As a teenager Ronel Jordaan dreamed of a career in the lime-lights of the stage. But in the second year of drama school she was made to understand that it was going to be ‘very difficult’ for her to be an actress. South Africa, 1975. Still, like a phoenix, she has managed to rise time and again from the ashes of her dreams.

First, she went to work in the textile business. She became an apprentice in a factory and after two years was promoted to the design studio. For three more years she stayed with the company, but meanwhile she had also married and become a mom. In order to spend more time with her children, she turned freelancer. She built up a circle of steady clients and for two decades she was happy as a self-employed designer.

Her life was turned upside down by the death of one of her two sons in 2001. Grappling to come to terms with her loss she enrolled in a course of art therapy, and perhaps it’s fair to say that through this she came closer to her true self.

While doing a practical project as part of her art therapy, Ronel discovered the medium of felt, an ancient material of compacted wool. ‘I specifically wanted to work with children,’ she recalls. ‘I asked my son to link me to the church. The church brought me children. We were working under a tree, because they linked me with a group of street children whom they were taking care of. And I saw the wonderful effect felt had on the children. So I started playing with it, just creating things for myself.’ She fell in love with felt’s firm, spongy feel and smudgy patterns and embarked on her next project. ‘I decided to train some women and just see what happens.’ 

She made a number of designs and showed them to interior designers and architects. ‘Everybody loved what I was doing, so I decided to take myself seriously,’ she says with humbleness in her voice. (Luckily she did, because what she makes is unusual and beautiful. Check it out here www.roneljordaan.com) She employed the four women she’d trained, and worked at night as a designer to be able to pay their salaries. Then, in 2005 she launched the company. ‘And from then on, we just grew and grew!’ 

Felt making is a long drawn-out process, rubbing wool together, aided by soap and hot water, until the fibers bind. This makes it difficult to produce consistent quality because it’s all done by hand instead of machines. But hand-made and ecofriendly are her trademarks, even if, due to increasing demand, she is looking into buying a machine to card (comb) the wool. 

‘On a daily basis I have to speak to individuals to make them understand that quality is paramount. Regularly things are sent back. It’s an ongoing process, you cannot relax. I think,’ she sighs deeply, ‘I think it’s in human nature to get complacent, to stop paying attention. So I am affirming all the time what my expectations are.’ This ‘learning curve’ doesn’t prevent her from being extremely proud of her achievements.

When she started, for example, she realised nobody quite understood felting, because in warm South Africa nobody wears wool. This also made her realise she had to market herself abroad. 90% of Ronel Jordaan products are exported. But there too, felt is little understood, so design has been the key. ‘I was so worried about whether my designs were good enough to be accepted internationally. And I still am!’ she laughs. ‘I worry with every new design.’

By asking each woman whom she trained to invite three others to work with them, she has also taught them to be leaders. As soon as their little group can produce good quality, the leader felter is rewarded with a bonus. This way Ronel has built up a steady workforce of 25, which can be expanded to 65 when things get busy. She also employs a group of street vendors who make wire sculptures for her lamps and –the latest design- the metal frame for a chair.

‘I feel it’s worthwhile to help the local people. I believe the reason we are all here and have been given this life, is to share. I have been privileged purely by birth, by having parents who invested in my education. I feel I need to share my skills.’

Sharing is also what UnitedSucces is about. ‘I enjoy our little, informal meetings. It’s nice to hear what other women are doing. And if I need something, I can ask for guidance. UnitedSucces has just linked me with a woman who specializes in bamboo. I have a design idea. I’ll probably need to go there and work with her to sort it out