A Letter from the Founder: A New Chapter for With Love Archive in 2025
With Love Archive has always been about two things: Holding onto the beauty of where we’ve been and creating space for what’s to come.
Happy New Year, friends of WLA!
At the end of 2024, I posted a quick WLA's note on our community Substack reflecting on the past year. Now that we are stepping fully into 2025, I wanted to share more about how WLA is evolving—not just as a product but as a way of seeing and experiencing life.
WLA was launched before I was ready. Back then, I didn't have the right words to explain what it is so to make things simple for everyone, I called it a "planner”. But it never felt quite right for me because in my heart I know I created it to be something more than that.
The idea for WLA started long before it had a name. When I was younger, I loved those interactive books. You know, the ones with the envelopes to open, letters to read and wheels that spin .At the time, I was still learning English as my second language, and those books felt like treasures. The pictures, the textures, the way each piece begged to be touched. It made the experience feel tangible and special in a way words alone couldn’t. Without realizing, I began incorporating that into my journaling practice. I would fill the pages of my notebook with anything I could find- drawings, clippings from magazines, all little scraps of life. I was always finding new ways to make my collection feel personal and alive.
As I got older, life got busier, and I drifted from that creative practice. It wasn’t until one of the most chaotic chapters of my life (when I was untangling who I was after years of depression) that I came back to documenting. Writing and creating became my way of piecing myself together. I wasn’t trying to perfect anything; I was trying to notice the small, fleeting moments that made life feel real.
Looking back, I realize that WLA was born from that place of searching. It’s never been about productivity or getting more done but about paying attention. What makes you feel alive? What stories do you want to carry with you? What moments deserve to be held onto?
I know I’m not the only one asking those questions. Life's brevity demands our action but without spending some time to organize our thoughts and experiment, how are we to know what holds value for us? WLA is my way of offering that permission to wander and follow the moments of curiosity that surface.
WLA isn’t just a product. It’s a philosophy. It’s about choosing to live with curiosity, about rediscovering the joy of capturing your life—not for anyone else, but for yourself. That’s why we’re calling it a Personal Archive: a space that’s yours to fill in whatever way makes sense for you.
For me, it’s a collection of layers-reflections, creative experiments, to-do lists scribbled between fleeting ideas. For you, it might be something entirely different. And I think that's so special.
What’s Next for 2025
This year, WLA is growing alongside you. We’re introducing new tools to make your personal archive even more meaningful. We are coming out with new inserts with creative elements and prompts that can invites you to play- I want WLA to feel like a companion in your journey.
I am also peeling back the curtain a little more. Sharing the process of building this brand really doesn't come naturally to me but it’s something I want to lean into this year.
And most of all, I want us to connect on a deeper level. Of course I want to share the heart behind WLA and everything I do behind the scenes with you but just as importantly, I want to get to know you. I want to hear the stories you're capturing, the things that inspire you and the ways you are making your archive your own.
I can't wait for the year ahead.
With love,
Doris
Founder, With Love Archive