A klompenmaker is a wooden shoe maker. For many people in the Netherlands, wooden shoes were the common footwear. Wooden shoes were sturdy, protected toes when something fell on it, and made from material that’s easily available. And if they broke beyond mending, you could always use them for firewood!
Nowadays, some farmers still wear wooden shoes because they’re practical. They’re also part of traditional costumes.
Wooden shoe maker, 1932. Credits: Willem van de Poll, collection Nationaal Archief (public domain)
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Having worn klompen during the winter holidays during the war, I can attest to two aspects. They are warm especially on the ice and the snow builts up on the soles to form big lumps which cause you to fall if you’re not careful.
“Klomp” sounds like the sound they make on a floor, indoors.
You can watch somebody make these shoes, back in 1929, with real sound, at:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNsUFbskLk8&w=840&h=503]