Our story — Meet Markus
I spent eleven years in corporate finance in Sydney, the last four of them at a mid-sized advisory firm in the CBD. Long hours, good money, and a growing feeling that I was very far from anything real. I grew up in the Barossa, and for most of my thirties I told myself I'd go back eventually. Eventually kept moving. Then in March 2019 I sat in a meeting about a restructure that didn't need to happen, looked out at the harbour, and booked a one-way flight to Adelaide for the following Friday. I handed in my notice that afternoon. My manager thought I was having a breakdown. Maybe I was.
Before Ridgeway Goods existed as anything other than a name I'd written in a notebook, I spent about eight months just getting my hands dirty. I drove out to a textile supplier near Gawler, bought a small lot of cotton fabric, and tried to understand what it actually took to make something. I was not good at it. I drove that same road probably forty times in the first year, sometimes with product, sometimes just with questions. I visited a leather worker in McLaren Vale who'd been in the trade for over thirty years. He didn't give me much advice, but watching him work for an afternoon taught me more than any course would have.
Ridgeway Goods opened its online store in August 2020, which was a strange time to launch anything. The first month we sold fourteen items and turned over roughly $680. I kept a spreadsheet of every single order, the name, the postcode, what they bought. I still have it. Most of those early customers were in regional South Australia, a few in Victoria. I was packing orders at the kitchen table in a rented house outside Tanunda, using a secondhand label printer I'd bought off Gumtree for $60. It was not glamorous. It was also the first time in years I felt like I was doing the right thing.
We're based in Tanunda now, in a proper workshop space we moved into in late 2022. We carry a small range of goods, all sourced or made within Australia where we can manage it. The team is three people including me. We ship around 200 orders a month on average, which is enough to be sustainable and small enough that I still know what's going out the door. I didn't leave Sydney to build a big operation. I left to build a good one.
— Thanks for being here. — Markus, Markus Mueller
Journal
How I finally found the right leather for our wallet
It took eight months and three dead ends before I found a tannery in the Adelaide Hills that would actually talk to me.
When I first decided the Kangaroo Leather Wallet was going to be a real product and not just a sketch in my notebook, I assumed finding the leather would be the easy part. I was wrong. The first two suppliers I contacted never replied. The third sent a price list that assumed I was ordering ten thousand units. I was sitting in my kitchen in the Barossa, staring at a spreadsheet, thinking this is exactly the kind of wall that would have made me quit in my old life too. But in my old life, I would have escalated to a manager. Here, there is no manager.
A woman at the Nuriootpa farmers market mentioned a small operation in the Adelaide Hills, near Lobethal, that did specialty leather finishing for the equestrian market. I drove out on a Tuesday in April last year with a list of questions and no appointment. The owner, a man named Gary who has been working hides for about 30 years, looked at my questions and then looked at me and said, 'You've done your homework.' That felt like the best performance review I'd had in years, which says something about the years.
Kangaroo leather is genuinely different from bovine. It has a tighter fibre structure, which makes it thinner and stronger at the same weight. Gary walked me through the vegetable tanning process he uses, which takes around six weeks from start to finish. The hides come from licensed harvesters in South Australia under the state's wildlife management program, and Gary keeps the paperwork for every batch. I liked that. I liked being able to trace the thing back to its source rather than just taking someone's word for it.
We went through four prototype wallets before I was happy with the stitching tension and the card slot width. I wanted room for four cards and one folded note, nothing more. The wallet I carried in Sydney had twelve card slots and I used three of them. Simplifying that felt like the point. Gary's workshop does the cutting and finishing; I do the quality check on every piece before it goes into packaging. That takes me roughly 8 minutes per wallet, which adds up, but I'm not ready to hand that off yet.
I don't know if I'll ever be the kind of business that has a proper supply chain team. Right now it's me, Gary's team, and a shared spreadsheet. It works. The wallet launched in August and we sold out the first run of 60 pieces in about three weeks, which I did not expect and which caused a mild panic. We're better prepared now. Gary and I have a standing order arrangement and I finally feel like I know what I'm doing, at least on this one thing.
