Progress Update: Moving Cave Paper

It’s been a while, friends! Time has passed so quickly since initiating the temporary close of our web shop at the end of February, and A LOT has happened. Overall, the move from East 7th Street to Cave’s new and permanent home at 846 N. Stone Avenue has gone as smoothly as anyone could hope for.

March and April were spent catching up on our backlog of orders before dedicating the month of May to packing, moving, and a lot of demolition in both the old and new space.

During that phase, the biggest task was moving our 25lb Valley beater, a one-ton piece of equipment and the heart of all we do. Seeing the beater safely in its new home was such a relief and would not have been possible without the care and ingenuity of this crew! It was an all-day project and quite a feat of engineering.

In June, focus shifted to building out the new space. These last couple of weeks have felt the longest to me, as the final electrical and plumbing systems have been coming together.

And as of yesterday, the beater is running! In fact, I just processed the first batch of flax pulp — looks good :)

A huge Thank-You to Amanda Degener, Jill Littlewood, and Catherine Nash for coming to visit in February when Cave closed on the building. Jill put it best when she said, “We were like three fairy godmothers buzzing around blessing things with wands”. Their enthusiasm allowed me to be joyful when I had only been feeling stress about how everything could possibly get done. It was a gift to have the three of them here at the cusp of such a big shift.

My family and friends have really come through with their support and encouragement these past few months. It will be a while before the shop is “finished”, but it is a relief to finally reach a point where we can make pulp and begin sheet forming again. It has been a big push to get to this point, and none of it could have happened without that support. My dad’s eternal motto, “Keep Going!” has been particularly relevant!

I’ve occasionally posted updates about relocating Cave on instagram, so if you’re looking for more photos of our progress, click through below!

I’m excited to get back in the vat. Ramona is already finding her favorite places to nap, and we have at least one resident lizard keeping an eye on us. As the space continues to come together, I look forward to welcoming visitors this fall.

The general production plan is to build up inventory through the end of August before re-opening the web shop in early September. This will help us fill orders more quickly and efficiently! We will also be prioritizing re-stocking both Talas and Hiromi Paper, getting ready for a new run of Swatch Books, and building up enough stock to bring to upcoming in-person events.

Thank you for being so patient and supportive throughout this shift. We are on the home stretch!!! Time to make some paper :)