OIL MILLER
Jippe Kreuning (1993) grew up in a mill and learned the trade from his father from an early age. At the age of 18, he obtained his own miller’s certificate, making him the youngest professional miller in the Netherlands. Currently he is head miller at oil mill “De Bonte Hen,” where oil is beaten from linseed, intended for paint.
Here he is setting up a center for mill-related crafts. For example, Jippe personally makes the wind sails for the mill blades. “This way the mills can continue to work with authentic materials. If we restore the mills as they used to be, then the miller’s craft itself must be just as authentic”, he believes. Sustainability is paramount for Jippe. “I don’t want to say that everything used to be better, but that sustainability back then wasn’t so bad.
Now, in our pursuit of a circular world, we are trying to reinvent the wheel. An ancient mill like this is actually very relevant today. After all, we really need to move toward a different kind of consumption. Craftsmanship fits into this very well, because this means that a product is of high quality and handmade.” Jippe is committed to young millers and hopes that the book can help to inspire enthusiasm for the crafts sector among the new generation. “You can see that the new generation of millers is very concerned with a more sustainable future and cares a lot about a good and honest product. That’s really what the craft sector stands for.”
Jippe shares his life on social media, showing that Dutch traditional culture can also be embraced by young people and is filled with beauty, adventure, and history.
