Jay W. Armstrong attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a double major in Anthropology and Environmental Studies. In his junior year he took four months abroad to study Permaculture (the science of naturally sustainable farm practices) in New Zealand. Inspired by the adventure and the building practices he observed, he decided to change his focus to Architecture. He returned to pursue and finish an Architectural Degree at the Massachusetts College of Art. Here Jay began to design and build furniture in the newly renovated wood and metal shops.  

Since graduating from the Massachusetts College of Art in 1995, Jay has worked independently designing + fabricating buildings, cabinetry and furniture. His homes have been featured in Accent Magazine. His cabinetry in New Hampshire Home Magazine, The Boston Globe, San Fransisco Chronicle and The Music Hall’s Kitchen Tour in Portsmouth, NH. His furniture has been exhibited in Newbury’s Street’s Mackeen Gallery (Boston), the Beacon Hill Garden Show (Boston) and the Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, NH.

Jay was initially trained in the restoration of historic homes in the Boston area. He then took on to apprentice at a cabinetry shop in Salem, MA while attending Mass. Art. His projects included work on The House of Seven Gables and a number of historic homes on Chestnut Street in Salem and High Street in Newburyport. Jay also worked as a silversmith for Old Newbury Crafters in Amesbury, MA, which is the only hand forged flatware company in the United States.