Viviana: A Letter from Savona, Italy
Letters from is a column in Cafe Analog’s blog where we feature our customers’ journaling practice—taking a peek into their journaling routine, stationery collections, and desk set-up! It is our dream that you will find letters from stationery lovers around your city/country, so you can connect and share the love of memory keeping with one another!
Hello, Analog Friends!
I am Viviana, and I live in Savona, a small town between Genoa and the French border, in Liguria, one of the regions of northwestern Italy. Savona is a lovely seaside town with a very high quality of life, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.
I work as an oncologist at the main hospital in the city. As you might imagine, my job can be very challenging and often brings difficult emotions, so journaling is one of the things that acts as a counterbalance. It brings positivity to my life and helps me stay grounded.
I also love traveling the world (as much as we can!) and taking long walks by the sea or in the woods. Every summer, we usually spend a few days in the mountains of northeastern Italy, in Trentino-Alto Adige, to enjoy the breathtaking scenery and go for some hikes. Not too many, though—we enjoy stopping at the mountain restaurants along the way and tend to get tired of walking rather quickly!
I have been living with my partner, Davide, since 2019, although we have been together since 2010. This past month, we decided to get married! Right afterward, we spent two weeks in Japan for our honeymoon, and we had an absolute blast. One of the highlights was visiting many Traveler’s Factory stores and other stationery shops. It felt like heaven for journal lovers!
My husband also enjoys keeping a diary and journaling with me. In fact, he often steals stickers and paper goodies from my collection. Ah, what won’t you do for love? 😊
My first love, though, is reading. I mainly enjoy novels, but I also read essays. My favorite genres are detective fiction, young adult, fantasy, and both classic and contemporary literature. Sometimes my husband and I organize book clubs with a few friends who share our passion for reading. They always lead to enjoyable discussions and lots of funny and interesting conversations about books.
I would describe myself as quite an extroverted person, and that definitely influences my journals, which tend to be colorful and a little whimsical. My favorite season is, by far, autumn, with its warm colors and delicious foods. I absolutely love pumpkins and chestnuts, and I enjoy celebrating Mabon (the autumn equinox) and Halloween. Winter comes in a close second—it gives you the perfect excuse to wrap yourself in warm blankets, scarves, and cozy clothes, and to bake plenty of apple pies. I love it! 😊
Last but not least, I consider myself a pluviophile. I am always happy when it rains, especially if I can stay warm and dry at home with a good book, a hot drink (tea or coffee—I love them both!), and a cozy blanket while listening to the rain outside. But if I need to go out, no problem! I put on my sage-green raincoat and happily walk through the rain like a little girl splashing in puddles. 😊
I first discovered Cafe Analog on Instagram several years ago, probably around 2019. I love all kinds of stationery, but I must admit that I have a particular weakness for rubber stamps, which I ADOOOOORE! I own a gazillion of them, as the friends at Cafe Analog know very well. 😊 My favorites are sentiment stamps, food-themed stamps, and stamps featuring girls or everyday situations.
I also love fountain pens and use them every day in my journals. I own a couple dozen of them, and each one is filled with a different ink color. As you can imagine, this makes my journals wonderfully colorful.
I keep several journals:
- An MD A5 blank notebook as my daily journal, where I write about everyday life and my thoughts.
- A Hibino, which I use as a commonplace journal for writing and doodling.
- A Traveler’s Notebook (regular size) with a weekly vertical insert, which serves as my gratitude journal, filled with simple doodles, stickers, and stamps.
- A five-year diary, where I write a few lines every day. I have been keeping it since 2023, and next year will be its final year.
- Several other Traveler’s Notebooks in both regular and passport sizes, which I use as creative journals filled with stamps, stickers, paper ephemera, and layered compositions.
The themes and decorations in my journals often change with the seasons, and right now they are filled with soft pastel colors that feel fresh and sweet, just like spring.
Although I am quite extroverted, I have come to appreciate the quietness and solitude that journaling brings. Those moments of reflection are incredibly precious to me.
I also love knitting, although I am not particularly skilled at it yet and, to be honest, I do not often find enough time to practice. Nevertheless, I find it cozy, relaxing, and rewarding, which is why I try to make time for it during the autumn and winter months, often knitting warm blankets.
Another thing I love is oracle cards, especially the decks illustrated by Tijana Lukovic. They are incredibly inspiring and feature such beautiful color palettes. I use them during the major Sabbats and often draw inspiration from them for my journals.
I also enjoy visiting stationery shops whenever I travel. During our recent trip to Japan, we visited several stores from major brands and chains. Unfortunately, Italy does not yet have the same variety of stationery shops, but there are a few wonderful exceptions. For example, there is “Stilo & Stile” in Rome for fountain pens and notebooks, “Casa della Stilografica” in Florence for fountain pens and inks, and “SayPaper” in Turin, which offers a wide range of stationery products.
Although it is an online-only shop, I would also like to mention my favorite Italian stationery artist, Chiara, the creator of the brand “Paper Poem”. I especially love her rubber stamps, which are so graceful, delicate, and poetic.
Do you love stationery as much as I do?
paperhugs from Italy,
—
Do say hi to Viviana and follow her Instagram if you feel like she’ll be the perfect stationery friend for you! 😀 If you’re one of our lovely customers who’d like to share your journals, practice, and desk-view and eager to connect with other Analog Lovers, drop us an email if you’d like to write for our Letters From column!
