Meet the Maker: The Story Behind Our Australian Shearling Range
It takes about one hour to create one pair of Country Road Sheepskin Boots. First, the shearling is sorted for its quality, then a pattern cut, before the upper shape is hand stitched and moulded. Each pair is proudly made in Melbourne, using Australian shearling known for its luxury standing.
Alongside our range of boots, the same Melbourne factory produces our Sheepskin Slides and Hot Water Bottle Covers. Here, we talk to Managing Director, Roman Borisov, and get an inside look at how each pair comes to life.
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of the business?
“We are a second generation family-owned business which started in Melbourne over 25 years ago. The business started as a husband-and-wife team working from a garage in suburban Melbourne, making sheepskin products using a couple of sewing machines, and due to demand, grew rapidly. The company has been based in Moorabbin for over the past decade and has been manufacturing and wholesaling products both locally and internationally. We are proud to be an Australian-owned organisation that still makes most of the products here in Melbourne.”
What about your role?
“I’m the Managing Director and second-generation owner of the family business. Day-to-day, I run the business, working closely with the manufacturing and design aspects, and look after some key customer accounts.”
What makes your shearling special?
“We use high-quality Australian Merino Crossbred shearling for our sheepskin boots. The common grading for our shearling is A-Grade. This is recognised as one of the highest standards in the industry.”
How is it sourced?
“Our tannery pre-sorts the Australian shearling for its inherent wool characteristics and determines the best finished product suited to our needs. The shearling we use offers unique qualities such as excellent density and fineness of fibre, along with a resilient silky touch.”
How do you support better environmental practices?
“The tannery we use is Gold Leather Working Group certified.
We always try to reduce any material wastage, so any off-cuts are used to produce small accessories (like miniature boot keyrings). All the packaging materials we have are now fully reusable.”
Where in Australia do you source your shearling?
“The sheepskin is predominantly sourced from Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.“
How does a pair of Country Road Sheepskin Boots come to life?
“After selection of the premium shearling material, the pattern is cut to the appropriate shape/size and hand stitched into the upper shape of the product. A shearling insole is stitched to the upper, and in the case of the boots, we use a special heel molding machine to apply a heel stiffener to add shape and longevity. The outsole is glued to the upper and the product enters a quality control stage for packaging.”
How long does it take to make one pair of boots?
“From the selection to the final packaging, one pair of Country Road boots takes about 45 minutes to one hour to make.”
