People Behind the Paper: General Manager Phil Staple

Phil Staple is well known across St Cuthberts Mill and is ultimately in charge of the smooth running of the mill. He is responsible for all the different departments getting perfect paper made and packed. Phil is well respected as a highly-skilled papermaker, and now runs the entire site at St Cuthberts Mill.

 
We spoke to Phil about his life at St Cuthberts Mill to kick off our 'People Behind the Paper' series.

Phil Staple was the subject of a portrait tutorial by
artist Adebanji Alade for the BBC One Show 
piece on St Cuthberts Mill. 

 
What is your role at St Cuthberts Mill?
I’m the General Manager.

How long have you worked at St Cuthberts Mill?
Quite a long time, it will be 35 years this January.
 
What did you start doing when you began working here?
I started as a Machine Assistant or Broke Boy. I was the person who swept up the floor in the machine house by the paper machine and made sure everything was tidy. Waste paper is called ‘broke’ and my first responsibility to was ensure all the ‘broke’ was tidied up. It also involved making lots of cups of tea for the experienced papermakers. So I started at the bottom and worked my way up.
 
What is your favourite memory of the mill?
Probably the customer visit days. We ran a series of visits with our UK distributors where UK art shops and printmaking studios came and visited St Cuthberts Mill to learn how we make artist papers. It was really enjoyable meeting all the different kinds of people who use or sell our papers.

What is the best thing about being part of the St Cuthberts team?
These days it’s working with all my colleagues, who I get on very well with. There’s a good rapport within the mill. I get on especially well with Neil, who is the Engineering and Project Manager, which is just as well as we share an office
 

Customer day was run in connection with
RK Burt & Co, Ltd in 2014 

What is your favourite paper?
Production wise, it has to be one that’s reasonably easy to make. Bockingford usually runs really well. As far as good-looking papers, that has to be Somerset, it has a great-looking watermark and feels nice.

AUDIENCE QUESTION:  How do you make sure you maintain consistent quality in the paper you make?

We have a great team that takes quality very seriously and ensures every aspect of the paper is up to the standard we pride ourselves in. All the papermakers test and are in control of the quality of the paper they make, so they are directly responsible to make it right. Every making of paper has a ‘making number’ assigned to it, so we can track back when any sheet is made with all the test results recorded. The papermakers are supported by our technical team who view all the trends and oversee the quality. Finally, our finishing department gives the paper a last visual check and removes anything that has any blemishes.

 
 
If you enjoyed finding out a little about our people behind the paper, please do let us know in the comments. If you also have any questions, send them our way either in the comments or email:  ehomer@stcuthbertsmill.com
 
 
Both Phil and Neil were featured in the piece filmed for the BBC’s One Show with Adebanji Alade. Links to the show can be found in this previous article:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/477704582142032006/742003521069477201

Adebanji Alade will be working with St Cuthberts Mill again at the 2022 Patchings Festival. More info coming soon.