Krista Hyer
Founder, President & Creative Director
Mona Lisa Gallery & Framing

Krista Hyer founded Mona Lisa Gallery in December 2003 under the name Classic Design Framing & the CDF Gallery. Believing she had reached the pinnacle in the picture framing industry working for others, she opened her gallery to give herself the freedom to make her own mark, as well as name, on the designs she creates. In 2007, she renamed the gallery Mona Lisa “to give it more name recognition and give it universal panache.” Under her direction, the Mona Lisa has become the area’s leading provider of custom framing, keepsake preservation, art exhibition, and corporate design consulting. In 2006 and 2007, Décor Magazine voted Mona Lisa to the Top 100 Art Gallery & Frame Shops nationwide. 

Krista has achieved her goal of making Mona Lisa “a personal experience” by engaging the customer in a warm and inviting ambience. She wants to know what will make the art and framework unique to the customer’s personality. She puts the customer at ease in the Gallery’s intimate and casual setting where more than 3600 custom frames from all over the world are on display. In the gallery exhibitions, she is always introducing new art and representing local artists. Over the past few years, Mona Lisa has exhibited more than 50 artists from the tri-state region, as well as artists from foreign countries.

Prior to founding the Gallery, Krista managed the Robin Hutchins Gallery in Maplewood, where she specialized in designing and constructing custom frames for fine art and antique pieces. During that time, she studied advanced framing techniques at the Prestige Framing Academy and became a member of the PPFA (Professional Picture Framers Association). When the opportunity arose for her to work in the record awards industry, she became Production Manager for Ill-Eagle Enterprises and Sage Galleries designing custom awards for such luminary music artists as Elton John and Whitney Houston. She also helped create and design “Elite Galleries,” a pre-framed art line for Bed, Bath & Beyond and Linens ‘n Things that is sold in selected stores today.

Krista’s technical training came when she had the opportunity to become a pip organ technician. Having come from a family of musicians and with a strong background in music and art, she took up the challenge. She became Head Foreman of Church Pipe Organ Company and the Bishop Pipe Organ Company specializing in all aspects of custom pipe organ restoration and re-building. During her four years as Head Foreman, she worked on the restoration of the prestigious Radio City Music Hall Grand Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ and assisted in the tuning and voicing of Atlantic City’s Convention Hall Organ ~ the largest theater pipe organ in the world.

Born in Scranton, PA, Krista grew up in Maplewood, NJ where she graduated from Columbia High School. In high school, she was the first woman recipient of the Woodworking Award of Excellence. After graduating from high school, she studied engineering at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA, before going into pipe organ restoration. Krista maintains a close connection to the community in Maplewood and is involved in many charitable missions, which includes Arts Unbound, art by those who are physically challenged.