THE Granite Belt is well known for its wool production, and one woman has been making herself known in the industry.

Marika McNichol is better known as The Ugg Boot Lady of Stanthorpe.

She started The Ugg Boot Lady business 12 years ago from a table, chair and a Toyota van parked on the side of the road on the New England Hwy, just south of Stanthorpe at Glen Aplin.

"My sister married a guy who was making ugg boots, and was helping make them and I was asked to help sell them on road side," Mrs McNichol said.

"It was interesting starting out; we ended up getting a little trailer and then ended up buying a bit of land just to keep up with it.

"The scariest thing was when we got the trailer and I had to just put my mind to it and drove the trailer - that was probably the biggest challenge for me."

The iconic sheepskin ugg boots, hats, and coats soon caught people's attention.

The business grew from there and found a permanent home just down the road in the village of Glen Aplin.

Originally from England, Mrs McNichol moved to Stanthorpe in 1971, with three other siblings when her parents bought the Cottonvale store.

"We had lived in a small town in England and came over in 1970 to Australia and mum and dad had a service station," she said.

"I had been strawberry picking in the country before and was just in awe - I fell in love with the country.

"I love Stanthorpe, it's a great little country town and it's just so beautiful."

After moving to Stanthorpe, she married the boy from across the road, Mark McNichol and together they raised eight children.

She said juggling a large family and a business was difficult at times but worth it because The Ugg Boot Lady brought her into contact with many people.

"Hearing their concerns - about money, health, and the things people value - has increasingly made me think about the community in which we live and how we can support each other," Mrs McNichol said.

Now that her eight children are grown up, it has prompted Mrs McNichol to run for election as a councillor in the Southern Downs Regional Council election in March, complementing the charity work she has been involved with for years.

"It will be a challenge, but I have always liked that," she said.

"I've gone outside the square many times and I am really looking forward to the election campaign.

"I want to make a positive difference for people.

"Being a councillor will give me a bigger opportunity to help people out and feels right for me."

She said if she could expand her business, she hoped she could help the Southern Downs to thrive.

"I think it's important people see that I started off with nothing and not knowing what to do," Mrs McNichol said.

"If I can do it anyone can, you've just got to have the courage and the determination to follow your dreams.

"I believe that if you don't have it, you don't spend it and that's how I've run the business - you can't run the books into the ground.

"That's also part of the reason I want to run for Council - I've seen how badly they are in debt and if I don't like it, I've got to do something about it."

Mrs McNichol said she hoped to bring an icon to the Granite Belt as big as her business ambitions.

"Maybe one day I would love to build the Big Ugg Boot on the Granite Belt," she said.

"I reckon it would be a terrific regional attraction.

"I am looking forward to new challenges ahead and what the future might bring."