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Our story begins...

Hi, I'm Gwen, a true Carolina girl! I love sweet tea in the summer, boating anytime, and winter for me means wearing closed toed shoes!

My Southport story began, like so many others, with a visit and a “love-at-first-site” experience. Moving here in 1998, I quickly became involved with the local yacht club, where I learned to sail and fell in love with the sport and met Jamie who is, as they say, “the son of a son of a sailor”. A Northerner, growing up in Long Island and Vermont, Jamie spent summers sailing and winters skiing - opposites attracted through our mutual love for sailing and home design.

2000 was a year of many changes – we got married, bought our first “fixer-upper” and our first sailboat together and began to “live the dream” in Southport. Over the next decade we merged my talents for design and business management with Jamie’s expertise in carpentry growing the Mad River Building business in Southport.

In 2010, we took a “pause” from Southport to set out on a new adventure in Jamie’s old stomping grounds…Vermont. The adventure lasted but a few years until Southern-born me soon found the cold winters too much to bear – so in 2013 we came back “home” to Southport and hit the reset button, thrilled to be home again.

Encouraged to follow my love of design and home décor, we opened Mad River Studio & Store in the summer of 2014. We officially expanded Mad River Construction into the Home Decor business, where our passion is “making the rooms you live in the rooms you love!”

Meet Our Team

Brenda

Team Coach

  • Loves boho fashion
  • Always wears a smile
  • Favorite pastime is crafting
  • Lives with Bill and her dogs Otis and Cal

Kathleen

Marketing Marvel

  • Inspired by food and adventure
  • Loves to make us laugh
  • Mother of two fabulous girls
  • Living the Southport dream!

Kathy

The Organizer

  • Carolina girl
  • Believes that family time is the best time
  • Lives the beach life with husband Jerry Joe

Krys

Sales Enthusiast

  • Motto is, do what you love!
  • Loyal friend, sister, and daughter
  • Loves to garden and travel
  • Mom to Great Dane Charley

Honie

Happiness Director

  • Loves shopping and chocolate
  • Wants to rescue all dogs
  • Mom to three great kiddos
  • Lives With Brad and four fur babies

Holly

Gift-Wrapping Guru

  • Tennis is her game!
  • Wine enthusiast
  • A friend to all animals
  • Lives with husband Tim

Michele

Design Specialist

  • Loves to help clients find joy
  • "Mimi" to 4 fabulous grands
  • California Style-East Coast Heart
  • Lives with "Captain" John

Jill

Design Specialist

  • Bucket List: ✔Attend 12 Super Bowls ✔Attend 3 Olympics
  • Lives with Neil and sweet Doodle Sydney

Sailor

Shop Dog

  • Eager greeter and store detective
  • A little shy at first
  • Loves treats and cardboard
  • Lives with Gwen, Jamie, and Fish

Fish

Assistant Shop Dog

  • Avid barker and inventory destroyer
  • Loves treats and tummy rubs
  • Lives with Gwen, Jamie, and Sailor

Ask us anything!

For more information on our fabulous products, services, or staff, reach out to our team here in Southport, North Carolina.