About Us…
Based in Upper Township, New Jersey, Shore to Please Designs is an online apparel business creating custom designs for everyday wear and business branding. What started as a creative outlet has grown into a passion-driven business rooted in supporting small businesses and building meaningful connections with the local community.
Shore to Please Designs believes apparel should tell a story whether it’s your own or your brand’s. Every piece is designed with intention, care, and a love for your lifestyle.
Check out Shore Connect, a group created from a genuine love of community and small business. It’s all about connection, support, and growing together.
Featured in New Jersey Voyager
Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa McAlarnen.
Hi Melissa, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Shore to Please Designs around 2012, originally creating handmade baby items for new moms… headbands, tutus, baby outfits, and personalized gifts. What began as a creative outlet quickly grew into a busy Etsy shop, eventually expanding into apparel like t-shirts and tank tops. At the time, I was running the business part-time while also working a full-time job.
After having my second child, life became incredibly busy, and I made the decision to step away from Shore to Please Designs completely. I truly believed that chapter of my life was over and never imagined I would return to it.
Fast forward several years later, my kids became heavily involved in youth sports, and I found myself wanting apparel that felt more stylish, creative, and personalized. I decided to dust off my printer and start creating designs for myself “just for fun.” Before long, friends, teammates, and other parents began asking for custom items too, even though I had sworn I wouldn’t start selling again.
What started as a small hobby quickly snowballed. Within a year and a half, orders were consistently growing, and Shore to Please Designs became busier than I ever anticipated. Then, in 2023, my full-time career took an unexpected turn, forcing me to really evaluate what I wanted for my future.
As scary as it felt, I asked myself an important question: If not now, when? I was already busy enough with orders, and deep down, I knew I owed it to myself to see if I could truly turn Shore to Please Designs into a full-time business.
So, I took the leap, headfirst, and I haven’t looked back since.
How South Jersey shows up for local kids…
The words community and South Jersey tend to go hand in hand. Between the locals, all the small businesses and nonprofits in our area, there are endless amounts of ways to get involved, help others and connect with people. When given an opportunity or an event to help others, the people and places that make up our South Jersey community really pull through.
One instance of the community showing up for each other is the Everyone’s Children yearly back-to-school backpack drive.
Everyone’s Children is a local nonprofit organization that helps children and families in our community. They have three initiatives a year: making spring baskets, holiday adopt-a-child, and their back-to-school backpack drive.
This year, the back-to-school backpack drive is set to be the largest backpack drive organizer Christine Sands-Bennett has done in the last 20-plus years of running Everyone’s Children.
A large part of that is due to a new partnership with Motivated Mommies and Curve Orthodontics, as well as Melissa McAlarnen from Shore to Please Designs/Shore Connect for involving more than 60 businesses in the backpack drive and raising money.
Between these organizations and the locals who run them, in just a few days’ time, they were able to raise enough money to donate more than 280 filled backpacks for our local community.