Custom Turntables Honoring This NJ Rockstar Aim To Give Back To Community

MANALAPAN, NJ — A local business is finding a unique way to give back to the community with custom turntables made in the image of one of NJ’s biggest rock stars.

Manalapan couple Alyssa and Steve Cherin, the co-owners of Stuck On Decoupage, started their small business around 2018 with a love for all things Broadway, rock and roll, and (most importantly) decoupage – the art of decorating objects with paper cutouts and sealing them with varnish or glue.

After starting out as a small Etsy shop, the business grew from decoupaged Broadway-themed boxes to a go-to location for custom turntables, guitars, and music-themed gifts.

Over the years, the Cherins have collaborated with charities like the Raven Drum Foundation, Broadway Cares, Project ALS and more through their business to give back to the community with their custom products.

Eventually, the couple started to collaborate with bands and artists as well.

“About a year or so ago, I reached out to a band that I used to follow back in high school and asked them if they wanted to do a collaboration where we would do a limited edition piece autographed by the band,” Steve Cherin told Patch. “We ended up working something out with the band, Fishbone, and we did a turntable for them as our first one.”

“That was really the first time we did a collaboration with a band,” he continued. “That [the collaboration] started doing well, which brought us to start reaching out to other bands too.”

Since Stuck On Decoupage’s first artist collaboration with Fishbone, the business has gone on to collaborate with musical artists like Alanis Morissette, Leann Rimes and Third Eye Blind for custom decoupage turntables, prints and more.

It was this past year, however, that the couple got to collaborate with one of NJ’s biggest rock stars to give back to their local community and those in need.

“This past fall, someone from the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen [JBJ Soul Kitchen] reached out and asked us about doing a turntable for them,” Steve Cherin said. “We came up with a design, and Bon Jovi wound up signing the turntable twice – once on the front and once on the inside.”

That one-of-a-kind turntable then became an auction item for 107.1 The Boss’ annual Mistletoe Radiothon, which benefits JBJ Soul Kitchen. The signed turntable sold for $1,200.

After seeing the turntable’s success during the auction, the Cherins decided to expand on the product and are now selling a limited amount of Bon Jovi decoupage turntables, with 30% of each sale donated directly to the JBJ Soul Kitchen Foundation.

Though these turntables aren’t signed by Bon Jovi like the one auctioned off during the radiothon, each will be handmade with Bon Jovi artwork on it and coated in a high-gloss finish.

The sale of each turntable aims to support the Soul Kitchen’s mission to address food insecurity. As of Wednesday afternoon, JBJ Soul Kitchen & Foundation officials have not responded to a request for comment on the turntables.

“Everything’s hand-decoupaged by the two of us,” Steve told Patch. “Everything’s handmade. And as you’re making it by hand, every single one is going to be slightly different. So they’re all a little bit unique.”

According to the product description, the turntable features include:

• Three-speed (33 ⅓, 45, 78 rpm) belt-driven turntable
• Housed in a vintage suitcase with an easy carry handle
• Expanded connection options
• No stereo system or extra equipment required

While the Cherins describe the product as “more of an art piece than a high-tech turntable,” it still offers premium sound quality for records and could serve as a collector’s piece or gift for any fan of Bon Jovi.

“You could buy very expensive, high-end turntables to play your records, but to us, it’s really more about being an art piece and limited,” Alyssa said. “It’s something special, not mass-produced.”

Each turntable is made to order, according to the Cherins, though the Bon Jovi turntables are limited, with only 100 total being sold. Bon Jovi turntables ordered now are expected to ship within six to eight weeks.

“It’s a nice collector’s piece for someone who loves Bon Jovi or even just wants to support Soul Kitchen,” Steve said. “It’s a way to give a portion back to them.”

To learn more, you can visit the Stuck On Decoupage website.