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Inside creative director Ali LaBelle’s world, you’ll find yourself immersed in a richly layered visual space, one shaped by her curious eye and refined sense of detail, which carries through into the thoughtful digital spaces she’s founded with newsletter, À La Carte and Instagram community, Pasta Girlfriend. Her aesthetic draws from decades past, with a ‘collected over time’ look – part vintage, part modern, like a visual archive built piece by piece. It only seemed natural to meet at Bucatini in Echo Park, a curated shop with the quiet charm of a European side street and is one she frequents to find Mediterranean-inspired gifts like organic pasta and olive oil. LaBelle’s instinctive collector’s eye, whether it’s finding specialty foods, vintage packaging, ceramics, or offbeat treasures not only inspires her work, but influences her approach to gifting. She notices the small, meaningful details worth remembering and giving with the people in her life.
“I [...] try to take note of someone's interests and curiosities. If they've mentioned that they want to start cooking more, I might get them a favorite cookbook of mine and a couple of the ingredients from my favorite recipe to make from it [...] Rarely do I buy someone something just because I like it—I'll get them something I love that speaks to something I know they love, too.” It’s a sentiment that aligns with TERA’s ethos: gifting as a form of connection — a way of making others feel seen through simple, thoughtful curiosity.
Soon enough, you’ll find yourself living in a part of Ali’s world - sipping a latte in one of the newly rebranded Alfred Coffee shops, surrounded with oxblood tile and checkered linoleum floors, a fresh identity she’s brought to life with the same inquisitive eye she brings to everything. In the meantime, her newsletter, À La Carte is full of unexpected finds, visual discoveries and thoughtful recommendations that will inspire you to gift with intention.
Ali reminds us to give well is to notice well — and noticing always begins with curiosity.
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photography by Jenn Edelson
1.
TERA Á la carte is a window into your creative world, where every post feels not only intention, but also instinctive. Where do you draw your inspiration from these days and how do you feel like it’s evolved over the years?
Ali LaBelle: You know, I don't often sit down and say, Okay, now it's time to look for inspiration. I think I operate with a genuine and consistent curiosity that leads me to collect references and ideas all the time. I look to all the same places everyone does for visual inspiration—Pinterest, Instagram, books, art, restaurants—but I think it's the things I am Googling on my phone as I'm watching a movie or a product I'm buying at the grocery store because I want to save the packaging that ends up providing the most insight to what it is that makes up my personal style and creative point of view. I used to save inspiration I'd find online and just let it sit there, but now I use those things I've found as a jumping off point for research to further learn the context from which they came.
2.
TERA: But if someone were to study just one shelf in your home—books, objects, maybe something tucked in the back—what story would it tell about your taste that often goes unseen online?
Ali LaBelle: I don't think it's a secret that I'm a real collector—every shelf in my house is packed with things I've picked up over time, whether that be books or plates or linens or candy packaging or postcards. I'm pretty sentimental, so you'll usually find a handwritten note from someone I loved wedged into the edge of a picture frame or a polaroid from a special trip tucked in between objects on a shelf. I love displaying things in abundance—you won't find a sparsely-styled shelf in my house.
3.
TERA: Among your creative projects, @pastagirlfriend stands out for being an online gathering spot for fellow pasta lovers! For someone just getting into pasta and hosting their first dinner party, what would you include in the Pasta Girlfriend starter kit?
Ali LaBelle: The most important thing, and the thing I always say about Pasta Girlfriend, is that anyone and everyone is welcome to be a Pasta Girlfriend. You don't have to be an Ina Garten-level host, a skilled chef, or even a girl. Pasta Girlfriend is about bringing people together around something comforting and communal, and that can happen in a lot of different ways. For someone hosting their first dinner party, I'd remind them that you don't have to do everything on your own—ask your guests to bring the wine, pick up the dessert, or bring tupperware to take leftovers home. Lean into the parts that are fun for you—if you love decorating the table, go wild! But if you don't, it's totally fine to keep it simple and put your efforts elsewhere. For me, hosting is about providing an experience for my guests that shows them that I care about them, so I focus on how you can best communicate that feeling, whether it's through the food I'm making or the flower arrangements I'm sending home with each person at the end of the night.
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4.
TERA: I always love finding new things that you’ve discovered or loved in À La Carte! Given how busy the internet can be (trends, products, content), how do you manage not being overwhelmed by all the visual noise?
