Atelier de Mispel 
The premises in the village of Hollum on the Island of Ameland, in which atelier
"De Mispel" was established in 1978 were built in the beginning of the last century as a grocery shop on
top of the foundations of an old farmhouse.
The living quarters were one of the first brick buildings on Ameland.
In 1997 a water well dating from the 15th century was found during a reconstruction of the house. While renovating the living room a hand-made clay pot came to light under the flagstone floor next to the fireplace. Open fireplaces were used in that period and the glowing embers of the fire of the night before were kept in such a small subterranean coal pot in order to te able to start the fires the next day. It appeared to be in perfect condition.
Until the 16th century it was customary that man and beast lived together in one building but over time this changed and man started to live apart from his cattle in a separate living area.
The bedrooms were actually small alcoves behind two wooden doors:
the bedsteads.
As the houses were getting larger and the bedsteads higher off the ground the bedside
benches became a necessary piece of furniture in order to be able to crawl into bed.
Today such bedside benches are made by
Klaas Nobel
entirely in the
same way
this was done in the 18th century, they are one of the special articles of the atelier.