Surfers, Sheep and Other Australian Species

It’s a strange image, that of a sun bronzed surfer sitting on a beach, feet wrapped in pieces of sheepskin.  After all, if I were to say “surfer” to you I’m betting a likely image to come to mind would be of a well-toned young man, clad in O’Neill boardshorts and a Quicksilver wetsuit with a pair of sunnies nestling in his sunbleached locks - clothes fit for purpose it’s true, but also with a certain awareness of style.  


And yet, back in the mists of time, surfers in a particular part of Australia would come out of the sea, dry themselves off and then, whilst waiting for the next big wave, would find their little tootsies getting cold.  (Well they do surf in “all weathers” after all - “all weathers” for an Aussie, obviously, being a coolish summer day for us Brits). Now one thing that Australia has in abundance - apart from kangaroos - is sheep and the surfers would go along to the nearby sheepskin tannery and procure bits of sheepskin to wrap their feet in.   Hence the “Ugg-ly” boot was born.


The particular tannery in question is where the well known brand Ugg boot once came from but now no longer does, since Ugg started to source cheaper sheepskin from China.  The brand that still comes from the original tannery is Emu, the brand we now stock and it has to be said, the quality is far superior.  Not only are most designs totally waterproof, but they are also lined with 100 %  Australian sheepskin, (as well as having a removable sheepskin insole that can be washed) have an outer skin of calves suede and a waterproof membrane in between.  Nothing feels quite as reassuringly luxurious as putting your feet into an Emu boot.  Comfort food for the feet to be sure.  


So why am I banging on about the wonders of Emu boots?  Well because to celebrate the launch of Emu this winter, we’ve got a competition going to win a pair.  So if you want to be in with a chance of having cosy warm and dry feet this winter, tell us why you should win a pair on our Facebook page and share, share, share the post! 
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