Our vision

A small rebellion, held underground.

We are the antidote to mass production and empty transactions. A doorway to a life where routine becomes ritual and beauty is as essential as breathing. Everything here was made by a pair of hands, and we can tell you whose.

A world inspired by beauty

Where an ordinary Tuesday is worth paying attention to. Where awe is not a holiday.

A world that lives consciously

Where old things get new lives, traditions are cherished, and less is more.

The founders

Two women, one spirit.

Catherine McLaughlin-Hills

Co-Founder

Catherine spent three decades in the sacred art of midwifery — a Certified Nurse-Midwife who attended over 2,000 births at Portsmouth Hospital, trained at Mass General and UCSF in presence, listening, and holding space for transformation. Those are the same skills she brings to a room full of art and guests.

Leaving midwifery left her briefly lost; Oaxaca found her again. Deep friendships with indigenous artists there changed her understanding of what authentic living looks like. A CODA (Child of Deaf Adults), she learned early that art and gathering were her mother’s music, and for several years she ran a gallery in Portsmouth, helping people find the pieces that spoke to them.

Catherine brings the curator’s eye, the host’s warmth, and an intuitive understanding of how art transforms lives.

Heidi Feinstein

Co-Founder

Human rights activist, holistic-therapist, restaurateur, aspiring farmer: the thread through Heidi’s life is creating spaces for growth and awakening. Over 14 years she built Life Alive Cafes, a beloved organic vegetarian restaurant chain, into a thriving multi-location enterprise revitalizing the planet one meal at a time. Hearth Food Garden, her 15,000-square-foot market hall in downtown Portsmouth, ended in devastating loss — and left her with renewed clarity about her purpose.

Years of spiritual seeking and regular travel lead her to unite with Catherine to build Alma while she continues her work with Rooted Vision Studio, helping leaders thrive, teams flow, and spaces transform.

Heidi brings resilience, hospitality mastery, and a deep understanding of how to grow a purpose-driven business without losing its soul.

Our mission

To saturate your days with the sensuous pleasure of things made by hand.

Awaken the spirit

To remind you what you are capable of noticing. Tat Tvam Asi — thou art that.

Connect to source

Every object here has an origin, and we know it. The maker, the village, the tradition it came out of.

Unite people

We bring our makers into your life, and you into the company of each other. This is a very good place to meet.

Our promise

You will leave with more than you came for.

Something will draw you in. A conversation, a scent, a painting, a bowl, a jacket, a candle — and the story behind it. A mezcal cocktail in a blown-glass copita while you decide.

No matter what, you leave with your spirit inspired.

Our impact

What changes when you walk through our doors.

A sanctuary, not a store

You are not being sold to. You are being shown something, by people who are glad you came.

Makers who thrive

Every purchase travels back to a workshop, a village, a family. That is not a slogan — it is where the money goes.

Less, kept forever

Nothing here is disposable. New, vintage or repaired, it is meant to outlive the season and probably us.

The soul behind ALMA.