction with people. I think it keeps us going. It doesn't suit all people, but it certainly suits me," she said.

"I enjoy working and while I enjoy it I might as well keep doing it."

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