Gionanna

Hey all, I'm from Italy, approaching my 40s, HR generalist during the day and paper crafter / letter writer at night. My actual name is Mariagiovanna, I usually go by Giovanna. I have been writing letters since the 1990s. I am a huge lover of vintage/vintage inspired aesthetics but appreciate many others - I mean, we don't have to choose, right? I'm a childfree intersectional feminist who's very interested in social issues. On a spiritual point of view I'm somewhere between NeoPaganism, Core Shamanism and Pastafarianism.

I speak Italian, English and a little Spanish and French, feel free to write me in any of these languages. But I like to learn words and basic sentences in other languages, so feel free to share.

My hobbies are writing, reading, watching tv series, cooking, geocaching, escape rooms and similar activities. I like dogs and ferrets (I've had ferrets for 10+ years). Also, I'm fascinated by bees and jumping spiders.

I've noticed that my mail arrives to Europe within around 15-30 days, in other continents within 45-60 days. In case you don't receive a swap from me 1-2 months after the sending date (depending on the distance) please do contact me in order to make plans for a re-send.

Authors:

• Margaret Atwood
• Octavia Butler
• Arthur Conan Doyle
• Neil Gaiman
• Frances Hardinge
• Joanne Harris
• Robin Hobb
• Ursula Le Guin
• Natasha Pulley
• Sarah Waters

Some TV shows I've been enjoying lately:

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine
• Doctor Who (not consistently though)
• Carnival Row
• Crazy Ex Girlfriend
• Game of Thrones (the first few seasons at least)
• Glow
• Jane The Virgin
• Lucifer
• Modern Family
• One Day at a Time
• Pose
• Scrubs
• Sherlock
• The Alienist
• The Good Place
• The Umbrella Academy
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Topics A-Z

If you want to know some of my interests or will send themed stuff, these are some ideas. Of course don't feel limited.

• Archaeology
• Anatomy
• Animal behaviour and evolution
• Dark stories and spooky stuff
• Etymology, linguistics and grammar
• Food from all over the world
• Foreign cultures and habits
• Gender studies
• Languages
• Legends and lore tales
• Mysteries
• Mythology
• Paganism(s)
• Paper crafting
• Recipes
• Religious traditions, myths etc (feel free to write about that, no need to send devotional objects and please don't try to convert me :-) )
• Shamanism
• Social and gender studies
• Speculative fiction
• Steampunk, dieselpunk, cyberpunk
• Victorian age

• Patterned and scrapbooking paper
• Crafting paper of any other kind, including upcycled paper (a newspaper, a map or a museum ticket in your language for example)
• Ephemeras are my all times favourite, especially if vintage inspired.
• Letter paper
• Snacks, chocolate, teas or spices from all over the world
• Recipes
• Rubber / clear stamps
• Stickers but please no alphabet, planner or reward stickers because I wouldn't know how to use them
• Washi samples
• Vintage / victorian (inspired) photos

• Spooky stuff

• Anything with ferrets!

• Other animal themed stuff: it would be super special to receive cetaceans, octopus, bees or bear themed things
• Favorite colors: red, purple, blue and brown tones

Please don't send me things that are racist, sexist, homo-bi-transphobic, ableist, ageist etc, or anything violent. I don't have fun unless everybody does - and yes, I've been called a party pooper before because of this. Depending on the swap's topic, it's ok to send me fiction or news with such themes - I mean, I do know they exist in the world and don't want to turn my eyes away.

Other dislikes or "rather not":

• Alphabet, planner or reward stickers
• Anime stuff
• Baby related stuff
• Bookmarks
• Candles
• Coins or foreign currency in general
• Friendship books, label bags and such
• Home decorations - house is small and crammed already LOL
• Magnets - no magnetic fridge, so no room for them :-(
• Make up
• Political topics