Our story — Meet Loree
My son Norton was four when I decided I was done driving forty minutes each way to a job that paid me $22 an hour to sit in a call centre in Mawson Lakes. I'd been making pet accessories at the kitchen table since 2019, mostly collars and little blankets, selling maybe six or seven a month to people in the neighbourhood. My husband thought it was a hobby. I thought it might be something else. When I added up what I'd cleared in October that year, it was more than a full fortnight's pay from the call centre. That was the moment I stopped treating it like a side project and started treating it like a business.
Before Norton Goods existed as a name, I was just a mum in Salisbury North with a sewing machine, a dog named Reg, and a lot of opinions about how most pet products were either ugly or fell apart in six months. I'd spent about three years buying and returning things that didn't hold up, and somewhere in that frustration I started making my own. I did a short course at TAFE SA in 2018 on small business basics, mostly because I wanted to understand GST and not embarrass myself, and that gave me just enough confidence to take the product side seriously. The name Norton came from my eldest. He asked to be on the label.
I registered the business in early 2020 and moved operations to Toowoomba in 2021 when my partner took a role at the Darling Downs hospital network. I found a supplier for kangaroo leather out of Chinchilla and drove out there myself the first time, came home with 8 kilograms of offcuts and a much better sense of what I was working with. The workshop now runs out of a converted garage on the edge of town, school hours only, which means I'm done by 3 pm most days. That boundary has never moved. Norton and his sister Clem get their mum back at the gate every afternoon, and the business fits around that, not the other way around.
Norton Goods ships Australia-wide now and we've had orders from Broome to Burnie. I still pack most of them myself on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The range has grown to include treats, carriers, and a few things I never expected to be selling, but the decisions about what goes in still come back to the same test I've always used: would I actually put this on Reg. If the answer is no, it doesn't go on the site. That's the whole filter.
— Made in Toowoomba, named after my kid. — Loree, Loree Chantal Ambrose
Journal
Where the kangaroo leather for our collars actually comes from
I get asked about the leather at least twice a week, so here is the honest version of that answer.
When I first started looking into kangaroo leather for the collars, I expected it to be complicated. I had this image of cold calls to tanneries and nobody calling back. What actually happened was a tip from a woman in a Facebook group for small pet product makers who pointed me toward a tannery in regional Queensland, not far from where I already was. I drove out there on a Tuesday in early March last year, kids at school, radio on, and met the guy who runs the place. He has been processing roo hides for about 22 years. The operation is small. There are maybe six people working on any given day.
The hides come from licensed harvesters operating under Queensland's commercial harvest program, which has annual quotas set by the state government. I want to be clear that I am not going to dress this up as something it is not. These are animals that are harvested, and if that is not for you, I completely understand. What I can say is that nothing is imported, no additional land is cleared for it, and the hides that become our collars would otherwise go to waste because the market for roo leather has actually shrunk over the past decade. The tannery uses a chrome-free process for the finish we order.
The leather itself is genuinely different from bovine leather. It has a higher tensile strength relative to its weight, which matters for a collar on a dog that pulls. Our most popular width is 25mm, and I have had people tell me their Staffy or their Malinois has been wearing the same collar for over 3 years without any cracking. That is the part that made me stick with this supplier rather than going cheaper. The tannery minimum order is 20 hides per run, which was terrifying when I first agreed to it.
I drove home that first day with a sample piece of leather on the passenger seat and spent probably 45 minutes of the drive just thinking about whether I could actually move 20 hides worth of collars. Norton was seven at the time, the business was about 14 months old, and I was still cutting and finishing everything myself on the kitchen table after the kids went to bed. I said yes anyway. We sold through that first run in about 11 weeks, mostly to people in Victoria and New South Wales with working breeds or dogs that spent a lot of time in the water.
I still visit the tannery once or twice a year. The owner's name is Gary and he makes very strong instant coffee that I always accept even though I don't really like instant. That feels like the right detail to end on.