Ali LaBelle: I think organization is key. I think it can be overwhelming to scroll your feed and feel like you have to immediately action everything you're inspired by. When I see something I love, I often save it to come back to it later—I scroll my saved folders and my Pinterest boards like they're pre-curated feeds just for me. I also think it's important to remember that you can just appreciate the things you see and move on; you don't have to internalize or action it all. The more I've learned to look at something and move on from it quickly without using it as a point of comparison or drawing meaning from it, the healthier my relationship has been with the internet. We're all just sharing opinions—This is my favorite lip product or This is a hotel you have to visit—but it doesn't mean that we have to follow each other's recommendations as some sort of guide to life, you know? Recommendations are personal—find the people who you trust and tune out the rest.
Ali's Favorite Gift Recommendations
Astier de Villatte
Tucson Incense
$60
Tip: My favorite is the Tucson scent, but scent is so personal, so go off of what you know someone loves. If the candle they always burn at home is really vanilla-y, look for a scent that has that same creamy, warm note vanilla has.
One-of-a-kind ceramics (multiple artists)
Stephanie Dawn Matthias
$130
Tip: I follow a lot of brilliant ceramicists on Instagram, and buying a piece of their work for someone not only introduces the recipient to their work, but it supports their craft in the process. Some of my favorites are Stephanie Dawn Matthias, Laura Chautin, and Wonky Ware.
Antique Table Linens (Multiple Artists)
$price varies
Tip: For someone who likes to entertain, an embroidered lace tablecloth is always really special. I get them on Etsy or pick them up in vintage stores often. Don't worry about the size—even a small one will come in handy someday.
Venchi
Chocolates
$price varies
Tip: Food you can't get at your average grocery store, like an imported Italian pasta, French cookies, or Japanese candy. Edible gifts are great because they aren't a burden on the recipient—they don't have to find a spot to store or display something. At Christmas, I often order Italian chocolate from Venchi in bulk to gift to clients, party hosts, and friends I'm getting together with around the holidays.
Experiences!
Eames House
$price varies
Tip: Gifting tickets to a concert or planning an afternoon of fun for someone is the perfect gift if "stuff" isn't really their thing. My mom loves architecture, so my sister and I love to give her tickets to visit the Case Study houses in LA that we can do together. Or my sister and I love taking mini-trips together, so I'll get us a night at a fun new hotel somewhere nearby where we can order room service and binge watch a TV show in bed.
Books
The New Antiquarians
$price varies
Tip: I loveeee to buy books of all kinds—art books I think someone will be inspired by, cookbooks I know they'll get use out of, vintage books to add to their collection, novels I read that made me think of them when I read them. Some of my most frequently gifted books are The New Antiquarians, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, and books from my favorite interior designers—Studio Shamshiri, Nickey Kehoe, and Pierce and Ward.
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5.
TERA: What does your gift-giving process look like? How do you decide what feels just right for someone?
Ali LaBelle: I collect ideas for people I gift regularly year-round in my Notes App. Anytime someone mentions a brand they love or a product they want to try, I try to remember to write it down so that when birthdays and holidays come around, I have some starting points based on their own ideas. I also try to take note of someone's interests and curiosities. If they've mentioned that they want to start cooking more, I might get them a favorite cookbook of mine and a couple of the ingredients from my favorite recipe to make from it, which I'll have bookmarked for them. Or if I know they're into wine, I might find a cool wine bar in their area and get them a gift card to check it out. Rarely do I buy someone something just because I like it—I'll get them something I love that speaks to something I know they love, too.
6.
TERA: How does your love of vintage influence the way you give gifts?
Ali LaBelle: Vintage is such a fun way to find something for someone that they won't have seen in a million gift guides before. I've received some really exciting vintage gifts—an antique butter curler, hand-embroidered napkins, secondhand Ginori plates—and it always delights me to know that someone saw something out there in the world and thought of me when they saw it. I also really love to gift people things they didn't know existed—vintage art books, handmade items, things from niche brands they might not be familiar with. We're all seeing the same stuff on the internet all the time, and surprising someone with something they maybe haven't seen before is always really fun for me.
7.
TERA: Lastly, besides Bucatini (which we all love now!)—are there any favorite spots in LA where you’d take someone for a special experience or to shop for gifts?
Ali LaBelle: Pierce and Ward, RAD, Block Shop, Nickey Kehoe, Arcana, Elementi, Tortoise General Store, Mohawk, and the Rose Bowl Flea Market are all great spots for gifts, whether you're looking for something new or vintage, a book or a candle, and everything in between.
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