But we've managed to find the pot of sheepskin at the end of the rainbow - you just need to drive down a long, suspicious-looking dirt road in Oaks Estate to find it.

Every week day and each Saturday morning, Queanbeyan man Hans Dimpel, his 86-year-old mother Maria and talented employee Karen McCrae are huddled inside the tiny showroom of Canberra Tannery, hand-creating what can only be described as the best ugg boots money can buy.

The store's lambskin wool and cowhide leather is ordered in from tanneries across regional NSW and Victoria, cut and glued by Hans, and lovingly stitched by Maria and Karen on a 1960s Seiko sewing machine. (Despite its name, Canberra Tannery ceased operating as a tannery about 2010).

The resulting booties, scuffs, slippers and boots are so good, the threesome is struggling to keep up with demand.

"How would I describe the demand at the moment? It's too much," Hans says.

"We ran out of womens size five and seven today, we ran out mens size 11 ... at this time of year it's really busy, we can't keep up."

Despite its surprising location in the misunderstood border suburb of Oaks Estate, Canberra Tannery is apparently one of the capital's worst kept secrets.

It turns out hundreds of locals head to the store each week in winter to be personally fitted for a pair of heavenly lambskin boots. Boots come in black, chocolate, chestnut, sand, pink and purple, and can be bought directly off the shelf, or custom made.

The long boots that lace up at the side "are complex", Hans says. He can make six pairs of scuffs for every pair of long boots, and he loves making tiny lambskin booties for babies, getting them into the habit of wearing ugg boots from an early age.

But don't head to Canberra Tannery trying to buy ugg boots for a family member or friend: you'll likely leave with a gift voucher, following a stern reprimand from Hans.

There's an art to ugg boot sizing, he says, and his preference is to always physically see the foot he's fitting.

"I can't stop people buying them, but it's not the right way to do it," he says.

"Even amongst the shoes, there are differences, because we're using different batches of wool across our colours.

"That's why we don't sell them to the shops, shops want everything to be identical and consistent, and I just know we can't do that."

Canberra Tannery opened at the end of Underwood Street, Oaks Estate, in 1977, initially selling fox hides for fur jackets (popular back in the '70s).

Sheepskin rugs became the tannery's focus in the early '80s, but the quality of skins was "hit and miss", so owners Hans Dimpel (senior), wife Maria and son Hans began hand-making ugg boots out of the reject skins.

Today, the tannery sells close to 1500 pairs of sheepskin shoes a year. Hans himself owns three pairs: a pair of scuffs (for autumn and spring), a pair of ankle boots (good for watching Netflix in) and a pair of long boots (ideal for non-strenuous yard work).

Given the tannery's location smack bang on the ACT/NSW border, is there a difference between the styles of ugg boots purchased by Canberrans versus Queanbeyanites?

"Not that I've noticed," Hans laughs.

"But I should probably start taking people's postcodes when they buy, just to keep track."