How to switch your cat's litter without a week of chaos
Cats are opinionated about their litter boxes and a cold-swap usually ends badly, but a slow transition works almost every time.
I hear from people fairly regularly who have bought our eco litter, opened the bag, and then their cat has looked at the tray like it personally offended them. It is a real thing. Cats are sensitive to texture and smell changes in their toileting area, and if you swap from a clay clumping litter to a paper or wood-based product overnight, some cats will just stop using the tray. That is not a small problem. So before I get into the actual method, I want to say that this is not about our litter being difficult. This is just cat behaviour, and it applies to any litter change.
The method that works for most cats is a 10 to 14 day blend transition. On day one, you fill the tray as normal with whatever you are currently using, then replace about 20 percent of the volume with the new litter. Mix it through. Every 3 days, you shift the ratio further toward the new product. By day 12 or so, you are at 100 percent new litter and most cats have not noticed the shift because it happened gradually enough that the scent and texture change was never dramatic. I have tested this with my own two cats, a desexed male tabby and a fairly anxious rescue tortoiseshell.
The tortoiseshell, who we call Bread Bag for reasons I will not go into, was the harder case. She took the full 14 days and I kept a small amount of the old litter mixed in for an extra week just to be safe. The tabby did not care at all, which is consistent with his general personality. One thing that helps is keeping the tray in exactly the same location during the transition. If you are also moving the tray to a new spot in the laundry or bathroom, do that after the litter change is complete, not at the same time.
Our eco litter is wood-fibre based and it clumps reasonably well, though not as hard as sodium bentonite clay. The clumps are softer and break apart more easily if you scoop too gently, so use a firm scoop and get underneath them rather than pressing from above. I use a standard metal scoop with a handle about 30cm long. The pellets that have not been used absorb the broken clump material and those can stay in the tray. You are really just removing the solid clumps and the soiled pellets, not doing a full tray change each time.
A full tray replacement every 3 to 4 weeks is usually enough for one cat in a normal household. Two cats sharing a tray, I would push that to every 2 weeks. The wood fibre does a reasonable job with ammonia smell but it is not magic, and a tray that is left too long will let you know.
What packing 40 orders before school pickup actually looks like
People imagine a warehouse; the reality is a spare room, a label printer, and a very firm deadline at 3pm.
I named the business after my son Norton, who is now eight. The other one is Della, she is five. School pickup is 3pm at their school in Toowoomba and I will not be late for it, so everything I do between 9 and 2:30 is the business day. That is it. No exceptions for busy periods, no staying back to finish a big order. I built the whole operation around that window, which sounds limiting but has actually forced me to be quite organised in a way I was not when I worked in admin part-time and had what felt like more flexibility.
A normal Tuesday right now looks like this: I check overnight orders first thing, print labels in one batch, then pull stock. The spare room has a set of wire shelving units along two walls. Collars hang on hooks sorted by width and colour. Litter bags stack on the floor. Treat pouches go in a plastic bin by size. The carrier bags are the bulkiest thing I stock and they live under the desk because there is nowhere else for them. I pack in order of postage weight because I drop everything at the Toowoomba Mail Centre on the way to school, and they close their parcel counter at 4:30.
Last Tuesday I had 43 orders to pack, which is a big day for me but not unusual heading into late spring. I was done by 1:50. The reason I can do that in under five hours is that I do not offer gift wrapping, I do not hand-write notes, and I stopped putting tissue paper in boxes about eight months ago after I calculated it was adding 4 minutes per order and costing me around $180 a month. I put a small printed card in each box instead. That is the only insert.
The label printer is a Brother QL-820NWB and it has paid for itself many times over. Before that I was printing on A4 sheets and cutting them, which I did for the first 9 months of the business and I do not know how I stood it. The packing tape dispenser I use is a Scotch H180 and I have had the same one since I started. These are the things nobody tells you matter but they really do when you are doing 40 boxes by yourself in a room that also contains a deflated paddling pool and a box of Della's old picture books.
