How we work

Let curiosity lead the way.

Every session doubles as an experiment - in repair, in redesign, in how you actually teach a generation to keep their clothes alive. Hands on. In the room. With the people it’s for.

The method

Less talk more action.

Action research starts with a question, then a loop: plan, act, observe, reflect. The spiral beside this text is our working method.

A denim spiral labeled Plan, Act, Observe, Reflect - the action research loop — Plan · Act · Observe · Reflect

Gym

Practice. Try. Try again.

Why a Denim Gym?

A gym - but for jeans.

The Denim Gym will be a place to exercise your creativity with denim. Instead of weights, you practice repair, redesign and making by hand. Try an idea, learn from what happens and try again - together.

Repair · Redesign · Rebel

The techniques the Denim Gym is built on.

Bleaching, stenciling, patching, painting, construction - beginners walk out makers.

A denim sample board of bleaching and stencil techniques with handwritten Swedish labels.

Denim swatches showing hardware - buttons, rivets and studs - beside the reference book “Denim Branded”.

Denim construction swatches with handwritten Swedish labels beside the reference book “Denim Branded”.

Construction, labeled

A tub of textile-paint bottles and boxes of marker pens on a work table.

Paints & pens

A wire basket of coiled indigo, gray and natural macramé cord and rope.

Cord & rope

Action research

Step by step

How we do it

We learn by doing.

Every session starts with a question that we explore together. No guarantees. No wrong answers. Just a creative loop of trying, testing, learning, and doing it better. We guide you. Not by telling you what to do, but by asking the questions that help you find your own way. Real development. Driven by curiosity. With the people it’s actually for.

The methodology

Research you can wear.

By connecting academic research with youth culture, I have created a method for school development where:

Action meets Reflection: I test in a live environment, evaluate, and adapt.
Theory meets Practice: My students understand circular economy because they build it with their own hands.
Youth become Co-Researchers: They own the process and experience the joy of real, impactful creation.

A leather jeans patch embossed with the words Action Research

To change the world, one classroom is not enough. The system needs to be redesigned. Join me on the journey to rethink education and build a scalable, circular denim school.

Malin Indigo Berglund, Creative Lead & Firestarter

Embroidered denim swatches with handwritten Swedish technique labels: a script letter H stitched four times in white thread, from a dashed outline to a solid fill, beside an embroidered wave — Made by hand

A styled denim display on reclaimed bricks with white Levi’s sneakers and folded Levi’s jeans.

A real school project

What we did with Levi’s jeans

We collaborated with a local Levi’s outlet and took over their faulty stock. Students got a pair of jeans and their task was to give the denim a personal expression and a new life. To close the project, they created TikTok videos to inspire others to start their own revolution.

For brands & schools

Bring it to your people.

After 25+ years in the fashion industry and ten years as a secondary school textile teacher, Malin Indigo Berglund is now building Denim Republic, the first and only Denim Gym, with the mission to rethink education and educate the next generation. Do you think this is a good idea? Get in touch - let’s build it together.

Work with us

Build it with us

What we are looking for.

People, schools and brands who want to learn by doing and give denim a longer life. Help shape a session, share materials or open a door for a pop-up.