My name is Alyssa, pronounced uh-LEE-suh. I started Art by Alyssa in 2010 on the North Shore of Massachusetts. After graduating with a degree in illustration from Montserrat College of Art in 2007, I managed a stationery gift shop in Hamilton, MA. The owner of the shop encouraged me to hang my paintings for sale, which was unknowingly the catalyst of my company. Having worked in small brick-and-mortar gift shops from the age of 16, I gained a natural interest in gift products and began experimenting with reproducing my oil paintings on different items that I could sell. Starting with cards, prints and calendars, I began selling my products at work as well as attending local craft fairs. Customers were enjoying what I was creating and before I knew it, I was busy working every second that I wasn’t running the shop, trying to keep up with the demand. By January of 2011, I made the decision to leave my day job and pursue Art by Alyssa full time, and have been doing so ever since.
I sell my gifts all over the country through the use of my website as well as wholesaling my products to independent boutiques that reach as far as Tokyo, Japan. Some of these shops include Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine, Wild Birds Unlimited Franchises, museum gift shops and multiple Audubons.
My original studio/storefront was located on Cabot Street in Beverly, MA for over 8 years. We outgrew our location in Beverly even before my husband and I moved to New Hampshire in 2021, but had been "making it work" until I could find what I really needed. I had my heart set on Exeter, and though it took over two years, I’m so fortunate to have found the new home of my dreams. We use this space to produce and ship the majority of the products we sell.
Last fall, I became a mom. I’m enjoying it immensely and doing the best I can to keep the business running at the same time. While you won’t personally see me in the studio quite as much, please feel free to ask questions and learn more from the wonderful women who help me keep all of this going.
