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I think it really began before I even knew what a creative director was. I grew up in New York City in a Moroccan Jewish household where food, culture, and aesthetics were at the center of everything—meals weren’t just meals, they were stories, rituals, performances. That shaped the way I saw the world: everything had meaning, intention, and visual beauty.
I studied design in Paris and then at RISD, which gave me a more formal foundation. After school, I worked in both large agencies and small studios, which gave me a wide lens on how creative work could be approached. I learned what I wanted to emulate—and what I wanted to do differently. Over time, I realized I wanted to create a space where strategy and storytelling were prioritized, where the work felt personal, and where the clients felt like collaborators.
I also found myself constantly drawn back to food—not just as a subject, but as a medium for connection, memory, and identity. I missed that intersection in the design world, and I knew I wanted to build a practice where branding and food could come together with meaning and intention.
In 2008 my partner Devi and I started PAPERWHITE with no roadmap—just a love for food and desire to build brands with depth and a point of view for an industry that we love. What began as a tiny studio has now grown into an international team with offices in New York, Chicago, and Vienna. Crazy.
Paperwhite is a branding studio working at the intersection of food, hospitality, and culture - women-founded and led by myself and my partner Devi Rhodes.
We specialize in brand strategy, identity, packaging, and digital design—but more than that, we’re creative partners. We believe the best brands feel like places you want to return to: warm, human, and rooted in something real. We partner with food and hospitality concepts to build brands with meaning — from scratch, from soul, and from strategy not trends.
Our clients range from neighborhood restaurants and heritage food brands to boutique hotels. We’re not here to make things just look good. We’re here to tell their story and make them feel right — visually, verbally, emotionally — and to bring them to life across every touchpoint, from menus and packaging to digital experiences and spatial design. We are a team that deeply loves all aspects of hospitality.
It’s hard to choose just one, but I’d say the spirit of creative generosity. There’s something about New York’s pace and density that brings different industries into constant contact—one minute, you’re deep in a studio brainstorm, the next you’re talking to a chef about plating or a hotelier about lighting moodboards. There’s this scrappy brilliance in New York that makes you want to push harder and be better.
The community here is full of people doing wildly inspiring things—and there’s an unspoken ethos of “how can I help?” People will connect you to a supplier, introduce you to a dream client, or help you fix a last-minute print issue at 10 p.m. Starting a business is not always smooth sailing, but there is comfort in the idea that we are all in this crazy thing, time and place, together. We owe a lot to all the friends, clients, and people who have trusted, helped, and lifted us up over the last 16 years.
There’s also the drive. New York creatives never really coast. There’s always a new idea, a better version, another level—and while that can be exhausting, it’s also thrilling. I owe a lot of Paperwhite’s evolution to this city. If you persevere and work hard, you will find your place—it may take time, but New York has a way of rewarding resilience and vision.
It’s at the core of how and why we do what we do. Being a women-founded and led agency means we’ve built a studio culture where collaboration, empathy, and intentionality aren’t just buzzwords—they’re how we operate.
As women and mothers, my partner and I experienced firsthand how much creativity thrives when you create room for life—when you lead with flexibility, honesty, and care. Parenthood has forced us to truly consider what work-life balance looks like—not just for ourselves, but for our team and our clients. It’s helped us recognize that having a life outside of work isn’t a distraction from the job, it’s an asset. Those experiences—the messy, beautiful, real-life ones—make our work more empathetic, more thoughtful, and more layered.
That mindset has shaped everything at Paperwhite: how we manage projects, how we lead teams, how we build client relationships, and even how we think about brand strategy.
We’re often working with clients—especially in hospitality—who are building businesses that are deeply personal. We understand what that feels like. We know what it means to build something from scratch, to sweat the details, to care too much. That shared experience allows us to lead with humanity and clarity.
We are proof that you can run a successful agency and still make space for real life—school pickups, holidays, construction delays and diner parties. And that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.
That’s like picking a favorite child! We’re proud of all the work we do and deeply grateful for the people we meet in the process—clients who trust us with their vision, collaborators who challenge us to think bigger, and teams who bring our ideas to life. Every project adds a new layer to our studio’s story. Recently, there are three projects we are particularly proud of, for different reasons.
The Perlant is our first venture into the world of social clubs. We loved looking at hospitality through a new lens, bringing together many layers of design and storytelling to create a space that feels both exclusive and inviting.
We loved working with New York legend William Greenberg on their rebrand. The challenge of taking something that people have loved for such a long time and giving it new life was both exciting and rewarding. Our goal was to preserve the essence of what makes William Greenberg a beloved institution while infusing fresh energy into the brand. We focused on honoring its rich heritage while making sure it felt contemporary and relevant to the next generation of customers.
The Joyce in Miami is a project we are really proud of. With so much new and innovative energy happening in Miami, it was exciting to work on a concept there. From the distinctive branding to the carefully curated interiors, every detail was designed to create a welcoming yet sophisticated and timeless atmosphere.
At the end of the day, we really love working with chefs and people in the hospitality world. Every project brings us to a new table—sometimes literally—and we never take that for granted. We love breaking bread with our friends and clients, and the fact that we get to do it as part of our work is honestly one of the best parts. It’s all the things we love—design, food, and the simple, powerful act of sharing a meal—wrapped up in one experience.
www.paperwhite-studio.com
@paperwhitestudio