What nobody tells you about breaking in a wool felt hat
The Outback Adventure Hat looks stiff out of the box, and for the first two weeks, it is, but that's the point.
I get a version of the same message about once a fortnight: 'My hat arrived and it feels quite rigid, is that normal?' The answer is yes, and I probably should have put this somewhere more obvious earlier. The Outback Adventure Hat is made from a 100% wool felt body, blocked into shape using heat and steam. That process is what gives it the structure to hold up in real conditions, whether that's a day out on the Seppeltsfield Road in February or a long weekend near Flinders Ranges where the wind does what it wants. Rigid at first is a feature, not a defect.
Breaking it in takes about two to three weeks of regular wear. The felt responds to the heat of your head and the specific shape of your skull, and it gradually becomes yours in a way that a synthetic hat never quite does. I wear mine most mornings when I'm outside, which here means checking on deliveries, walking the property edge, or just standing in the paddock drinking coffee because I can. By the end of the first month mine had softened at the crown and the brim had taken on a very slight downward curl at the front that I hadn't shaped deliberately but ended up preferring.
If you want to speed the process along slightly, a clean damp cloth and some gentle steam from a kettle will let you reshape the brim without damaging the felt. Hold the brim over the steam for about 20 seconds, reshape it with your hands, then let it cool in that position. Don't soak it. Don't put it in the washing machine. I learned the washing machine thing the hard way with my own first sample, which came out looking like something a child had sat on for a year.
The sweatband inside is a natural cotton canvas. It will show wear over time, which is fine. If it gets grimy, a damp cloth with a very small amount of mild soap will clean it without warping the felt body. Store the hat on a flat surface or on a proper hat block if you have one, not hung by the brim on a hook. Hanging by the brim over months will pull the shape out of true, and no amount of steaming will fully fix that. I know this because I have done it.
The hat I wear now is 14 months old. The colour has faded slightly at the crown from sun exposure, which I actually like. It looks like it's been used, because it has been. I left a career where everything had to look pristine and polished at all times. A hat that shows its history feels, to me, like the correct direction to be moving.
A behind the scenes look at the eucalyptus scarf process
The scarf starts as undyed wool from a merino flock near Truro and ends up smelling faintly of the Barossa bush, and there are about eleven steps in between.
I've been meaning to write this down properly for a while, mostly because I find myself explaining it verbally at the Angaston market and then forgetting which parts I've already said. So here is the full version. The Eucalyptus Dream Scarf begins with merino wool sourced from a property near Truro, about 40 minutes east of here. I visited the property twice before committing to the arrangement, which felt overly cautious at the time but turned out to be worth it. The fleece is a 19-micron count, which sits at the finer end of the merino range and means it sits against skin without the prickling that puts people off wool scarves.
The raw fleece is sent to a small spinning mill in regional Victoria that processes short runs. Minimum order there is 10 kilograms, which is enough for approximately 28 scarves. The yarn comes back as a 2-ply worsted, consistent enough that the weaving tension stays even across a batch. I weave on a four-shaft table loom that I bought secondhand from a weaver in Keyneton who was retiring. She spent an afternoon showing me the basics and I spent the following four months making mistakes before I made anything I was willing to sell.
The eucalyptus dyeing is the step people ask about most. I use dried leaves and bark from blue gum and manna gum trees on the property and in the surrounding roadside vegetation. The dye bath takes about two hours of simmering and produces a colour range from pale gold through to a muted khaki green, depending on the mordant used. Alum mordant gives the warmer gold tones; iron shifts it toward grey-green. I cannot perfectly predict where in that range each batch will land, which means no two scarves are identical, and which also means I cannot promise a specific colour to a specific customer, which has caused at least three awkward email exchanges.
After dyeing, the scarf is washed in cool water and laid flat to dry in the shade. Shade matters because direct sun at this time of year, in the Barossa in December, will bleach the dye before it has fully set. Drying takes about 6 hours on a warm day. Once dry, the ends are hand-finished with a simple twisted fringe, which takes me around 25 minutes per scarf and is the part of the process I find most meditative, for lack of a better word. It's repetitive and it requires just enough attention that I can't also be checking my phone.
