The Rondinaud brand, a century-old and family owned brand, manufactures slippers in La Rochefoucauld, Charente. The company is 100% French, even if it manufactures some models abroad. It exports to Asia or the United States and recently to Canada. One thousand two hundred pairs left La Rochelle in June 2016 on a large three-masted ship for Quebec, a sign of ecological transport.
The Charentaise was born out of chance and necessity under Louis XIV.
It was created at the end of the 17th century from felt scraps used to make military uniforms. The Royal Administration then turned to Angouleme and its water mills to tread the wool and make felt, the falls and felt scraps of the Royal Navy pilgrims being recycled by the shoemakers to make the first Charentaises which were black, the wool upper, the felt sole, with no right foot or left foot to last the use.
At the time, the Charentaises were used as soft slippers that were slipped into the hooves.
The world is rediscovering the good old comfort of the Charentaise women, these slippers made of very eco-friendly wool felt made with traditional know-how.
The rebirth of Rondinaud
But on 15 November 2019, the Commercial Court of Angoumême pronounced the judicial liquidation of the Manufacture Charentaise, a structure created in 2018 which brought together four of the last workshops making the famous slippers of the department.
But while 104 employees are out of work, in stores, customers are rushing to the Charente, for fear that their stocks will run out before Christmas.
Strong of this craze and the requests of store managers, Olivier Rondinaud, grandson of the founder l'atelier Rondineau, anicen sales manager of LMC and Michel Violleau, sales technician of LMC will take over the torch.
The future company, whose name is kept confidential by the two partners, will be created in January, with production starting in March 2020.
Charentaises Rondinaud
Le Champ des Noyers,
16110 Rivières
Tél. : 05 45 62 23 22
https://www.lamanufacturecharentaise.com/rondinaud/11-rondinaud
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
