Meet New Orleans Fine Paper Designer Alexa Pulitzer
Alexa Pulitzer — the person and the brand — embodies a perfect blend of elegance and whimsy. A true champion of New Orleans joie de vivre, this designer's stationery and home goods with a wink are sold worldwide. Image: Randy Schmidt
When you think of the spirit of New Orleans — bold, elegant, whimsical, steeped in history — few creatives capture it better than Alexa Pulitzer. Celebrating more than 30 years of her eponymous brand, Alexa transformed a fascination with discarded prints from her family’s Italian necktie business into her own vision. After earning a BFA and apprenticing with esteemed textile designers, Alexa’s stationery and lifestyle collection began to appear on shelves worldwide. As we head into the holidays and beyond, Alexa Pulitzer helps us approach the art of note-writing, gifting, and celebrating with style.
Take us back to your rather unique childhood. Before the stationery empire, what were you like as a kid?
I was raised by creatives in a home where live music, fine art, parties, and interesting people were the ingredients for a good life. I wasn’t allowed to watch TV, so imagination was my entertainment. I drew, cooked, made up dance routines, sewed, needlepointed, painted tiles, and documented my adventures with a journal and a Pentax camera.
At Country Day, I spent my days making art and music, and later attended The Masters School in New York — an extraordinary boarding school for the arts — where I immersed myself in fine art and dance. Creativity was never something I discovered; it was simply the language of my childhood.
New Orleans, like your work, famously mixes refinement with irreverence. How do you balance elegance with that cheeky edge that makes your brand so fun?
New Orleans is a city of contrasts — refined yet rebellious, elegant yet unpredictable — and I think my work reflects that same spirit. My art is rooted in classicism — old-world craftsmanship, elegant typography, and purpose — but I love that unexpected twist, a bit of humor or whimsy. My work is much like New Orleans itself: beautiful, storied, and never afraid to have a little fun.
Your products are in more than 300 stores around the globe. Can you describe a pinch-me moment in your career so far?
Two that come to mind are when the City of New Orleans chose to work with me to create a logo for its Tricentennial celebration, and receiving a six-figure purchase order from Anthropologie in 2010, which helped me buy my dream house.
Can you share your personal favorite hosting tips?
My husband and I love to host a New Year’s party, and here are some factors that I consider when party planning:
- A carefully curated guest list! I love introducing creatives and bright minds to one another with the hopes that my friends will become friends and find a way to work together.
- Live music. I never host without live music.
- Culinary surprises throughout the night. That may include serving a specialty cocktail upon arrival, affogatos at 11 p.m., and freshly fried shrimp and oysters after midnight to soak up the liquor when the dance party is in full throttle.
- Bar placement and bartenders. I dislike waiting a long time for a drink, so the ratio of guests to bar staff is critical, as is the location of the bar.
- Lighting, home fragrance, and artful flowers
- A comfortable smoking section al fresco
And what are your best practices for written correspondence?
I tend to write thank-you notes at the end of the night or the next morning, while drinking coffee, when the magic from the evening is still with me. A text is not a proper thank you after someone has generously included you in something special. In fact, texting a thank you is often seen as an indication of bad manners and laziness. So is showing up empty-handed to someone’s home without a hostess gift.
You probably hear many stories from longtime customers. Can you share one that’s especially touched or inspired you?
Having been in business for over thirty years, I’ve had the honor of collaborating with many long-term clients through the most meaningful milestones of their lives — from graduation and first job announcements to save-the-dates, wedding invitations, birth announcements, and even family crests and house logos.
What’s something people are often surprised to learn about you?
People are often surprised to learn that I stutter. It tends to catch them off guard, since my work and life require so much communication.
What’s a common misconception people have about your work?
People are often pleasantly surprised to discover that my made-to-order invitations and logos are more attainable than they imagine. A common misconception is that my custom work is prohibitively expensive, when in fact, I strive to make timeless, bespoke design accessible to those who truly appreciate it.
Your guide to New Orleans is spectacular. What do you do to get the creative juices flowing or turn them off?
Thank you, I get a lot of positive feedback on my New Orleans guide, which I update monthly. I am an extrovert, and I go out all the time to experience live music with other creatives, who fill my cup. My creative juices are constantly flowing. Being creative is instinctual. It’s my language.
What’s the best advice you’ve received?
My maternal grandmother, Terry Flettrich, told me, “Never depend on a man (aka another human being) for money” — essentially to make it myself and invest in myself.
What’s next for Alexa Pulitzer?
I have partnered (collaborated) with Kravet, the esteemed leader in the home furnishings industry, to create an Alexa Pulitzer wallpaper collection, which will be released in Spring 2026 to the trade.
LIGHTNING ROUND!
Three things you can’t live without: Music, good design, and New Orleans
Go-to hostess gift right now? Something from my new DEVIL INSIDE collection of notepads: Queen of Shenanigans, Miss Chief, or Logistical Assassin.
Bucket-list vacation destination? Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Marrakech, and Istanbul are at the top of my list.
Favorite “hidden gem” town in the Southeast? Natchez, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama
Favorite NOLA tradition or small business to support? Costuming and day-drinking in the French Quarter on the Friday before Mardi Gras, then walking uptown to watch Krewe of Hermes roll down the Avenue.
Best podcast you’ve consumed recently? The Real Reason Boys and Men Are Quietly Giving Up & What They Need to Hear (an episode of Mel Robbins’ podcast)
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Zoe Yarborough
Zoe is a StyleBlueprint staff writer, Charlotte native, Washington & Lee graduate, and Nashville transplant of eleven years. She teaches Pilates, helps manage recording artists, and likes to "research" Germantown's food scene.