Established in 2007 by Jim & Deb Meehan, Lantana's quickly evolved into a sought after local store in Southport, NC.  Their daughter, Hilary, joined them only 6 months after opening to help with curating the collection, sales and marketing, and everyday management.  

Lantana's started on a sleepy side street near the old fire station & the post office in the downstairs of an historic home with a shady porch and rockers.  There were several funky "rooms" of our initial offerings that Jim & Deb put together from many of the handmade items they always loved with a focus on hand made & colorful high quality gifts & art.  We slowly grew our local artist collection from the early days, too.  It was just our 2nd year, in 2008, when we were among the founding galleries for the First Friday Gallery Walk that we still host to this day!  

In 2010 we moved to the current location on South Howe Street, just half a block from the river.  This new location really brought greater exposure and grew our customer / fan base exponentially!  We brought back M-C after dropping it during the economic downturn of 2008/2009.  

In 2015, Hilary took a sabbatical & moved to focus on her own creative pursuits, eventually founding Mirthos Paper which we carry now at Lantana's.  Jim and Deb invited their other daughter, Maureen (Mo), to join the business & she said yes - and then they retired!  Mo held the reigns for several years, with help from our amazing staff (always!) & her husband, Kiley.  They love Southport & when Mo found a position with the City of Southport that was *perfect* for her, everyone encouraged her to apply - including Hilary who was back in the area (thanks, Pandemic!).  Hilary is now the guiding light & owner here at Lantana's officially.  (that's me, let's be honest - talking in third person about myself, haha!) 

I'm so honored to continue sharing Lantana's with our loyal customers!  I love finding unique, colorful, high quality, inspiring & sometimes funny items to share with you all.  I am picky as heck, too & you get to enjoy a carefully curated experience here.  It is a pleasure & honor to represent the many local artists that we carry, too.  Some of our artists have been with us since our very early days - 13, 14, 15+ years!  

Even in our larger lines, I have the opportunity to choose what items we stock from MacKenzie-Childs.  I am making sure I'm bringing in the best of their limited edition & seasonal releases.  I definitely curate our candle collections, too. Oh, and jewelry!  I love special jewelry & being able to source artisan pieces to help us each show our flair with adornments!  

Thank you for loving what we do here, too!!  

Thanks for your support - we love sharing the great art & funky gifts that we find with you all!  

Find us on Instagram or Facebook @lantanas_gallery XO!