Hilary Meehan

Founder & CEO of Mirthos Paper, Co-Founder & Owner/Operator/Sales Queen/Merchandising Maven at Lantana's Gallery

Hilary Meehan believes in creative living, making life the perfect juicy delight of your wildest dreams & inspiring more people to enjoy this glorious mess called life (*there's a card for that!)

Hilary has an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan.
Her undergrad is in architecture, from Miami University in Ohio.
Her work has been exhibited across the country with
permanent installations at moca & The Rialto Theatre in Tucson, AZ.
She loves to travel, swim, experiment, cook, and make art.
Hilary is a published interior designer, owns Lantana’s Gallery in Southport, NC, & just celebrated one year of operations in the up & coming wholesale stationery line, Mirthos Paper.

Hilary grew up with entrepreneurs on both sides of her family; family business was in her bones. Bless their hearts, but her parents reinforced a "traditional career path" for her & so began many years in & out of architecture firms. Hilary always wanted her own business based on her own art & designs. Sometimes you have to grow into what you want, indeed!

Her parents "retired" to the coast in North Carolina to open a gallery & gift store - please pause here to roar with laughter over this retirement plan! Hilary was in Arizona at the time working part time for an architecture firm & part time for the contemporary art museum. After many calls about artists, merchandise, and making ads for the new store, Hilary relocated to help grow Lantana's Gallery. Founded in 2007, the gallery & store is almost 16 years old with a dedicated following of locals & tourists who return year after year to shop the local artists, jewelry, home goods & the feel good experience Lantana's offers. The store prides itself on friendly customer service, excellent gift packaging & offering art in a fun setting. After moving the store to a more prominent location half a block from Southport's waterfront after 3 years, sales grew & the gallery flourished as a mainstay of the town. Hilary (with huge help from her team & her parents) grew the business into a well oiled machine - and then it was time for her to step away to pursue other creative ventures. Her sister took over ownership for several years & just this past fall, Hilary has come back into the gallery full time again after 5 years away. (Instagram @Lantanas_Gallery)

Eventually (and yes, another stint at an architecture firm was involved) - Hilary made the perfect marriage of her art with her love of hand written correspondence when she established her stationery line. Originally founded under her own name in late 2020, she rebranded as Mirthos Paper in April 2022. This past February, Hilary created a studio space in the back of the retail store to house Mirthos within Lantana's. Yes, Lantana's was her first wholesale account. :)
With 10 years of experience buying at trade shows, Hilary knew she wanted to take her line nationwide by exhibiting at the same shows. She's now been at 3 trade shows; twice at Noted/SFNOW & once at NYNOW. Mirthos wants to help *you* KSRA - Kick Some Retail Ass! (This is a long standing motto of Lantana's thanks to Hilary's father, Jim!)

Mirthos is like pathos, but on the happy side - please use excessively! (Hilary literally invented the word Mirthos just for the line & trademark registration is underway).

((This is a LOT! Please edit or just use for your info for our interview! It's a wild path that got me to now!))