The Netherlands’ largest wooden shoe producer has seen production drop by half in recent years to 300,000 pairs a year. “If this continues, a piece of our cultural heritage will disappear.” says clog-maker Paul Nijhuis.
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It's a trend which began in the 1980s. Only a handful of clog-makers remained out of the thousands of craftsmen who once made nine million pairs of clogs a year.
 
It was back then that Mr Nijhuis took over clog-making from his father in the village of Beltrum in the south-east of the Netherlands. He expanded the business. “Everyone thought I was mad,” he says. Mr Nijhuis now has 90 percent of the market in his hands.
 
Tourists
Tourists take home 100,000 pairs of clogs a year. But the professional market is shrinking. The generation of farmers and horticulturalists who wear clogs are dying out, and young farmers prefer to use other, cheaper shoes.
 
Innovation
To keep their heads above water, the production of clogs had to become cheaper. So Mr Nijhuis designed machines to take over manual work. For instance a machine, which cuts a piece of wood into six pieces at the push of a button. That is quicker than having someone cut it up.
 
Mr Nijhuis has also sought out different markets for new products he has dreamt up.
 
Soft and fluffy clog-shaped slippers have been an enormous success, he says. Every week another batch arrives from China where the slippers are made. There are 17 outlets at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport alone.
 
But it’s the old-fashioned clog that he is passionate about. He innovates these too. His latest design is a slim-fit model for women, with an open heel and a short instep. Not too fashionable, but timeless and durable. “Because our company’s mission is to maintain our cultural heritage: the wooden shoe.”