The whole process from raw fleece to finished scarf takes between 3 and 5 weeks depending on dye batch timing and my weaving schedule. I make them in runs of about 15 at a time. The summer run, which I'm partway through now, will be finished in January and listed in February. I started keeping a batch log this year, noting the dye source, mordant, and colour outcome for every run. It is not glamorous record-keeping, but it is the kind of thing I wish I had done from the start.
After vintage, the valley gets very quiet and I like it
Every March the Barossa empties out after harvest, the tourists leave, and I get the best working weeks of the year.
Vintage in the Barossa runs roughly from late February through to mid-March, depending on the year and the variety. This year the shiraz came off early because January was brutal, 42 degrees for four days straight, and the fruit moved faster than expected. By the third week of March the last of the pickers were gone, the cellar doors had trimmed their hours, and the Seppeltsfield Road went back to being a road rather than a car park. I've lived here for three years now and this is still my favourite shift in the valley's rhythm.
I moved from Sydney in early 2021 after about nine years in financial services. I'm not going to dress that up into a neat story about following a dream, because honestly the more accurate version is that I was exhausted and I needed to stop before I became someone I didn't recognise. The Barossa was where my grandmother had lived, and I'd spent summers here as a child, and when I was trying to think of somewhere that felt like the opposite of a glass-tower office in the CBD, this was the place that came to mind. I bought a small property outside Angaston and spent the first year figuring out what I actually wanted to do with my hands.
What I've noticed about the post-vintage quiet is that it gives me the longest uninterrupted stretches of the year. No weekend traffic noise, no events pulling people through, just the valley settling into autumn. The mornings are cooler now, around 14 degrees when I start work at 7, and the light is different, lower and more angled, the kind of light that makes the property look like someone applied a filter to it. I get more done in these six weeks than in almost any other period. I don't know if that's the quiet or the temperature or just the psychological relief of summer being over.
I've been using this period to work through the next run of Boomerang Earrings, which are made from a recycled timber sourced through a small joinery in the Riverland. The earrings take more precision than they look like they should, and precision requires a clear head. I've also been reviewing the packaging for the wallet, which I've been quietly unhappy with for months. The current box is 30% larger than it needs to be, which wastes materials and costs more to ship. I have a new design coming from a packaging supplier in Adelaide and I'm hoping to switch over by July.
I don't miss the city in March. I missed it quite a bit in the first year, mostly the convenience and occasionally the company. But three autumns in, the thing I notice is that I've stopped counting down to weekends, which is something I did constantly for nearly a decade in Sydney without ever questioning whether it was normal. It is apparently not inevitable. That feels worth recording somewhere.
Customer reviews
Sarah K. — Surry Hills, NSW — 2024-03-14 — 5/5
Wallet arrived in great shape, fast too
Ordered the Kangaroo Leather Wallet on a Tuesday and it was at my door by Thursday, which I wasn't expecting for Sydney. The leather feels solid and the card slots are snug but not tight. Already recommended it to a couple of people at work.
Tom B. — Brunswick, VIC — 2024-05-22 — 4/5
Good hat, sizing runs slightly large
Bought the Outback Adventure Hat in medium and it sits a fraction loose on my 57cm head — worth noting if you're right on the boundary. That aside, the build is solid and it handles direct sun well. Would order from Ridgeway again.
Priya M. — New Farm, QLD — 2024-07-09 — 5/5
Scarf is exactly what I needed
I picked up the Eucalyptus Dream Scarf after reading that it's suitable for sensitive skin, and it genuinely hasn't caused any irritation. It's light enough for Brisbane weather and the colour is exactly as shown. Packaging was neat and arrived in three days.
James R. — Fremantle, WA — 2024-09-03 — 4/5
Nice earrings, slight delay to WA
The Boomerang Earrings were a birthday gift for my partner and she was really happy with them — the finish is clean and they're lighter than they look. Shipping to Fremantle took six business days on the standard option, so plan ahead if it's time-sensitive. Still a good experience overall.
