Stationery stores are a siren call for all those who love the written word. But in our digital age, when our devices determine more and more of our daily digiting, what continues to lure us into these purveyors of precious papers? The stores may seem increasingly pressed to adapt to meet various other needs rather than their intended function as paper and pen pundits, yet many of the cartolerie found in Florence and surroundings maintain their charming notebook stacks and pen parades.
Students, of course, are a stationer’s sustenance, but supermarkets weigh in heavily in the battle with their “buy three, get one free” offers and loyalty clubcards. There are certain elements in a student’s back-to-school list for which only the best will do, namely school bags and diaries, and they elicit deep feelings among schoolgoers, an experience I’m familiar with having traipsed around five shops before a particular agenda was finally found. The personal element will always have a strong role to play. Having reached the crucial moment of purchase, entirely managed by my elementary school-aged son, the coins were pressed into his palm and he approached the smiling staff. Wrapping his agenda with warmth, she complimented him on his choice and chatted about how he was feeling as the new school year approached. After she counted the change and handed out a heartfelt “have a great school year”, he practically skipped out the door. I was struck with the feeling that the transaction would have had far less feeling if it had been swiped across a self-checkout or plonked on the mat in a package.
As online calendars wage war with the traditional agenda, pens are replaced by thumbs and birthday cards are dying as an auguri message on WhatsApp does the job, what sends us into the cartolerie if we’re not part of the school brigade or searching for work utensils? A certain number of larger stores face less threat, with swathes still preferring the touch and feel of physical notebooks to any scrollable alternative, whereas smaller stores are pushed to combat their size with charm and variety packed into their more compact shelves.
On the other side of the scale are artisanal paper boutiques, whose finely printed and perfectly scaled sheets are a high-quality souvenir or gift that reflects the city’s artisanal reputation. Several combat their e-commerce opponent by offering inimitable hands-on workshops with personalized services for a notebook so nice you may be loath to use it!
The closure of a number of long-standing stores made headlines in recent months, such as Ostolani in piazza Ottaviani, which closed its doors after 40 years in December 2023. The much-loved edicola-cartoleria in piazza delle Cure caused communal mourning when it was announced that it was set to shutter this summer, so much so that it was swooped into salvation by November, an act of love by historic Florentine company Giorgio Giorgi.
In 2021, the Federazione Nazionale Cartolai spoke about the efforts made to lay the foundations for the future of the sector, including vouchers for young people to spend in stationery shops and the “culture bonus”, yet undoubtedly the world of stationery must increasingly be able to adapt to new developments, diversifying the services offered by becoming a parcel collection point or granting the possibility to pay bills. Whatever way they waver in order to survive, the soul-hugging scent of paper and the click of a new pen are small pleasures that literary lovers still hold dear. Long may that last.
