Manalapan couple's découpage business creates music for your eyes

Six-minute read

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Susan Bloom

Special to the Asbury Park Press

March 11, 2026, 5:15 a.m. ET

 

 

• A Manalapan-based couple turned their passion for art and music into a business called Stuck on Découpage.

• The business creates custom découpage turntables, guitars, and other music-themed gifts.

• The company has created items for artists like Def Leppard, Third Eye Blind, and Alanis Morissette.

 

 

MANALAPAN -- Growing up around the corner from each other in Marlboro, husband-and-wife team Steve and Alyssa Cherin both loved art and music.

 

And several years ago, they found a unique way to combine those two passions by launching Stuck on Découpage, a Manalapan-based business that crafts custom découpage turntables, guitars and music-themed gifts as well as wooden boxes, frames, trays, vases and more.

 

“Back in high school, I was big into music and art and did a lot of painting,” recalled Steve, who painted the backs of denim jackets with iconic album covers from classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Rush as a teen.

 

Steve went on to graduate from Rutgers University with an economics degree, work at his family’s computer business for a decade, and then build his own business buying and selling liquidated merchandise, until Alyssa’s interest in découpage — an art form through which images are cut out, applied to an object, and sealed with varnish to create a ‘painted on’ effect — evolved into more than the couple ever imagined.

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​​​​​A hobby turned into a business

After graduating from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, with a degree in psychology, Alyssa worked for a financial company for a few years and then stayed home to raise their children and help Steve with his business.

 

“We always enjoyed going to Broadway shows and I wanted a box to store all of my playbills in, but I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for in the stores, so I decided to make my own,” Alyssa said.

 

“After playing around with some different shabby-chic looks and découpaging a box, I loved how it came out, so I made others in different colors and themes with corresponding knobs and started selling them at craft shows. Steve began helping me and I came up with the name ‘Stuck on Découpage’ and launched a shop on Etsy in 2018.”

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Intrigued by the art form, Steve was excited to grow the business and see where it could go.

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“Alyssa was doing Broadway-themed boxes and I was into classic rock, so we began découpaging some boxes featuring both themes and bringing them to craft shows,” Steve said. “Then in 2022, I got an excess supply of acoustic guitars from a liquidator, so we started découpaging them, selling them on Etsy, and promoting them on Facebook.”

 

Steve’s decision to contact worthy causes and offer custom-découpaged guitars for charity auctions took their business to the next level.

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“Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen and his wife founded the Raven Drum Foundation to raise money for first responders, so I reached out to the organization to introduce our découpaged products and got commissioned to create a Def Leppard-themed guitar that Rick Allen autographed and the charity auctioned off online,” Steve said. “In addition to the guitar selling for $1,000, we were invited to attend the event and got to meet Rick Allen, his wife, and other famous musicians, which was amazing.”

 

The Cherins then découpaged a guitar for the Lincroft-based Rockit Academy (which nurtures aspiring young musicians) for use at a charity event honoring Eddie and David Brigati of The Rascals.

 

“I created a Rascals-themed guitar that was autographed by Eddie Brigati, Steve van Zandt, and Liberty DeVitto (former drummer for Billy Joel), which sold for $1,500,” Steve said.

 

“We ended up making guitars for a range of charity auctions, including Broadway Cares and Project ALS, and then expanded into découpaged turntables, which are a nice medium to work with,” Steve said. “They make wonderful displays and pair well with musicians’ album releases as a promotional package.”

 

“The band Fishbone became our first collaboration on turntables and really put us on the map,” Steve said. It was followed by their creation of limited-edition turntables for such other musicians/bands as Third Eye Blind, Leann Rimes, Jon Anderson of Yes, Devo and Alanis Morisette, whose management team incorporated her themed turntable into their 30th anniversary commemoration of her 1995 album "Jagged Little Pill" last year.

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What’s old is new again

According to Steve, creation of their signature turntable pieces involves high-end materials, band-issued artwork, and a several-hour process to perfect the final outcome.

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“The turntables that we use — compact Victrola units with built-in speakers and Bluetooth — are fully operational and become artistic, limited-edition pieces autographed by the band,” he said. Having collaborated with nearly 20 bands since they started, “we’ve made hundreds of turntables so far, all priced from $299 to $399 depending on the artist and available for sale on our website.”

 

In addition to society’s enduring devotion to music, Steve credits much of the demand for their products to a renewed interest in turntables and all things retro.

 

“Records and turntables have definitely taken off again, especially among the younger generation, and bands like to put out vinyl albums in five or six different variations today for greater appeal,” Steve said.

 

Alyssa agreed.

 

“A lot of ‘old’ things are coming back, from vintage clothing and purses to knitting arts, so the demand we’re seeing for turntables is part of a bigger trend,” she said, noting that their customers are of all ages and are located all over the world. “We’ve shipped our products to Brazil, Japan, Australia and more.”

 

While some of their product costs have increased marginally over the past several years, the response the Cherins have received to their pieces from customers and music industry professionals alike has far outweighed those challenges.

 

“Band managers have never seen anything like our products and are shocked and awed,” Alyssa said. “They’re artsy and cool pieces of memorabilia and their limited-edition status makes them even more special. If you’ve loved these bands or know someone who does, having a themed and autographed turntable of theirs makes a unique gift.”

 

'Cool pieces of memorabilia'

Looking ahead, the Cherins have limited-edition turntable releases coming up with Crowded House, Lisa Loeb and Peter Frampton and are excited to keep building the business.

 

“I never dreamed that this would grow out of my little hobby,” Alyssa said. “But Steve and I always appreciated arts and music and are happy to have found something fun and creative that we can do together as a team and that people really appreciate.”

 

Steve agreed and confirmed that the whole experience has left him starstruck.

 

“As a music geek, getting to meet the bands and rock heroes that I’ve loved since high school has been surreal,” he said of one of the perks of their business.

 

“We enjoy making these products for people and seeing their reviews and how much they love and appreciate all of the work that went into them,” he said. “That’s part of the fun.”

 

 

Stuck on Découpage

Location: Manalapan

Phone: 732-490-1699

Launched: 2018

Owners: Steve and Alyssa Cherin

Website: www.stuckondecoupage.com

Instagram: @stuckondecoupage