Campo Marzio's Artisan Stationery Comes to the U.S.

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Photograph by Levi Brown

Late one night, roaming Rome near the Trevi Fountain, I happened upon a little shop that stopped me in my tracks. Its windows full of stationery in glorious color combos -- violet and persimmon, navy and marigold -- Campo Marzio glowed like a jewel box. I reached for my wallet, but the store was closed.

Back in New York, I did a web search. Good news! This fall, Campo Marzio, which started in 1933 as a source for finely crafted pens, opened its first U.S. outpost, a store-within-a-store at Kate's Paperie in Manhattan. The luscious leather goods and stylish laptop bags that wowed me that Roman night are a subway ride -- or a click (katespaperie.com) -- away. They are affordable too: Leather portfolios start at $25 -- not much to pay for a thing of beauty and memories of Italy.

A version of this article appears in the December / January issue of Fast Company.