Jan Louët Feisser
To enthusiasts of spinning wheels and looms, the name Jan Louët Feisser immediately brings to mind craftsmanship and innovation.
In 1973 Jan designed his first spinning wheel, the S10.
Collaborating with your daughter
In 1974 his entrepreneurial journey started with Clemens, his friend and former class-mate.
Half a century later, he teams up with his daughter Loes. He is 79 when they start Lojan bv.
Quitting work? Such a question causes Jan to dubiously raise his eyebrows.
To him, inventing and creating new products is not a job. It is his vocation.
Making your own products
Little five-year-old Jan looked at his friend’s new construction kit with eager eyes. He wanted that too. But how?
He thought about the wood in the attic. His father’s birch plywood.
Yes, he could make his own construction kit.
Enthusiastically he went wild … with an axe.
He had to be rushed to the doctor with a large cut on his thumb.
The drive to make things has remained.
Jan studied at the Dutch Design Academy in Eindhoven.
He dreamed of making beautiful, smart products that would make people happy.
From antique to S10
Jan repaired a 100-year-old spinning wheel and found the mechanism fascinating.
“Could I turn that into a contemporary, modern product?”
It resulted in the prototype of the S10.
To demonstrate it, he competed in the Dutch Championship of wool spinning. That way, he hoped to sell a few spinning wheels.
Jan was a beginner. Yet he could easily spin an evenly thin and thick thread. Because the S10 could do something most wheels of that time could not.
To spin fast and slow.
He finished in third place. The S10 was such a success that it became the foundation for his long career in the spinning wheel and weaving industry.
Creating out of a chicken coop
The chicken coop at his parents’ house became his workshop.
Friends and family members helped to keep up with the production of the S10.
Employees joined, and Jan’s innovative products became a household name in the spinning and weaving world.
His products are still sold all over the world.
Lojan: a new adventure
After a successful career of almost fifty years, Jan sought to slow down a bit.
He finds it difficult to have no purpose. Therefore, he plunges into writing a book. His view on the economy.
Still, his thoughts regularly wander to thread tension, hand reels and cleverly expandable looms.
He enjoys brainstorming with his daughter Loes. She worked with him for about 15 years.
It feels familiar and slowly a plan emerges.
What if they start over together, just the two of them?
Jan put his book on ice.
In early 2023, Jan and Loes founded Lojan bv. A new adventure.
Why not? He is only 79.