Holbrook farrier Fonz and Nat Corbett shine with Best Leather Care

Beef tallow, bees wax, soap and lemon myrtle are the secret to success for this Holbrook pair.

It may be a new product but the roots of Best Leather Care date back more than a century.

And anyone who knows Holbrook farrier Fonz Corbett knows he loves Australian history and its connection to leather.

Stints in the shearing and mining industries, and bent over working on horses’ feet, gave Fonz time to think.

It occurred to him that there was a gap in the market for an Australian-made, authentic old-time leather care product, after looking for something to condition one of his saddles.

And while originally aimed at the equine market, it’s found new uses for everything from boots to handbags and from cars to couches.

The ingredients are a modern version of the original recipe - beef tallow, beeswax and pure soap - with the addition of essential oils, which he swapped in instead of kerosene.

“That original recipe was very familiar to many pre World War I, but got lost along the way due to the use of petroleum-based oils and waxes,” Fonz said.

“It makes sense as they were using animal tallow which was what they had on hand at the time.”

Fonz and Nat Corbett, from Best Leather Care, at Holbrook, NSW, are finalists in the Australian Small Business Champion Awards for their product which conditions leather and is made from a historic recipe.

The leather care is made on their property in Holbrook, initially in small tins but Fonz said they had also had requests for bigger containers from stations up north and some in the horse industry.

And while it was officially launched at the Henty Machinery Field Days last year, the couple hope more will discover its benefits when they attend the Man from Snowy River festival at Corryong in April.

It will be a busy couple of months, with the product also nominated as a finalist in the Australian Small Business Champion Awards, with the winners announced later this month.

Fonz is confident the locally-made, all natural leather conditioner will hit the right note with consumers.

“We’ve had terrific feedback - people love the story but they love the product even more,” he said.