00:00Martin Deichmann in his workshop.
00:05The Dutch shoemaker is keeping up the centuries-old art of making klompen, world-famous as clogs.
00:12But his craft isn't drawing new apprentices these days.
00:16In Holland we have about 10 people crafting them as a hobby and only a few doing it professionally.
00:23He is one of them and is committed to promoting the art of clog making around the world.
00:29My goal is to help keep the tradition of clogs alive.
00:33Of course, I also hope there will be people to take over from me.
00:38But it's proving difficult.
00:41Martin was practically born for the clog making tradition.
00:45Here in the small village of LĂĽtenberg in the Netherlands,
00:48he is the fourth generation of his family to be crafting them.
00:52It starts with poplar wood.
00:55The wood should have no knots, of course.
00:58When you start cutting it into pieces, you can already tell if it's good wood.
01:04The wood then goes to the workshop.
01:06Here, everything revolves around clogs.
01:09He's even created entire artworks out of them.
01:12There are more than 13,000 miniature shoes in this piece alone.
01:16Back to the wearable versions, though.
01:19This one is a child's clog, roughly a size 32.
01:27But clogs aren't actually made in shoe sizes.
01:31They're measured in centimeters.
01:37The clog maker works with tools he inherited from his ancestors.
01:42They were already being worked with just like this over 800 years ago.
01:47Left, right, check.
01:49In the past, it took a seven-year apprenticeship to master the craft.
01:55You don't need to be strong, but the wood has to be good, the tools sharp, and you need good technique.
02:08For example, this lever makes it simpler.
02:12Like this, you'd need more force.
02:16But it's not necessary.
02:18Farmers and craftspeople would once wear clogs the whole day long.
02:24Today, they've become more of a symbol of the Netherlands and are a popular souvenir.
02:29Because there's no new generation stepping up, Martin promotes his profession.
02:35He travels the world, invited by Dutch embassies, and has even had royal encounters along the way.
02:41I've worked in New York, in Kuala Lumpur, in Tokyo, in China.
02:47I met the Dutch king in New York.
02:50I was there for a 10-day event.
02:54And the king came by for an hour.
02:58I'm proud that he looked me in the eye.
03:01That was wonderful, of course.
03:06That recognition strengthens him in his work.
03:09Yet even more important to him is customer satisfaction.
03:13What customers want most is a comfortable insole, which Martin carves out with a spoon drill.
03:24After about five hours, a pair of shoes is finished. Or is it?
03:33These clogs are actually finished. But they're also not.
03:38First the wood has to dry. That takes a week.
03:41Then the children can start walking in them.
03:44And we still have to decorate them, of course.
03:47Every clog maker has their own design.
03:51Martin inherited his from his father.
03:55But he's also handcrafted very different variations of the wooden shoe.
03:59And some are just for show.
04:02In the store alongside his workshop, Martin sells his handcrafted shoes along with machine-made ones.
04:08These are the natural wooden clogs. They're the ones we sell the most.
04:15This here is more of a children's design.
04:18And for the tourists, of course, these pretty ones with painted windmills and tulips.
04:25Martin's wife Marijke prefers the natural version.
04:29For her, clogs are an important everyday shoe.
04:32I always wear clogs when I'm working in the garden, when I take out the trash or when I wash the car.
04:41Also, whenever I go for a little walk with the dog in the evening or during the day, I wear clogs.
04:46They're just practical. You can slip them on and off. Super comfortable.
04:51It's easy. You can put it in and out.
04:54Hup, hup, flat.
04:56Whether as a daily shoe or a souvenir, clogs are a centuries-old part of Dutch culture
05:01and have been preserved to this day.
05:03All thanks to passionate craftspeople like Martin Dijkman.
Comments