Rethread and Pottery: Where Stillness Takes Shape

Written by Alex Jacobi

Photographed by Hannah Gore

For most of her life, Malin Bergman has been in motion.

At 16, she moved from her home in Sweden to Massachusetts, where she stayed with relatives for a year of high school. At 20, she went to Spain and studied Spanish. At 22, she made her way to Norway for a couple of years. After that, she went back to Sweden, where she attended university and met her husband and had two children. Although she and her family had plans to settle down in Sweden, their travels continued when her husband was given an opportunity to do expatriate work in India. After several years there, they made their way to Poland, where they had their third child. And now, she and her family live in Jackson.

She’s moved so many times, and yet, as I sit with her and sip my latte, listening to all her adventures, I can’t help but immediately be struck by her rootedness. Motion, in and of itself, can sometimes come with energy or even chaos. But I see none of that in Malin, only a peace and simplicity that in an increasingly noisy and busy world is a breath of fresh air.

That spirit of simplicity sits at the heart of her business, Rethread and Pottery, where she creates hand-thrown pottery and textile pieces designed for everyday use. The work is shaped by her Swedish background, her love of sustainability, and her belief that handmade things can help people slow down long enough to notice the beauty in ordinary moments.

It was eight years ago, when Malin was in India and had extra time on her hands, that she began finding old tablecloths to make into dresses, and eventually, she took a series of pottery classes there.

“That was the first time I did anything with pottery, and I loved it,” Malin said.

When she went to Poland, she took her creations to the next level and decided to start making more and selling them. After learning how to crochet by meeting with her friends every week, she began making beeswax wraps, a sustainable alternative to plastic wrap for preserving food. Eventually, her textile pieces expanded to bags, pennant banners, scrunchies, and other small accessories. All her textile pieces are created from secondhand fabric and her own threading work.

“The whole idea was to not buy anything new besides the thread, unless I could find it secondhand. I wanted to keep it sustainable. The challenge is finding the right second-hand fabric. It feels good when you find the exact fabric you really like,” Malin said.

When it comes to both her pottery and textile pieces, Malin aims for sustainability, handmade production, and usefulness — all traits she feels she’s inherited from her Swedish background.

“In Sweden, especially in the last 20 years, there has been a lot of talk about living as sustainably as possible. There, buying secondhand is a good thing,” Malin said

Additionally, her work finds inspiration from the coast of Sweden, where she has spent a lot of her life. Her pieces are simple and practical. They are things that can be used in everyday life, not just for decoration.

The more I talk with her, the more I see that her simplicity is part of the rootedness she carries with her from place to place. In a world of fast, mass-produced goods, creating art in a slow and intentional way can bring a person peace and clarity.

“The work is very good, almost like meditation because you can’t go anywhere or do anything else. You just focus on what you are doing. The process around it can be stressful if there is a deadline, but while I am making, I feel harmony,” Malin said.

Since being in Jackson, Malin has found that her business has not only continued to be her creative outlet, but it’s been an opportunity to find her footing in a new community.

“Being in Jackson has been wonderful. Everybody is so engaged, and people reach out. At markets, everyone who comes by is so friendly and genuinely kind and interested,” Malin said.

In her four years here, Malin has seen just how much the people of Jackson value handmade items from local makers and small businesses.

“Sometimes I'm surprised that people buy so much. Like, you could go and get something cheaper somewhere else, but a lot of people prefer to come to the small places instead. And that's wonderful,” Malin said.

On the surface, it can seem easier to buy the cheaper, mass-produced item and move on. You might save a few dollars, but in the end, you lose something harder to measure: the appreciation that comes from choosing something intentionally and with care.

“I enjoy it more if I drink or eat from something made by somebody I have met or feel connected to. You have a face behind it, and you know it is made by hand,” Malin said.

“I hear people say about things they’ve bought, ‘It was cheap, so it doesn’t matter if it breaks.’ When people feel that way, they don’t really appreciate the thing, and I think that is a loss.” That is what she hopes her own work gives people: not just an item to use, but a moment to notice. A coffee mug that lets you sit and savor. A bowl to serve a special dinner to loved ones. A simple piece that reminds you, “This is my moment.”

Today, Malin shares her work through local markets, online sales, and Garner Blue in Jackson. She appreciates the pace at which her business has grown, but she is also thinking toward what is next.

“I want to reach more people, push myself, learn more, and establish myself more around here. In the end, I would love to have my own little shop or studio shop combined, where I sell my own items,” Malin said.

As Malin shares her hopes for Rethread and Pottery’s future, I also hear in her voice a contentment with the present. She has dreams for her work, but they do not seem tightly held. She is comfortable with the unknown and letting it all unfold in the way it’s supposed to.

Perhaps she can be that way because she has seen it in her work. She’s seen how a piece of scrap fabric tucked in the corner of a store can become something new. She’s seen how a lump of clay can become a staple in someone’s kitchen.

And that is the gift of Malin’s work: it invites people to slow down, savor the moment, and, in the midst of a life in motion, return to the stillness within.