Danielle Clough Embroiders Bertha Benz

IMAGES Danielle Clough VIDEO Michael Ellis

Watch as Danielle Clough embroiders a portrait of Karl Benz’s wife and business partner, Bertha Benz.

Were it not for Bertha Benz’s investment in Karl Benz’s workshop, and her belief in the couple’s invention, the Benz Patent-Motorwagen would never have received the attention it did as the world’s first patented automobile.

Bertha and Karl became business partners in 1871 and her investment in his work helped Karl develop the first motor vehicle as we know it.

To give her husband the confidence to market their invention, she secretly took a long-distance trip to her mother in 1881 – proving to the world it was safe to use. Without telling Karl, Bertha took her two sons on the pioneering road trip from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany (106km).

Theirs is a love story that changed history. The Benz Patent-Motorwagen company later became Mercedes-Benz, and to this day the brand is known for pioneering the best in automotive design and innovation. It was this story that inspired Danielle Clough to embroider a portrait of Bertha to celebrate #MercedesLove for Valentine’s Day this year.

Danielle is a multi-talented visual artist who dabbles in everything from live visuals to design and photography and has become known for her intricate embroidered illustrations.  Watch the video to see how she embroidered a beautiful portrait of Bertha Benz and captured the process in time-lapse photography. 

This article was originally published on mblife.co.za.