Gunnar “Gandalf” Bergström in Sundsvall, Sweden, isn’t much interested in being interviewed. His hand-made paper is much more interesting than its creator, he insists. “I’m the invisible hand. It’s the paper that’s number one – that’s what the customer sees.”

TEXT Elisabet Tapio Neuwirth PHOTO Olle Melkerhed

GUNNAR BERGSTRÖM is right (well, partly at least). None of the sheets of paper that he makes are identical to any other: they’re all unique. But it’s his hands that make the paper – not the other way round – so he agrees to meet and talk about his life. This he does with vigour and warmth, peppering his conversation with anecdotes and the vast experience that comes from a life of papermaking.

BORING MONDAYS
Bergström’s interest in paper began in 1972 when he was taken on as a shift worker at SCA’s Ortviken paper mill. His knowledge of the papermaking trade grew steadily while he worked his way through “boring Mondays” and “monkey’s jobs”. The boring Mondays followed long, largely unbroken, weekend shifts. The monkey’s jobs involved repetitive tasks on back-to-back shifts. “Of course times change and the people working there today are in charge of robots,” says Bergström, who, strange as it may sound, has chosen to stick with his boring Mondays and monkey’s jobs.

After a gradual progression from factory floor employee to administrator at Ortviken and then on to his own company, Bergström has for the last two years been running “the town’s largest paper mill, with zero employees” in Svartvik, 10 kilometres south of Sundsvall.

“I’m definitely still doing the monkey’s jobs,” he says with a chuckle. “If I get an order for 500 sheets it means I have to repeat many different links in the chain over and over again. And I’m still doing the shifts! Okay, I’m not working double shifts like I used to at Ortviken, but instead I’m working mornings, afternoons and sometimes nights too.” But that’s what happens if you’re an enthusiast. Or, as he writes on his website: “Making your own paper is difficult...but it’s fun.”

“TEACH OTHERS”
“The most interesting aspect when I started out was turning everything I’d learnt about paper on its head,” Bergström says. “At Ortviken, the paper had to be smooth, straight and perfect. Hand-made paper, on the other hand, is appreciated for being primitive. People like the rough edges and variable thickness.”

Long days – and nights – are the order of the day in the old garages on Svartvik’s industrial estate where he has his workshop. Here Bergström spends hours grinding jeans and other materials into a pulpy mix he later turns into rag paper. “I make rag paper because it lasts,” he says. “It’s an ancient method and the paper stands the test of time.”

One of Bergström’s mottos is that life is not just about avoiding mistakes but about repeating what you’ve done well. That’s exactly what he does. During the day he opens his doors to groups of people who want to make their own paper. His visitors are of all ages, ranging from school classes to professional printers who want a clearer picture of how paper is actually made. He holds exhibitions of paper art, such as origami and silhouette cut-outs. He also sells his own paper and paper-making equipment as well as making invitation cards for christenings, weddings and other festive occasions. He also gives stand-up papermaking courses, both in Sweden and abroad.

VISIONS INTO REALITY
Bergström’s best ideas come when he’s lying in bed and just about to fall asleep. He knows how fibres work and when he tests his concepts for real, they have a habit of working out as expected.

“You get a special feel from making your own paper. You can make a thousand times more than you ever imagined in your wildest dreams. One of my niches is making paper mixed with pet fur. You can print the animal’s picture on it if you want.”

He’s inspired by the fearlessness of children when tackling challenges. “When I get visits from school classes they often do a few crazy things, just as schoolchildren usually do. I get ideas from that. My two daughters, Linnea and Anneli, are wonderfully talented.”

If his paper is unique, so too is Bergström himself with his wiry form, long hair and felt hat – though he admits he cultivates a consciously arty image to help advertise his work. The life of a starving artist is not for him. Basic financial security is a necessity if you want to allow the creative juices to flow, he says. “Someone nicknamed me Gandalf because he thinks I’m a wizard with paper. But I’m not. It’s the paper that special: it’s tailor-made and I never know if I can make it again. I just call myself a papermaker.”

© Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA (publ) - 2005-03-10