A Conversation with Zoë Goehring from Cave Paper
Cave Paper has been producing beautiful handmade papers for over thirty years. Founded in Minneapolis in 1994 by Amanda Degener and Bridget O’Malley, I recently caught up with the current proprietor, artist, and papermaker Zoë Goehring. In this interview, Zoë generously shares a behind-the-scenes look into her papermaking journey, and what’s happening at Cave Paper today—from sustainable water use to the special natural dyes applied to the flax papers. Please enjoy! — May
*Cave Paper will be temporarily closing the webshop this summer 2025. Until then, shop Cave Paper at TALAS and Hiromi Paper.
Many of the designs available in the Cave Paper catalog
May Babcock: Could you give us a brief overview of Cave Paper’s history, for those who aren’t familiar?
Zoë Goehring: Cave Paper was founded in 1994 and has long been known for producing strong, beautifully dyed flax papers. The name “Cave” came from the original location, the basement of a historic warehouse in Minneapolis which had dirt floors, rock walls, and no windows. We’re lucky to have lots of natural light now, but the name became synonymous with the paper itself.
Since July 2020, Cave Paper has been based in my hometown of Tucson, Arizona, after I purchased the business and relocated the equipment. My focus has been on keeping the original catalog in production, with a few new designs inspired by the desert landscape. I take on a handful of custom orders each year for fine edition presses and artists, and I’m beginning to expand production services in new directions with a focus on sustainability. I also offer occasional workshops and look forward to creating more ways for people to connect with the studio.
MB: What was your introduction to papermaking, and how did you come to be the owner and operator of Cave Paper?
ZG: I started making paper in 2009 during my final year of undergrad at Carnegie Mellon, where I was studying fine art and creative writing. There wasn’t a papermaking or book arts program, so I was just experimenting on my own. Like a lot of people, I began with a blender and a big bag of shredded office paper. I used my bathtub as a vat until my roommates' patience ran out, then switched to a kiddie pool. I formed sheets with small window screens and made other pieces by patting the pulp directly onto an armature. I was drawn to the process of creating a material that felt alive in its own way, something physically and conceptually connected to the work I was making with it.
In my twenties, I spent about six years working in organic agriculture and co-managed a small vegetable farm. That experience really shaped how I work now—balancing efficiency with hands-on, process-driven work, rooted in a deep care for materials and place. Years later, I had the opportunity to carry forward the work of Cave Paper at a time when I was trying to get my own studio off the ground. I spent about a year learning everything I could, visiting papermaking studios, working with natural dyes, and reading, reading, reading before relocating the business to Tucson in 2020. It was a big leap, but one I felt ready for. There’s always more to learn, and I feel very grateful to be doing what I’m doing.
Belgian flax fiber
Spurs of flax paper hanging to dry outside the beater room
Operations Supervisor Ramona the dog in front of the indigo vat and marble racks filled with dyed papers.
MB: The high-quality and beautiful presence of the handmade papers produced at Cave Paper really stand-out. What fibers are they made of, and what additional surface treatments do you work with?
ZG: Most of the papers start with the same flax base sheet. Our process breaks down into two main phases: first, transforming Belgian flax fiber into sheets of paper (beating, sheet forming, and drying), and second, applying dyes to create a range of designs.
Flax is a high-shrinkage fiber, and when we keep the fibers relatively long and loft-dry the sheets in spurs, the result is a super strong, leather-like paper. Most Cave Paper designs incorporate dyes like indigo, black walnut, pomegranate rind, or persimmon, applied individually or in layered combinations. After dyeing, the paper is gelatin-sized, cured, and finally flattened. The entire process takes about a month from start to finish, so there are always multiple batches cycling through the studio at different phases.
A batch of flax fiber in the 25 lb. Valley beater
MB: I’m curious—could you tell me a bit about the Hollander beater that you use at Cave Paper?
ZG: The beater really is the heart of the studio. It’s a 25-pound beater made by Valley Iron Works in Appleton, Wisconsin and it’s likely a hundred years old. Somehow it ended up in Boston, where it was purchased at auction by Elaine Koretsky, who then donated it to Minnesota Center for Book Arts. From there, it found its way to Cave Paper.
It’s remarkable how far this massive machine has traveled, considering it weighs a literal ton. I’ve moved it twice in the last five years – first from Minneapolis to Tucson, and then again two years later to our permanent space about a mile down the road. Its large capacity is what makes production-scale papermaking possible. From a single batch of fiber, we can make between 75 and 150 sheets, depending on sheet size and weight. We typically work with 18 x 24" and 24 x 30" moulds, so that’s a lot of pulp.