I do not have a team. I have considered hiring someone casual during peak but the logistics of training someone in a space this small, around a timetable this fixed, has not felt worth it yet. Maybe next year. Norton has started asking if he can help on school holidays, which is very sweet and also genuinely useful for sticking down flaps.
What we learned taking the pet carrier to Girraween in January
A long weekend in the Granite Belt with a dog, a cat, and two kids taught me a few things about how the carrier actually performs.
We drove up to Girraween National Park over the Australia Day long weekend. It is about an hour and a half from Toowoomba, which is manageable, and we have been going there since before the kids were born. The wildflowers were mostly done by late January but the rock formations are the real reason we go, those enormous granite outcrops around Pyramids Trail are genuinely unlike anywhere else in Queensland. We brought the dog, a 4-year-old kelpie cross named Socks, and the cat, Bread Bag, who travels in the carrier because she gets anxious loose in the car.
The carrier we sell is the Outback Adventure one, and I want to be honest that I had not done a long trip in high summer with it before this. Toowoomba in January sits around 28 to 32 degrees most days, and inside the car before the air conditioning kicks in it gets hotter than that. I was watching Bread Bag for any sign of distress. She was fine, actually. The mesh panels on three sides moved enough air that she was not panting. She was unhappy, because she is always unhappy in the car, but that is a personality issue rather than a heat issue.
What I noticed on the trail walks was that the carry handles are the weak point for longer distances. We did about 6 kilometres on the Pyramids trail with Bread Bag in the carrier, taking turns, and by the end my hand was sore. The handles are sturdy but not padded, and over that distance you feel it. I came home and sent a note to the supplier with that feedback. I do not know yet if there will be a change for the next production run but I put it in writing. The shoulder strap is better for distance than the handles, which I should have figured out before the walk.
Socks is not a carrier dog. She walked the whole thing herself and drank out of every puddle she could find, which is her standard operating procedure. The part that surprised me was how well the carrier handled being shoved in and out of the car boot alongside the camping gear. We were not careful with it. It came out with no bent frame and the zips still ran smoothly, which was a better result than I expected given how roughly it was treated over four days.
We got home Sunday night, both kids asleep in the back, Socks across their feet, Bread Bag silent in her carrier for the first time all weekend. I sat in the driveway for a few minutes before I went inside. That was a good trip.
Customer reviews
Bridget O. — Newtown, NSW — 2024-03-14 — 5/5
Collar holds up better than expected
Ordered the Kangaroo Leather Dog Collar for my staffy cross and it arrived in four days, which was quicker than I expected for a Sydney delivery. The leather feels solid and the stitching looks like it'll last. My dog has worn it daily for six weeks and there's no sign of wear at the buckle holes.
Tom R. — Brunswick, VIC — 2024-06-22 — 4/5
Good litter, slight clumping issue at first
The Eco-Friendly Cat Litter took my two cats about a week to accept, which is pretty normal with a switch. Once they settled in, odour control has been genuinely better than the supermarket brand I was using. Knocked off one star because the bag seal wasn't great and a bit of dust got into the box during delivery.
Sarah K. — Fremantle, WA — 2024-08-09 — 5/5
Roo treats went down a treat
My border collie has a sensitive stomach and most commercial treats cause issues. Ordered the Roo Chew Dog Treats after reading the single-ingredient label and he's had no reaction at all over three weeks. They keep him occupied for a good 20 minutes each, which is a bonus.
Marcus D. — South Melbourne, VIC — 2024-10-31 — 4/5
Carrier is well-made, sizing runs small
The Outback Adventure Pet Carrier is sturdy and the ventilation panels are better than others I've tried. Worth noting the medium size runs slightly small — my 5kg cat fitted but it was a snug fit. I'd size up if your pet is on the larger end of the listed weight range.
Jess M. — West End, QLD — 2024-12-05 — 5/5
Quick shipping, cat obsessed with the toy
Ordered the Koala Plush Cat Toy as a stocking filler and it arrived in two days, which was great given how close it was to Christmas. My cat dragged it off the couch within minutes of me opening the package and has barely left it alone since. The stitching looks durable enough to survive her.
