Volendam. Art of klompen. - a photo on Flickriver

Did you hear sometimes the sounds of clog-knocking. I did... here, in Volendam. A clog is a type of footwear traditionally worn by workers as protective clothing in factories, mines and farms. A clog can also be a special kind of shoe worn while clog-dancing (clogging). Even when I saw local women worn in national costumes, even when I understood that it’s just touristic performance, clog-knocking of their “klompen” sounded to me like a music... Because of the long association of Dutch people, especially rural workers, and clogs, Dutch people are sometimes nicknamed cloggies or clog-wearers. Today, Dutch clogs are primarily a beloved tourist souvenir. Despite the fact that most Dutch no longer wear klompen for everyday use, clogs remain popular among people working in their gardens and farms and among planters. Wooden shoes, as icons of Dutch culture, appear in customs such as the practice of young Dutch men presenting their fiancees with a pair of carved wooden shoes. The first guild of clog makers dates back to around 1570 in Holland. Dutch wooden shoes can be plain, painted or carved. Painting the shoes is an old custom that goes back to the beginning of their history. The first artist to paint wooden shoes was Pieter Brueghel the Elder in 1550.
Today are not many wooden shoe makers left, but they can be found in some areas. These artisans demonstrate the many tools they use and how they select a tree trunk or log according to the size shoe they are going to make. Both shoes of a pair must be made from the same kind of wood, even the same side of a tree, so that the wood will shrink at the same rate. Usually, sycamore, alder, willow and poplar woods are used for handmade clogs, and birch is used for machine-made... All this story Louis told me when I’ve been in Wooden Shoe Factory De Vriendschap here in Volendam. Louis wasn’t born here in Holland. His name and image looked very known to me and after he finished to tell everything about klompen and shown how he made them I asked him where he’s from. “From Ecuador, my friend” - he said. “Looks it’s not so far from your country”. So... after those words I understood how small is our world and how easy to meet everywhere even “relatives”.

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Taken on: May 8, 2010

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volendam

Netherlands

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Camera: Nikon D80, f/8.0, 1/10 sec, 62mm (=93mm), ISO 3200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D80
Lens:	18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.1 sec (1/10)
Focal Length:	62mm (35mm equivalent: 93mm)
ISO:	3200
Exposure Bias:	-2/3 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain up
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh
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