I also have a 2-pound Reina beater, generously donated by Jill Littlewood. It’s ideal for smaller batches and running tests before a full production cycle.
MB: I love seeing how water use and sustainable sourcing is an important consideration at Cave Paper. Could you tell us about your approach, as a production papermaking studio?
ZG: Making paper on this scale in the desert, I knew from the start that I’d need to prioritize alternative water systems. We use about 1,200 gallons of water per batch of fiber, so my goal is to get as much use out of it as possible and send very little down the drain.
It’s relatively simple to capture and reuse the greywater from sheet forming and cleanup. The majority of our water use, though, comes from the beater. During each cycle, fresh water trickles in while a washer wheel removes water from the pulp. It’s a step that plays an important role in the longevity of the paper, and we’re now set up to divert all of that rinse water into a cistern. While this greywater isn’t well-suited to reuse in the shop, it’s perfect to use in the garden. There are no additives, we just beat flax fiber with water to make our pulp.
Now that we’re settled in a permanent location, I’m looking forward to installing rainwater harvesting systems as well. Collected rainwater can be used in every step of production.
It’s important to me to think critically about water use for a lot of practical reasons. It makes the business more resilient in the face of climate change, reduces our utility costs, helps us build a beautiful garden where plants and animals can thrive, and allows us to offer a product and service that people can feel good about supporting. Honestly it’s a challenge to feel hopeful about the future of our environment, but there can be a lot of playfulness in designing alternative systems for how we use resources. So I also do it because it just makes me happy.
Custom desert-inspired paper designed and produced for Earthling Publication’s special edition of Frank Herbert’s novel Dune.
Custom sunset paper designed for Charnel House Ltd. to bind their numbered edition of Watchers by Dean Koontz.
MB: Who typically purchases your papers, and what are they used for?
ZG: Our biggest customer base is made up of bookmakers on all scales of operation, from individual book artists to presses and binderies that create fine editions. The paper is ideal for book covers. With that purpose in mind, our catalog includes two weight ranges: “Regular Weight” for wrapping book boards, and “Heavy Weight” that can stand alone as a soft cover.
That said, all kinds of artists work with it. Seeing how the paper gets transformed once it leaves the studio is one of the best parts of the job. It performs beautifully with letterpress, foil stamping, and embossing. It’s great for dry media like graphite, charcoal, or pastel. It also lends itself well to collage, papercut, embroidery – you name it. Sometimes people will buy a single sheet just to hang on their wall, which feels like such a compliment.
MB: I’m sure it’s hard to choose, but what’s your favorite paper right now? Why?
ZG: I’m partial to the three newest designs: High Noon, Monsoon, and Petrichor. Each uses a dye made from pomegranate rind, which I started experimenting with because pomegranate grows abundantly in Tucson. Elana Bloom taught me how to prepare and use it. The dye yields a sun-baked golden yellow, and behaves similarly to black walnut in that it’s very tannic and can be layered beautifully with indigo. I’m happy to have added some papers to the catalog that are rooted in the Southwest landscape.
I also love working on custom projects because they give me a chance to stretch creatively and explore processes that aren’t always practical for regular production. Most of these commissions come from fine edition presses looking for a unique paper for their book covers. Sometimes we start with a texture, a concept, or a reference image, and I’ll develop a few design options to share. Once we’ve landed on the right direction, I’ll make anywhere from twenty five to several hundred sheets, depending on the scope of the project.
High Noon, Monsoon, and Petrichor are the three newest additions to the catalog, featuring a dye made from pomegranate rind.
Cotton textile being processed into pulp for papermaking
MB: What’s on the horizon for Cave Paper this year? Any new projects or programs that you’re excited about?
Yes! I’m excited to expand our production services to include textile recycling, partnering with clothing manufacturers to transform their natural fiber waste into handmade papers they can use for packaging, marketing, or as creative material.
Currently, I’m working with Alexis Stiteler to turn off-cuts from her clothing line into papers for hang tags and for her artwork. She is amazing – it’s been a joy to collaborate with someone so thoughtful about every step of their process, and the fibers and fabrics themselves are a pleasure to work with. At the end of the year, I’ll be opening the calendar for new textile recycling projects and am looking forward to growing this new focus for our work here.
Zoë Goehring is an artist and papermaker. She has a degree in fine art and creative writing from Carnegie Mellon, and a background in organic agriculture and small vegetable farming. Zoë is the proprietor of production hand papermaking studio Cave Paper in Tucson, Arizona.
Visit cavepaper.com to shop handmade papers, and zoegoehring.com to view her artwork.