The Makers
More than fifty artists, designers and craftspeople contribute to Wool World - jewellers and fashion designers, weavers and sculptors, furniture makers and felters. Their practices are as varied as the South African landscape that shapes them, but they share a single material and the particular kind of care that working with wool demands.
When they gather at Dwarsvlei Farm each July to showcase their work, something happens that is difficult to plan for. The shed fills with work made in studios and workshops across the country, and despite the differences in form, scale and discipline, a spirit of connection runs through it all. There is a shared reverence for the material, and a recognition of the importance of one another's hands in the work.
The makers you'll find here are not a movement or a collective, they are individuals who have each found their own way to wool. What follows is a selection of their stories, in their own words, filmed in their studios or in remote parts of the Karoo.
Hannelie Bekker
Hannelie is a knitwear designer and textile practitioner based in Johannesburg, South Africa, working across garment and non-wearable forms. Her work is grounded in natural fibres, in particular mohair, merino wool, and cotton.
Knitwear is approached as both structure and surface. It is developed using vintage domestic knitting machines, where fibre is handled directly and structure and stitch are closely controlled. Both collections and commission are shaped through material exploration, followed by an iterative process of sampling, refinement, and making.
Ronél Jordaan
Ronél Jordaan is inspired by nature. Through the medium of felted wool, her original designs playfully and eloquently echo organic forms and textures.
Having been a textile designer for 26 years, began researching the possibilities of using felt as a creative medium. Entirely self-taught and following her own creative instincts, she began to turn fine gossamer thread into robust felted forms.
By patiently rubbing and coaxing threads of pure wool into shapes in nature that inspire her, she found her direction and started a small home industry. She trained a handful of women to help her. Recognized for their originality and design uniqueness, her creations found an immediate market. Consistent with being inspired by nature, the Ronél Jordaan® label is equally harmonious with nature; the processes implemented in the workshop are all eco-friendly.
Nina Kruger
Nina is a contemporary fibre artist with a background in the commercial textile industry, where she accumulated over 7 years of experience leading and organizing numerous marketing and design initiatives. She currently lives in Stellenbosch where she is an art curator at La Motte Ateljee. Having recently completed a Master’s degree with a specialization in fibre and textile art, Nina is exploring themes related to posthumanism and new materialism.
Drawing on her experience in the commercial textile industry, Kruger's practice engages with materiality, environment, and posthumanist thought. Her work has been exhibited locally, most notably in her first solo exhibition at AVA Gallery in Cape Town as well as other group exhibitions across the country and internationally.
Kruger is a SASOL New Signatures 2024 finalist and has received accolades including the Rector's Scholarship in Poznań and a merit award at the Barclays L'Atelier Competition, which led to a residency at Sylt Kunst Raum in Germany. Her writing on posthumanism and new materialism in textile art is published in Zeszyty Artystyczne, the academic journal of The University of Art in Poznań.
Currently, Nina is seeking opportunities to combine her passion for fine art, research & education with practical industry involvement. Her goal is to build a career that allows her to create and exhibit art, while contributing meaningfully to the Art community.
Tali Lehr-Sacks
Tali is an artist, soft sculptor, collector, curator at Kim Sacks Gallery, a teacher, and a facilitator at Found Fibre Studio. She is based in Johannesburg, and her work interweaves queer and urban studies, phenomenology, and post-humanism. Tali focuses on the recontextualization and transformation of discarded and undervalued urban objects – which are often pushed to the peripheries of the city – into queer matter, that matters once again.
By combining seemingly paradoxical materials such as rusted metal found objects and soft fibre in its various forms, she challenges the taxonomical and Cartesian modes of separation between subject and object, matter and meaning, and masculinity and femininity. Both the materials (found objects and fibre in its various forms) and the processes of care (walking, looking, collecting, unlearning, relating, world-building, transforming, rebirthing) within her practice, involves a dynamic fusion of both feminine and masculine moments of embodiment.
Anika Lötter
Anika is a maker of art jewellery, whose creative practice has become a manifestation of her nature-culture relationship. Her work has led her to wonder how she can use her practice to design for and into a more sustainable and harmonious future. To Lötter, the making of art jewellery pieces has proven that conscious design emerges from the process, and the collaboration between herself and the material world.
Each piece she creates is a reflection of her journey and connection with the materials. She finds herself captivated by the natural properties, textures, and patterns inherent in these elements, and strives to enhance and highlight their unique qualities. Through this intimate exploration, her jewellery transforms into a modern artefact, telling the story of the landscape that inspires each piece. By incorporating materials directly found in the area, she is able to weave a visual narrative that is connected to the body, extending a heartfelt homage to the beauty of the environment.
Polo
A classically designed knitwear piece from Polo should become a signature piece of anyone's wardrobe to be worn throughout the year. Polo sweaters and pullovers are not only for winter; a well-fitted, quality jersey can make the perfect accessory to both a spring and autumn look too.
At Polo South Africa, their knitwear range is stylish and offers variety in terms of styles, colours, and sizes. They want to make every South African feel confident when wearing their clothing pieces. They are made with the finest cotton and wool blends on the market and offer the wearer the ultimate in both comfort and confidence. The company's commitment to sustainable practices and use of natural wool fibres sets an impressive example for the industry.
Quenti Alpaca
Quenti Alpaca & Mill is located just an hour from Cape Town and is a unique destination. Their large herd of alpaca produce mountains of superb fleece which is processed in the on-site customized industrial mill. Backed by mountains and in the midst of wine and fruit farms, this historic farm epitomizes a deep respect for the environment with careful choices of processing methods, water utilization and land care. The old homestead dated 1715 has been lovingly restored. Home to Cape Alpaca and Aymara brands and proud producers of exceptional quality yarns and products.
Quenti’s studio on the farm is filled with the beautiful products that they make in the mill from the fleece grown by their herd. They strive to breed strong healthy animals with excellent conformation, high volumes and quality fibre. They also have a selection of alpaca available for purchase.
Frances Van Hasselt
Frances van Hasselt has a deep affinity to mohair, having grown up on a family farm in the Karoo that owns one of the oldest mohair studs in the world. She is a designer and entrepreneur focusing on developing mohair textiles in South Africa.
Her company, Frances v.H Mohair, is a women-led textile studio based in Prince Albert. Raised on a mohair farm in the Karoo desert, van Hasselt has a deep affinity for this natural fibre. She collaborates with a team of women artisans in the Karoo, weaving a story about the origins of textiles, simultaneously allowing the natural environment to inform every aspect of their design and making process.