Claire D. — Northcote, VIC — 2024-11-18 — 5/5
Bought two, both perfect
Ordered the Coastal Charm Bracelet for myself and a Kangaroo Leather Wallet as a gift. Both came well packaged, no damage, and the gift wrap option was a nice touch for the wallet. I'll definitely be back before Christmas.
Daniel W. — Hobart, TAS — 2025-01-27 — 5/5
Fast delivery even to Tassie
Honestly expected it to take a week or more getting to Hobart, but the Outback Adventure Hat showed up in four business days via standard post. Fits well, looks good, and the brim is stiff enough to actually block the sun. Happy with it.
Mel T. — Paddington, QLD — 2025-03-05 — 4/5
Lovely bracelet, wanted more colour options
The Coastal Charm Bracelet is well made and sits nicely on the wrist — I've worn it every day since it arrived. My only note is I'd love to see a couple more colour variations. Customer service replied quickly when I asked about sizing, which I appreciated.
Anika S. — Adelaide CBD, SA — 2025-04-14 — 5/5
Great local find
Good to support a South Australian business. I picked up the Eucalyptus Dream Scarf and the Boomerang Earrings together — the scarf is softer than I expected and the earrings are a really clean design. Order was at my door the next day, which was a bonus.
Shipping
All Ridgeway Goods orders are dispatched from our Barossa, SA workshop. Standard orders ship via Australia Post and typically reach metro addresses in 3–7 business days. Regional and remote locations — including rural WA, NT, and parts of Tasmania — should allow 5–10 business days. Express orders are sent via StarTrack and generally arrive within 1–3 business days for most capital cities. To qualify for same-day dispatch on express, your order needs to be placed before 2pm AEST Monday to Friday. Orders placed after that cut-off, or on weekends and public holidays, go out the next available business day.
Shipping is free Australia-wide on orders over $100 AUD. Orders below that threshold attract a flat-rate standard shipping fee or an express fee, both displayed clearly at checkout before you pay. All prices on the Ridgeway Goods website are in Australian dollars and include GST. No surprise charges at the end. We pack orders in recycled cardboard boxes with paper fill — no single-use plastic padding. Fragile items such as the Boomerang Earrings and Coastal Charm Bracelet are individually wrapped in tissue before boxing to reduce movement in transit.
Once your order ships, you'll receive an email with a tracking number you can use directly on the Australia Post or StarTrack website. If your parcel arrives damaged, take photos of the packaging and the item before doing anything else, then contact us at hello@ridgewaygoods.com.au within 48 hours of delivery. We'll sort a replacement or refund without making you jump through hoops. We currently ship to all Australian states and territories, including PO boxes for standard delivery. At this stage we do not offer international shipping.
Returns
We accept change-of-mind returns within 30 days of the delivery date, provided the item is unused, unworn, and returned in its original packaging with any tags still attached. To start a return, email hello@ridgewaygoods.com.au with your order number and reason for return. We'll confirm eligibility and send you a return address within two business days. Return postage for change-of-mind returns is at your cost; we recommend using a tracked service, as we can't accept responsibility for parcels lost in transit back to us. Once we receive and inspect the item, we'll process your refund within five business days.
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law are separate from our change-of-mind policy and are not limited by any timeframe. If a product arrives faulty, damaged, or is not as described, you are entitled to a remedy — repair, replacement, or refund — depending on the nature of the problem. In those cases, contact us straight away and we will cover return postage. You do not need to return items in original packaging to exercise your Australian Consumer Law rights. We take these obligations seriously and will not argue the toss if something we sent you is genuinely defective.
A few things that are not covered under our change-of-mind returns: sale or discounted items marked final sale at the time of purchase, custom or personalised orders (such as monogrammed wallets), and items that show clear signs of wear or use. We also cannot accept returns on the Eucalyptus Dream Scarf or other textile products if the hygiene seal has been broken and the item has been worn against the skin. Refunds are issued to your original payment method. Depending on your bank or card provider, it can take up to 10 business days for the funds to appear in your account after we've processed the refund on our end.