Daniel W. — Surry Hills, NSW — 2025-01-18 — 5/5
Replaced my dog's collar twice now
This is the second Kangaroo Leather Dog Collar I've bought from Norton Goods — the first one lasted nearly two years of daily use on a large lab before the D-ring finally started to show wear. Ordered a replacement and it arrived in three days. Consistent quality and no fuss with the order process.
Priya N. — Norwood, SA — 2025-02-27 — 4/5
Solid carrier for vet trips
We use the Outback Adventure Pet Carrier for our two cats' vet visits and it's made the process a lot less stressful than our old hard shell carrier. The shoulder strap is comfortable for a 20-minute walk. I'd like a small external pocket for documents or a leash, but otherwise it does exactly what we need.
Claire B. — Hobart, TAS — 2025-04-03 — 5/5
Great service when I had a question
Emailed before ordering the Roo Chew Dog Treats to ask about the sourcing and got a clear, direct reply the same afternoon. Ordered the next day and the treats arrived within five days to Hobart, which I thought was reasonable. My kelpie demolished the first one in about ten minutes and has been pestering me for more.
Shipping
Norton Goods ships Australia-wide from our workshop in Toowoomba, QLD. Standard orders are dispatched via Australia Post and typically arrive within 3–7 business days for metro areas including Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. Regional and remote addresses, including parts of WA, NT, and rural QLD, should allow 5–10 business days. Express orders are handled through StarTrack and generally arrive within 1–3 business days for metro customers, provided the order is placed before 2pm AEST Monday to Friday. Orders placed after the cutoff or on weekends are processed the next business day. All quoted timeframes are estimates and can be affected by carrier delays outside our control.
Standard shipping is a flat rate of $9.95 and express is $14.95. Orders totalling $89 AUD or more qualify for free standard shipping automatically — no code needed. All prices shown on the Norton Goods website include GST. Your tax invoice, which shows the GST component, is emailed to you when your order is confirmed. We pack orders in recycled cardboard boxes with paper void fill where needed. We avoid single-use plastic where we can, and any protective wrap used for fragile items is either paper-based or compostable.
Once your order ships, you'll receive a tracking number by email so you can follow it through Australia Post's or StarTrack's tracking portal. If your parcel arrives damaged, take photos of the outer packaging and the item before using it, then contact us at hello@nortongoods.com.au with your order number and images. We'll work with you to arrange a replacement or refund depending on what's available. For items that are lost in transit, we'll lodge an investigation with the carrier and keep you updated. We ask for up to five business days to resolve carrier investigations before issuing a replacement or refund.
Returns
If you're not happy with your purchase, you can return most items within 30 days of the delivery date for a refund or exchange. To be eligible, items must be unused, in their original condition, and returned in the original packaging. To start a return, email hello@nortongoods.com.au with your order number and a brief description of the issue. We'll send you a return authorisation and instructions. Please don't send items back without contacting us first, as unannounced returns can cause delays. Return postage is at the customer's cost for change-of-mind returns. Where the item is faulty or we made an error, we'll cover the return shipping.
Some items cannot be returned under our standard change-of-mind policy. Opened perishable products — including the Eco-Friendly Cat Litter and Roo Chew Dog Treats — are excluded once the seal has been broken, for hygiene and safety reasons. Gift wrapping fees are non-refundable. These exclusions do not affect your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. If a product is faulty, unsafe, doesn't match its description, or fails to do what it's meant to do, you are entitled to a remedy regardless of whether the item is perishable or has been opened.
Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) apply to all purchases from Norton Goods. Under the ACL, you are entitled to a repair, replacement, or refund for major failures, and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss. For minor failures, we may choose to repair or replace the item rather than offer a refund. Once we receive and inspect your return, we'll process approved refunds within 5–7 business days back to your original payment method. If you paid by credit card, allow a further 2–5 business days for your bank to process the credit. For any questions about your consumer rights, the ACCC website at accc.gov.au is a useful starting point.