Scouring (30-45 minutes) - Surfactants are used at 38oC to remove dirt and grease (lanolin) from wool.

Pickling (16 hours) - Prior to tanning, skins are pickled in a solution containing acid and salt. The salt is added to prevent swelling of skins by acid. The internal pH of skins is lowered to approximately 2.8-3.0, thereby preparing skins for penetration by tanning agent.

Tanning (16 hours) - Tanning is generally achieved by using chromium salts which form cross-links with collagen, stabilising skin structure and preventing putrefaction. The tanning step is conducted at about 25oC and pH 2.5-3.0 to allow for penetration of chrome. Once penetrated, chrome is fixed to collagen by raising pH to about 3.6 using sodium bicarbonate, and heating to about 35-40oC. This step raises shrinkage temperature of skin from about 60oC to around 100oC.

Wool Dyeing / Fatliquoring (3-4 hours) - After tanning, wool may be dyed a variety of colours. Wool dyeing is performed at about pH 4.5-6 and at 60-65oC, "Pelt reserve agents" being added to prevent wool dye staining pelt. After dye is exhausted, pH is lowered to about 4.0 to fix dyes to wool, and fatliquor is added to bath. Fatliquors are emulsified oils which are used in leather manufacture to lubricate collagen fibres, allowing them to move freely when skin is dried, thereby imparting softness to skin.

Drying (4-24 hours) - Once tanned and wool dyed, skins are then dried in heated forced-air dryers by "toggling" skins to a frame. Drying is conducted at temperatures of 50-80oC.

Drycleaning (4-24 hours) - The dried skins are "drycleaned" in either white spirit (a high-boiling petroleum fraction) or perchloroethylene. The drycleaning removes natural fat and grease present within skins.

Pelt Dyeing / Syntanning - Once pelt grease is removed, skins are returned to paddle for pelt dyeing. This step is performed at low temperature (less than 30oC) in order to minimise staining of wool by pelt dye. After pelt dyeing, skins are "syntanned" using synthetic tanning agents in order to give pelts added fullness and firmness. The skins are then redried.

Step 2. Finishing

Once all tanning and processing steps have been completed, skins are ready for final finishing prior to being used in ugg boot manufacture.

Staking - After "conditioning" skins to approximately 20% moisture content, skins are staked in a staking machine. This softens and stretches skin pelt, and puts a "nap" on pelt surface.

Combing / Ironing / Clipping - The wool is combed in a combing machine to remove tangles and any burrs or grass seeds present in wool. An iron (a hot, 150oC revolving cylinder) straightens wool, removing natural wool crimp. Finally, a cylinder clipping machine is used to clip wool pile to desired length, usually about 12-15 mm.

Step 3. Manufacturing

Panels are cut from skins using a "clicking press". Once cut, panels are sewn together using industrial sewing machines, then sole is glued to boot. Once this is done, boots are ready for sale!

Hopefully this article has helped you understand a little on the process of sheepskin hide preperation and ugg boot manfacture. Please feel free to browse our range at:

Have you every noticed that when you do finally take time to make that phone call to your friend, send that e-mail, or arrange that dinner or movie date, that you feel so good you automatically start planning for next chat or get together. We do this because this needed interaction with our female friends just leaves us eager for more. This "feel good" addiction is similar to why we automatically eat more than one piece of chocolate in box (and admit it, we rarely stop at just one).

I may be disqualified to judge what is truly better, friendships between women; or chocolate, since I admittedly confessed to being a "chocoholic". After all, some of you reading this article may not even like chocolate. In my opinion they are both equally fabulous. However, I do want to say if ever you needed to slow down, and purposely make time for something in your life amongst your daily juggling of activities, then please do so for friendships. Finding "friendship" time needs to be a priority even if it is once a week or once a month, to catch up with old friends and to make new ones. It's healthy, it makes you feel good, and you (we) deserve more of it.

Cheers to a happy, healthy, life shared with many great friends and of course a bit of chocolate!

Written by: Tina Frazer

Tina Frazer is Founder of Let's Be Friends.net, a friendship website for women. Let's Be Friends.net promotes and encourages new friendships among women of all ages* and stages of life who share similar interests, lifestyles, and values. Our mission at Let's Be Friends.net is to reintroduce friendship as a priority in women's lives. For more information about Let's Be Friends.net click on www.letsbefriends.net

*Members must be at least 18 years old.