With a steady hand, Kunio Kobayashi trims the tiny branches of a small pine. The tree, 1,000 years old, stands in Kobayashi’s famous bonsai garden in Tokyo. Two visitors from Switzerland watch the 76-year-old in awe and take in the master’s wise words.
The guests are Eric Blum and Luca Meyer, who have set off on a journey that will change their lives. Besides Kunio Kobayashi, they also visit a sword master and a calligraphy artist – all masters of their craft and highly regarded in Japan. Eric Blum and Luca Meyer are masters of their craft too. But in Switzerland, recognition is another matter.
We meet the two a few months after their Japan trip at their studio in Zurich. Behind the elegant showroom, which could just as well stand in Tokyo, the two craftsmen sit at a large table in the workshop, surrounded by tools of every kind and small, curious machines. This room is a dream for any craftsman.
MEN: Eric and Luca, what impressed you most on your trip to Japan?
Eric Blum: Kunio Kobayashi, without a doubt. He radiates this incredible calm and experience. He works on trees over 1,000 years old and thinks in decades. When he makes a cut, it may only affect the tree’s shape 50 years later. And his garden is unbelievably beautiful.
MEN: And what did you learn from him?
Luca Meyer: The golden ratio. After the trip I even had it tattooed on my hand. You can calculate it mathematically, but determining it by hand isn’t so simple. That’s great art. And that Kunio Kobayashi manages it on a living object like a tree, and in 3D, is just incredible.
MEN: Did the trip change you?
Eric Blum: We were reminded once again how important passion is for a craftsman. Money mustn’t play any role. You have to do what you’re meant to do. Most fail because they lack consistency.
Luca Meyer: Being a craftsman in Switzerland is definitely not about the money. The Swiss aren’t known for valuing genuine craftsmanship. In Japan it’s completely different: in their society it’s one of the highest things there is. With us, worth is defined by the money you earn. If it’s a lot, you’re doing a good job. But that equation only very rarely holds in craft, art or sport.
MEN: But Switzerland used to be a country of craftsmen.
Luca Meyer: With us, that understanding has been lost. People no longer know what it means to work with their hands – and that doesn’t mean operating a computer. Many are amazed at the price of our products. I always tell them: with us you’re not buying a brand, you’re buying genuine craftsmanship. You pay for what we can do.
Eric Blum: We’ve become a service economy; banks and insurers have replaced craftsmanship. That’s fine as far as it goes – it’s what gives us our prosperity. But the recognition of artisanal craft has suffered for it.
MEN: But products from manufactures have gained importance; they sell better and better. Is that a real revival or just a niche that’s growing again?
Eric Blum: Both. I have hope that we’re at a turning point. People want to go back and find a soul in a product again – not just consume sterile mass-produced goods. Aside from the fact that there’s an ecological reason too. Sustainability is increasingly a topic, especially among the young.
MEN: How did you come to craftsmanship?
Luca Meyer: I trained as a cabinetmaker and at the start could do everything from A to Z. Then I lost the appetite when I saw where things were heading. Today the steps are split up, everyone only ever does the same thing. So you only ever see the piece of furniture at a single stage of its making. I didn’t want to be part of that and looked for something else. And what did I do? A belt, to begin with. (Laughs.) That’s how I discovered the wonderful material that is leather. Then came the world of tools, and I was fascinated. Eric is my brother-in-law and, even during his ice-hockey career, was tinkering with hats. So we got together and said: let’s do something good. That’s how our adventure began.
MEN: Does that take courage?
Luca Meyer: Yes. And a healthy dose of naivety. You have to be a dreamer.
Eric Blum: Many of our friends went to university, and all of them advised us against it. To this day. They say: you have to do the maths – where’s the market analysis, the business plan? But in craft or art, the usual theories don’t work.
MEN: And yet you’re still here. So it works, even if it goes against the rules.
Eric Blum: Rules aren’t there to be followed. (Laughs.) Of course we keep accounts too, we’re in the system. But many of our decisions come from the gut. And so far on our path we haven’t done all that much wrong.
Luca Meyer: It works because we have this unconditional passion. People sense it. And that can’t be rated with a number in an Excel spreadsheet.
MEN: But only the rich can afford your products.
Eric Blum: That’s not true. They come from the middle class too, it’s not just the beautiful and the rich. Some people drop by and say: I’ll come back in six months and put a bit aside every month until then. That’s wonderful – that’s where we feel the appreciation for our products.
MEN: But surely there are many who can’t afford such a thing.
Eric Blum: There’s that lovely saying: I’m too poor to buy cheap. You also have to look at the time horizon, which we no longer perceive today. If you take what’s called cost per use, our products come out very well. When you can pass a product down through generations, the cost is put into perspective. Then we’re even the cheaper option. But sadly not everyone is aware of that.
MEN: You’re Mazda ambassadors. Why exactly?
Eric Blum: I wasn’t really that into cars before. And when the request from Mazda came, I first asked my mother, who is Japanese. She confirmed that in Japan, Mazda is famous above all for fine craftsmanship. Other makers are known for mass production; Mazda celebrates the craft. That fits Onkai Heiwa perfectly.
Luca Meyer: You see it above all at the design stage. It begins with the designers still making clay models by hand, as in the old days. The dedication and love of detail these people bring to that work fascinates me – it’s become rare in the car industry. You see it in the finished car too. The Mazda CX-60, for example, has an exposed seam in the dashboard. That’s a purely aesthetic detail that takes a lot of effort. But Mazda values such details and wants them executed perfectly. With their attitude to craftsmanship, they completely won us over. We’re happy to work with them. > www.onkaiheiwa.com
Onkai Heiwa
Eric Blum and Luca Meyer are the founders of the Zurich manufacture Onkai Heiwa, which specialises in handcrafting high-quality hats and leather goods. Eric Blum made his name as a Swiss professional ice-hockey player; he plays as a defenceman and most recently took to the ice as an assistant captain for SC Bern in the National League (NL). Luca Meyer is a trained cabinetmaker and Eric Blum’s brother-in-law.
Mazda CX-60: The New Flagship
The CX-60 marks a turning point for Mazda: it’s the first Mazda in Europe with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain and, at 241 kW/327 hp, the most powerful road vehicle Mazda has ever built. The hybrid system combines combustion and electric power and is supported by a 17.8 kWh battery that allows an all-electric range of 63 km. Mazda also introduces an efficient 3.3-litre inline six-cylinder diesel engine with an innovative combustion process, available in two power levels with up to 550 Nm of torque. Besides plenty of driving fun, the new flagship offers comfort and safety thanks to all-wheel drive and a high-quality interior. With five drive modes and a high towing capacity of 2,500 kg, it addresses a range of driving needs. The «Kodo – Soul of Motion» design language emphasises the emotional bond between vehicle and driver – a concept Mazda takes to a new level with the CX-60.
This article appeared in MEN issue 1/24 (May 2024).
