PAPER TRAIL: The Paper Foundation Swipe through — or shall we say, turn the page? In a converted mill in Cumbria, just three craftspeople are safeguarding the ancient art of handmade paper. Welcome to The Paper Foundation, where shredded rags become sheets so refined that they’re trusted by Royalty, the Vatican, the Smithsonian, and rare book restorers worldwide. Founded in 2020 by Mark Cropper - a sixth-generation papermaker - this small but mighty team produces around 20,000 sheets a year using traditional methods, textile waste, and a deep respect for material integrity. Tom Frith-Powell, the mill’s first employee, learned the craft alone during lockdown, honing his technique sheet by sheet. “Each one is a moment of creation,” he says. “You get two or three seconds to get it right before the water drains away.” Today, The Paper Foundation turns old denim into notebooks, hotel bedsheets into postcards, and discarded rags into conservation-grade paper, proving that sustainability and beauty can go hand in hand. At Selvedge, paper is never just the background - it’s the very foundation of our publication. We admire the precision, patience, and imagination that goes into every sheet, and know just how much these details matter. Read more in Issue 124, Rural. - @paper.foundation #ThePaperFoundation #HandmadePaper #LakeDistrict #TheLakeDistrict #ArtisanPaper #Cumbria #CumbrianArtists #LakeDistrictArtists #CraftPreservation #Papermaking #CircularDesign #SustainableCraft #TextileToPaper #MadeInCumbria #PrintMatters #SwipeThrough #TurnThePage #Paper #SelvedgeMagazine #ArtistStudio #ArtistWorkshop