Why are all the girlies scrapbooking again? Martina Calvi might be the reason
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Petrina Tinslay
WORDS BY DAISY HENRY
“It’s about giving myself permission to enjoy cute little things again.”
Maybe you’ve seen scrapbooking time lapses on TikTok. Maybe you’ve heard the jingle of charms and lipglosses on someone’s bag as they strolled past. Or maybe you’re googling things like ‘Zines’ and ‘Sylvanian families‘ trying to figure out what everyone’s been talking about.
Whether you’ve noticed it or not, scrapbooking, journalising and collecting are all having a moment (perhaps for some, they never really left). This time though, it’s not just young people jumping on board with the craft resurgence. It’s grown women.
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I’ve long associated crafting with girlhood. I relished in trips to Officeworks where I begged my mum for new gel pens and double-sided tape and I would devote hours to cutting out photos of my friends and carefully pasting them into my scrapbook.
Where my free time is now spent scrolling (a habit I’m desperately trying to shake), I used to enjoy far more tactile, mindful hobbies. Instead, memory collecting in the digital age has mostly looked like screenshots and carefully curated photo dumps – until now.
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Founder of Martina’s Tiny Store, author of The Art of Memory Collecting and self-proclaimed ‘sentimental crafty girl’, Martina Calvi is playing a major role in reviving people’s love for handmade keepsakes. From her scrapbooking videos to projects like ‘Snail Mail Swap’, they’re a modern alternative to preserving memories.
Martina first started scrapbooking when she was eight years old after her mother gave her her first travel journal. “I was collecting bits and pieces and pasting them in a book, long before I knew what scrapbooking actually was. I still have that first journal,” Martina tells me.
Now, Martina has amassed over 300,000 followers on Instagram and 100,000 on TikTok where she shares videos of journal tours, zine tutorials, trinket collections and gift-wrapping guides. Clearly, what she’s sharing is striking a chord.
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When pausing to think about why things like scrapbooking and journaling resonate with so many people, Martina says that it might have something to do with our craving for more offline, tangible experiences.
“Personally, with the rise of AI-generated art, there’s just something comforting and authentic about scrapbooking and handmade art,” she tells me.
In such a fast-paced, chronically online world, the ability to slow down and engage in such thoughtful hobbies feels almost… unproductive. But maybe that’s the point.
“[I think] these slow hobbies remind us to take a breath and be present,” Martina tells me. “They allow us to reflect on our memories, experiences, and relationships in a tangible, meaningful way.”
Rather than checking off our never-ending to-do lists, making mental notes to reply to people’s messages and spending even our downtime doing something, sitting on your bedroom floor cutting up magazine pictures or adorning your bag with charms might be a way of resisting the fast-paced nature of our day-to-day.
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“For me, it’s about giving myself permission to enjoy cute little things again,” Martina adds. “Collecting trinkets and stickers makes my inner child happy.”
“I’ve spent so much of my twenties trying to come across like I have it all together, so it’s freeing to admit I really am just a girl.”
But it’s not just the act of slowing down – part of the appeal of crafting is the memory collecting itself, too.
Whether it’s something you proudly pore over in the aftermath or something that sits neatly on your bookshelf and rarely sees the light of day, it’s a way to lean into your sentimental side and preserve your memories.
Martina’s journals include a range of tokens and mementos from each chapter of her life. From receipts to wrappers and stickers, nothing is too mundane. “These are all tangible memories,” she says.
Thankfully, it’s never too late to start memory collecting. Martina’s new book, The Art of Memory Collecting is a way for people to get in touch with their crafty side through 15 different craft projects and tutorials.
“Start with that drawer or shoebox full of random bits you’ve been keeping – polaroids, receipts, stickers, coasters,” Martina explains. “Gather those pieces and start pasting them into a book. Your life and memories deserve to be preserved in beautiful ways.”
Keep up with Martina here.
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