About me
Alyssa C. Opishinski (M.S. Textiles, Fashion Merchandising and Design, with a specialization in Historic Fashion and Textiles, Textile Conservation, and Cultural Analysis) is the Museum Technician (History) in the Collections Department at the USN Submarine Force Museum and Historic Ship Nautilus (SSN 571) in Groton, CT. Prior to transitioning to a museum career, Alyssa was a professional costume designer and technician, with engagements as a guest artist and lecturer in higher education theater and music departments. With a research background in design studies and ethnography, and inspired by the deeply collaborative systems found in professional theater production, Alyssa is interested in examining the development of inter-cultural collaboration between museum collections' professionals and stakeholders. Her other research specialties include material literacy and design/craft thinking, early 19th-century European dress history, historic garment re-creation, the history of dressmaking and commercial sewing patterns, detergent chemistry, and conservation ethics.
