November 28, 2025- What’s Up Worcester had the pleasure of spending Black Friday at Cosmic Unicornz in Kelley Square with local creator, designer, curator and seamstress Melissa Mattson.
Cosmic Unicornz shop is hard to miss! Located the Worcester Public Market building with an entrance on Green Street, Mattson’s creative decor spills out to the sidewalk in the best way! Sometimes it is colorful balloon sculptures, other times racks of 100 % handmade clothing, accessories and goods that will draw customers to her vibrant boutique. Think: Wormtown Traders, Festival Fashion, Handmade Natural beauty products,Y2K, rainbow vibes and lots of laughter. Melissa Mattson is so much fun!
A trip to her shop feels a lot more like a tea party in Wonderland than a shopping trip. Visitors will want to stay a while, browse unique gifts and fashion, and soak up the joy.
Customers gain so much more than a gift or custom made jacket at Cosmic Unicornz; They get to commune with an inspirational artist, learn about local events, and even take sewing classes. Mattson doesn’t pressure a purchase; she is grateful for the opportunity to simply talk about art and the goings on in Kelley Square. From the bright colors and energy Mattson exudes, to her collection of whimsical buttons and sarcastic T-shirts, a visit to Cosmic Unicornz is a natural anti-depressant.
Mattson utlizes the entire space as her art playground. She streams upbeat music, displays vibrant art by about 20 local creators from floor to ceiling, designs cosmic apparel and sews right onsite, and she greets every passerby with a smile. She shared she even buys sandwiches for the local homeless visitors from time to time. With a one-year-old at home, it is hard to imagine where she gets her energy, but that who Mattson is: She lives for the joy of art. She is so enthusiastic about what she predicts will be Worcester’s Creative Renaissance, that she wont stop until everyone knows that Wormtown is where it’s at for art, music and culture.
Mattson has been successfully selling her wares on Etsy since 2012, but she made the move to set up her unique boutique in Kelley Square this past July because she loves the tight knit artist scene in the Woo, and she feels “the arts community in Worcester is absolutely unmatched,” she says. Having gone to UMASS Dartmouth for Art Illustration and living in Boston for a time, she returned to her hometown roots and searched for years for the perfect spot for her store. When the space on Green Street became available, she knew it was meant for her and jumped in head first. Mattson said despite the challenges of opening a small business, she is so happy she made the leap because she has found her groove. “All of the artists and small businesses in the Worcester Public Market support each other and it’s amazing!” she says.
Mattson offers her sewing lessons right in her shop, which also serves as a studio should she be inclined to do double duty as a designer and shop keeper at the same time. And she is inclined to do as many things as possible in her little slice of heaven. She sews custom ordered garments for drag shows and does mending for local customers. She curates and displays goods from other local artisans and encourages community artisanship. She does reels with Worcester Public Market, most recently featuring Clown and Balloon artist friend Zozo the Clown on Small Business Saturday. Mattson’s joyful energy and local community focus is exactly what Worcester needs, and she says she has always been this driven!
Start Young, Stay Local, Have Heart
Mattson always liked to keep her hands busy, and started sewing when she was eight years old, designing clothing for her dolls and making small projects. She was so passionate about creating that she went to sewing camp as a child. She “didn’t like sports and [her] parents didn’t know what to do with [her]!” she says. Her path to becoming an established designer took her through receiving an Art degree at UMass Dartmouth and on to WARP tour in 2010, when she started designing T-shirts for her friends’ bands. She loved vending at shows and interacting with all the fun people, and it worked in her favor, because her shirts were a hit. She sold out the merch booths so quickly that she started designing her own shirts and opened up shop on Etsy in 2012. People asked her what she wanted her shop to be called and thus, Cosmic Unicornz was born.
Since then Mattson has gone from sewing scraps and printing T-shirts to designing runway pieces for the yearly Queer AF Gala and fashion show at Mechanics Hall, outfitting Paris Hilton (yes that Paris Hilton!), and becoming a go-to seamstress for Drag performers and Queer wedding apparel. She can turn a white tux into an elegant tux/gown combo with a removable train! She can also turn a not-so-pretty bridesmaid dress into a custom-tailord look customers will want to wear again. Her colorful, iridescent and designs have become synonymous with Pride and she says she has always been drawn to super happy bright colors.” In her fourth year at the Queer AF fashion show, she had 15 models walk the runway with different looks and sold all of her pieces. She says her “happy, bright colors” align well with Pride, and her structured and whimsical designs appeal to folks interested in EDM, punk and costumery. Pass the sequins!
Mattson will not say it is always easy to be an artist. It does take hard work and dedication to carve out a space anywhere in the art world and in some ways, Mattson says, “Art and design is still not taken as a serious career.” Rooting herself in a vibrant community and getting away from the “packing and shipping burn-out” small businesses experienced during COVID was important to retaining her spirit. She wants people to come in and love her work. Mattson repeated what other artists have shared about creating and selling art, “It’s personal.” She said it is difficult to go through times that are less productive, to be pulled from making art to selling art for a living, and to sell (or not sell) a special piece. “It’s your heart and your ego and it is hard not to feel big feelings,” she says.
To young people in Worcester interested in a design career she says, don’t give up, retain your enthusiasm, and “start small in your own community and build your following.” She says it is easy to get swallowed up and lose heart in a larger city such as New York or Los Angeles, and that competition isn’t necessary. The fact that her lense encompasses all visual and material art, not just fashion design, is perhaps, part of her success. She sees the bigger picture and keeps an open heart and mind. Mattson chose to go to art school in the excellent state sytem rather than scrambling for a position in one of few expensive fasion design colleges. She briefly lived in Boston and loves to visit Miami, but she feels Worcester offers unique opportunities for a loyal local following.
But Seriously, Worcester Business is Booming
People in Worcester appreciate hard work and inside knowledge; We don’t like people to come in and tell us what to like and what to do! The city is moving in creative, yet still locally authentic, directions. A recent example is Worcester Art Museum’s Arts and Armor Galleries. The design is intended to present a uniquely Worcester local experience, which draws folks to our city, rather than attempting to challenge or recreate the museums of New York City and Europe and getting lost in the mix.Â
Mattson, too, believes that the revitalization of Worcester is creating a launchpad for local artisans to thrive because it is attracting the perfect combination of diverse small businesses, artists and creatives. The leases in Worcester, despite nationwide rising costs, are still far lower than the major cities known for fashion and art. This online calculator predicts a 25.1% Cost of Living increase for a fashion designer who chooses to move from Worcester to Boston, with only a 6.4% increase in income. Staying local, or returning to local, seems to pay off for business owners and creatives, and that only propels Worcester’s diversity and cultural appeal.
Melissa Mattson’s shop Cosmic Unicornz brings Joy to the fabric of small businesses popping up in the city, and she champions the work of others. She loves Worcester, and Worcester loves her unmatched energy and unique designs. She has an eye for what keeps life fresh, fun and exciting, and that spirit will likely bring youth and vibrance to Kelley Square. The local buzz will return to her again and again, because she is helping put Worcester on the map as an established creative community.
Body Vybes by Reanna can be found at Cosmic Unicornz
Betsey Taft Kennedy, Managing Editor, What’s Up Worcester, [email protected]
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