WORDS Lynette Botha BROUGHT TO YOU BY Mazda
Talking creative process, design influences and the art of hand-crafted objects with bladesmith, Neels van den Berg.
You could say that Neels van den Berg literally stumbled into blademaking. Having studied art and then graphic design – and dabbling in jewellery-making together with his goldsmith wife – Neels first became enamoured with the craft at a medieval fair held in Pretoria.
“A friend of mine was organising the event and encouraged us to attend and bring along some of the many crystals that we’d recently acquired,” he explains. “At the show I met a blacksmith with an old coal forge, who had these beautiful knives that he was selling. I was intrigued and of course, I spent no time at my own stand and just stood there chatting to this guy,” Neels laughs. “Now obviously I knew about blacksmithing, but I couldn’t believe that there was a guy in Joburg who actually did this as his full-time occupation. He was selling DVDs about blacksmithing, and I bought one there and then.”
Neels says that a couple of weeks later, his wife broke the DVD when his then four-year-old could basically recite the recording word-for-word. “And so began my journey into forging.” Neels attended a class to learn more about the basics and took it from there. Fast-forward 12 years and he is now a qualified American Bladesmith Society Master Smith (he attained his Master Smith stamp in June 2022) and a member of the Knifemakers Guild of Southern Africa.
Acknowledging the talent and craftmanship of South African makers is something that Mazda is doing through its latest campaign, Made With Soul. Mazda believes that artful design, honed through decades of passion and expertise, should be held at the highest regard. Having scoured the country for those who are committed to their calling – and who infuse a little bit of themselves into everything that they create – Neels’ commitment to perfection and attention to detail as a bladesmith caught the brand’s attention.
Madza’s design philosophy embodies the dynamic beauty of life. It’s this philosophy of passion, commitment, attention to detail and perseverance that really strikes a chord with Neels. And, as he relays, honing the craft of knifemaking – as with many other things in life – is all about perseverance. When he began, every single waking second was spent learning more about the ancient art and how to become better at it until eventually, it became second nature.
After more than a decade in this vocation, Neels’ preferred knives to create are 14th-, 15th– and 16th century daggers. In order to honour the heritage of these age-old pieces, he spent many hours researching their designs intricately.
“It was important to me to understand exactly how they were created and the complex details of these pieces, but just as important not to copy them exactly, but rather to use them as inspiration to come up with my own unique design, which I have,” he explains. “It’s one of the reasons that I do not create custom pieces – I have spent years mastering the art of blade design. Plus, working to a deadline does not aid my creative process.”
“I find that working with no pressure lets me play and enjoy the process – it means the piece I am producing has my undivided attention; I’m putting all of me into it,” he continues.
Although influenced predominantly by the craftsmanship of European, Italian and German bladesmiths, Neels says that his approach is also inspired by the Japanese and the philosophy of Kodawari (a Japanese principle which also lies at the heart of the Mazda brand). “They have got this down to a fine art! They have absolutely nailed what appears to be really simple, minimalist design – and everything is done to perfection.”
As Mazda is a Japanese car company, they believe that when a form is painstakingly sculpted by human hands it receives a soul. Because of the power of touch a deep spiritual connection exists between Mazda’s master designers and their products.
When asked what ‘Made With Soul’ means to him, Neels says, “it means everything. Every single piece I make is infused with my heart and soul. The copious hours involved in planning and producing a single piece; the amount of time I’ve spent honing my skills over the years – the entirety of my experience – all of that goes into every single knife that I make. With 60 to 200 hours spent on each one, for sure, there is a part of me in each one.”
By connecting with the driver’s soul, each Mazda is more than just a combination of metal, leather, and glass. It’s about creating an emotional connection where car and driver ultimately become one. To find out more about the #MazdaMadeWithSoul series, head to the Mazda website.
