Birthe Leemeijer
L'Essence de Mastenbroek

On 14 May 2005 the launch of the perfume, L’Essence de Mastenbroek, took place at the visitors’ center Veneriete in Genemuiden. The artist, Birthe Leemeijer, presented the first bottle of L’Essence de Mastenbroek to Ms. C. Abbenhues, a deputy of Economics and Innovation at the Council of Overijssel. L’Essence de Mastenbroek is a perfume that expresses, in a variety of aromas, how life is in the polder of Mastenbroek. It is the result of a quest for this landscape in its most concentrated form.

Birthe Leemeijer invited residents who have lived and worked in Mastenbroek for generations, to join the Essenceclub (Essence Club). The members of the Essenceclub selected aromas from the polder of Mastenbroek, including grass, hay and stable air and described the role of the four seasons. A perfumer then made different scent compositions out of the selected raw materials. One of these was voted by the Essenceclub as the perfume of Mastenbroek. Since it is no longer taken for granted that Mastenbroek’s younger generation will live and work in the polder and since farmers are selling their companies for a future in America and Canada, there is now a bottle in which memories, images and emotions can be taken along. The so-called Essencebron (Essence Spring) was placed in the visitors’ center, located next to the Oude Stoomgemaal on the edge of Mastenbroek. From this spring, bottles of L’Essence de Mastenbroek can be derived and once one has become the owner of a bottle, one can always return to the Essencebron to refill the bottle, while stocks last.

The Bijenkorf was approached in order to allow L’Essence de Mastenbroek to also permeate the city. In September 2005 the perfume will be on sale at seven major outlets of this department store. In this way L’Essence de Mastenbroek has been granted a unique opportunity to gain an individual status and profile in the field of perfume.

The perfume costs € 35 and is on sale at the so-called Essencebron (Essence Spring) located in the visitor’s center, Venerite, next to the Oude Stoomgemaal (steam mill) in Mastenbroek.
The visitor’s center and mill are open every Saturday in June and from Tuesday to Saturday during July and August. The opening times are from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. The facility is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
The visitors center will also be open on Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day, 30 April), on the “Open Monument Day??? (Saturday 28 May) and on the first Saturday of October.
The Stoomgemaal Mastenbroek is located on 5 Kamperzeedijk between Genemuiden and IJsselmuiden. The directions to the mill are: 1. Take exit 22 (Lichtmis) on the A28 freeway (Amersfoort-Groningen). 2. Drive in the direction of Hasselt. 3. In Hasselt follow the signs to Genemuiden. 4. Just before you reach Genemuiden take a left turn on the traffic circle. 5. When you reach the next traffic circle take another left turn. 6. You are now on the Kamperzeedijk. 7. After approximately 1 kilometer you will see the Stoomgemaal on your left.
During the winter months when the mill is closed, the visitor center’s volunteers will take care of regional sales.
From September 2005 the perfume will be on sale throughout the Netherlands at the Bijenkorf outlets. The perfume costs € 45.
For more information, email: ca@skor.nl