Shaping a slower life with clay and intention: The story of Monika Valkova

For the past eight years, Monika Valkova has been living in a small village in the region of Radomir, where life unfolds more slowly and quietly than in the city she once called home. Together with her husband and their three children, she made the decision to leave Sofia behind and begin a different kind of life, one closer to nature, to presence, and to themselves.

In this place, she has created a small centre, a peaceful space with a pottery workshop. It is simple, almost understated, yet deeply intentional. Her dream is not complicated. She wants people from the big cities, often overwhelmed and constantly in motion, to come here, pause, and experience something they may have forgotten. Silence. Slowness. Calm. Just a little space to breathe and reconnect.

Her connection to pottery began instantly. The first time her hands touched clay, something settled inside her. It was not just inspiration, but recognition. Since then, working with clay has become a quiet relationship, something steady and deeply personal. Each piece she creates carries a part of her inner world, shaped not only by skill, but by feeling. For Monika, it has never been only about creating objects. It is about creating from the heart.

Leaving the city was one of the most meaningful decisions she has made. What once felt like distance from everything slowly revealed itself as closeness to what truly matters. In the quiet of village life, surrounded by nature and the rhythms of everyday simplicity, she found something that is difficult to explain but easy to feel. A sense of returning to oneself.

At the same time, she sees beauty in the movement between worlds. Today, people are constantly shifting between city and countryside, carrying pieces of both. For her, this exchange is important. It allows growth, perspective, and a deeper understanding of different ways of living.

In her local community, she has also noticed how easily women can hold themselves back, shaped by concerns about expectations and opinions. Yet she has seen how quickly this can begin to change. When women meet others from outside their usual circles, when they are exposed to new ways of thinking, something begins to open. They start to turn inward, to listen to themselves, to take small but meaningful steps.

And it always begins the same way.

With a decision.

A quiet moment when a woman says she will try, she will move forward, she will trust herself. From there, something shifts. And when women support each other in that process, encouraging, sharing, and simply being present, the impact grows.

Because Monika believes that women carry something powerful within them. A natural capacity for care, connection, and love. And when that love is allowed to exist freely, it has the power to transform not only their own lives, but the world around them.

In her small workshop, with clay turning slowly under her hands, she continues to offer that space. A place where things soften. Where people reconnect. Where something simple and gentle can quietly change everything.

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