Between the Lines is an interview series about handwriting, objects with stories, and everything that doesn't fit into an obvious answer. A space for unlikely lists, unwritten letters, and what insists on defying a blank page.
In this edition, I invite Susana Matias dos Santos. Susana is the founder of the brand Le Mot. A brand born from a love of fashion, but also from a life in Paris that turned into saudade and a style. She is an elegant person at all hours of the day, an admirer of life's small pleasures, be they special papers, cakes, a good book, or a chat with old friends.
With delicate tastes and a keen eye, Susana finds inspiration in music, books, magazines, and also interviews. She writes by hand to organize herself, keeps papers with history, old tickets, her grandmother's words, as someone who knows that memory is also built in small fragments.
We talked about how handwriting can be a refuge and a legacy for the future. Between memories of Paris and rituals that resist time, every detail counts and every object holds a story that deserves to be read calmly.
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Who would you write a letter to on paper?
To my daughters. Paper letters can be both memory boxes and promises for the future. I have it on my to-do list to write a letter to each of my daughters, the next time they have a birthday, to record how much I love them and also my perspective on them at that age. I think they'll enjoy reading them when they grow up.
What inspires you to create?
It's very difficult to choose just one. Music, magazines, books and, often, interviews. Music and magazines, for the senses and aesthetics. Books make me feel and dream. I love interviews; they make me understand how other minds think and show me other worlds and possibilities.
A book that left its mark on you.
Blue Nights, by Joan Didion. I read it many years ago, long before I had children, but it left a lasting impression on me. I would love to reread it at this stage of my life.
An artist who inspires you.
Patti Smith.
An object that lives on your desk
A notebook and a BIC pen. I'm old school; I like to write everything on paper to organize myself and write in blue, a habit from school that stuck.
What is always in your stationery drawer?
Scratch paper, black rollerball pens for writing cards (thank you, birthday, etc.), and fine-tipped felt pens in colors.
What's on your Papelaria Moderna wishlist?
A green hand stapler, a Pentel pen, a box of letter paper, and a cloud notebook like the ones my grandfather used.
What stationery item do you wish existed — and no longer does, or never did?
When I worked in France, my boss organized all work by themes on A5 index cards, on lined cardboard paper. I never saw that type of paper here, and I would love to have it; I think it's a great system for keeping everything well-schematized.
A piece of paper you can never throw away.
Riddles and prayers written by my grandmother, and the notes I exchanged in class with my best friend in high school.
What's the best letter you could receive in the mail?
Any letter from a friend or family member is always a good surprise.
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