What do you do when you can dress your daughter with ease, but dressing your son feels like a scavenger hunt?

In this episode of The Joy Club Podcast, Emily McCarthy sits down with Meghan Stanton, founder of Henry Duvall, on St. Simons Island. Meghan shares her winding path to this moment, growing up in Bermuda, boarding school in New Hampshire, law school, a career as a corporate lawyer, and eventually landing on St. Simons with her husband and three kids. She talks about how each place she's lived shaped her eye for color, classic Americana style, and the Southern habit of dressing little kids like little kids.

Meghan opens up about the real origin of Henry Duvall: the frustrating hunt for boys' clothing that led her to start a brand in the middle of COVID, the imposter syndrome that kept her from telling even her closest friends, and the market research experiment that accidentally built a community of over a thousand moms before she ever launched. She and Emily also talk about learning manufacturing from scratch, why she's stayed true to her aesthetic even when feedback pulls her elsewhere, and the natural, unplanned way the brand expanded from boys into girls and women's pieces.

This is a conversation about starting something from an honest need, trusting your instincts, and building a brand your family actually lives in, mud stains and all.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Welcome & meet Meghan Stanton of Henry Duvall
• 1:30 - Growing up in Bermuda, and the places that shaped her style
• 8:00 - The hole in the market that sparked Henry Duvall
• 15:00 - Turning imposter syndrome into a 1,000-person community
• 33:00 - What Meghan would tell herself on day one

Mentioned in this episode:

• Henry Duvall
• Henry Duvall's Audrey skirt

Join us: Subscribe to The Joy Club Podcast so you don't miss an episode. Like this one? Let us know what stayed with you. Leave a review – it helps other women find us.

Links: Emily McCarthy | Designer Fashion & Lifestyle Brand Joy Club Podcast on Instagram

1. Meghan Stanton
2. Henry Duvall
3. Emily McCarthy
4. Joy Club Podcast
5. boys clothing brand
6. children's fashion brand
7. women in business
8. St Simons Island
9. mompreneur
10. founder story

In Korean culture, asking someone "Have you eaten?" isn't really about food. It's a way of saying, I care about you. Are you okay?

In this episode of The Joy Club Podcast, Emily McCarthy sits down in Savannah with Kay Heritage, founder of Big Bon, over a warm honey bear latte to talk about how that one phrase became the foundation of an entire business. Kay shares her story of coming to the United States from South Korea as a teenager, the difficult transition of learning a new language and culture, and the years she spent in the Army that taught her discipline, leadership, and what it means to truly belong to a family.

Kay opens up about the wood-fired pizza truck she started with her daughter Anna in 2016 on a whim, and how it grew into Big Bon, a business built as much around taking care of people as it is around bagels and pizza. She shares the story of an employee who transformed his life over three years working alongside her, the hardest season of the business when she nearly walked away, and the community of fellow Savannah business owners who showed up for her again and again, from a landlord who extended credit to a friend who dropped off pizza boxes without being asked.

This is a conversation about food as love, resilience as an immigrant and entrepreneur, and what it really means to build a business around people.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Welcome & a taste of Big Bon's honey bear latte
• 2:30 - The Korean phrase "Have you eaten?" and what it truly means
• 6:00 - How a wood-fired pizza truck with her daughter became Big Bon
• 23:00 - The employee whose story reminded Kay why she does this
• 30:30 - The hardest season of Big Bon, and the turning point that kept her going

Mentioned in this episode:

• Big Bon Bodega, Savannah, GA
• Maizal, Big Bon's upcoming gluten-free Colombian cafe concept

Join us: Subscribe to The Joy Club Podcast so you don't miss an episode. Like this one? Let us know what stayed with you. Leave a review - it helps other women find us.

Links: Emily McCarthy | Designer Fashion & Lifestyle Brand Joy Club Podcast on Instagram

1. Kay Heritage
2. Big Bon Bodega
3. Emily McCarthy
4. Joy Club Podcast
5. Savannah Georgia
6. immigrant entrepreneur
7. women in business
8. food and community
9. small business story
10. veteran entrepreneur

What happens when two friends set out to build a network, and end up building a family instead?

In this episode of The Joy Club Podcast, Emily McCarthy sits down with Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long, co-founders of The Southern C, a community that has spent over a decade bringing together entrepreneurs, creatives, and small business owners from across the South. Cheri and Whitney share how their careers in Southern magazine publishing led them to start a blog together, and how a simple idea to connect with fellow business owners grew into in-person events that now define a movement.

They talk honestly about their very first event, a summit that survived a sideways rainstorm and became a story their community still tells today, and how they've grown and pivoted through the years, from swag bags packed in a living room to hosting summits, retreats, and workshops across the South. Cheri and Whitney also open up about what it really takes to build a business with your best friend, from learning to pick up the phone instead of texting to knowing when to say no.

The conversation closes with an exciting announcement: The Southern C is sunsetting its Sea Island chapter, and celebrating with a tribute night in honor of one of their community's biggest inspirations.

This is a conversation about connection, community, and building something that outlasts any single event.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Welcome & meet Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long
• 3:00 - Life before The Southern Sea: their career journeys
• 9:00 - Sideways rain and the first-ever Southern Sea event
• 25:00 - What people don't see behind the scenes
• 39:00 - Sunsetting Sea Island and a special tribute night

Mentioned in this episode:

• The Southern Sea community, summits, retreats, and workshops
• The Southern Sea's upcoming Palm Beach event
• Final Sea Island summit, January 2027

Join us: Subscribe to The Joy Club Podcast so you don't miss an episode. Like this one? Let us know what stayed with you. Leave a review – it helps other women find us.

Links: Emily McCarthy | Designer Fashion & Lifestyle Brand Joy Club Podcast on Instagram

1. The Southern Sea
2. Cheri Leavy
3. Whitney Long
4. Emily McCarthy
5. Joy Club Podcast
6. women in business
7. entrepreneur community
8. small business events
9. Savannah Georgia
10. female founders