Business Buzz
By Alexa Lesniak
Summer is in full swing, and it’s a great time to discover all the outstanding new Seven Mile businesses. Head to Faye & Madi to create unique accessories ranging from totes to key chains. Stop by Moran Made Studio to create custom necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and more. Pop over to Mother’s Market & Bakery to enjoy homemade food from soups to dips on its outside patio. And browse stunning dresses, matching sets, and fun accessories from Free People’s newest store, free-est. We are ecstatic to welcome these businesses to Seven Mile Beach, and we hope you will stop in to see what each has to offer!
Julie Haimbach of Faye & Madi
Faye & Madi
260 21st St., Avalon | fayeandmadi.com | @shopfayeandmadi
Faye & Madi specializes in custom accessories, gifts, and keepsakes designed to celebrate the moments that matter most. It offers a wide variety of customizable accessories and lifestyle items, including totes, pouches, keychains, Charm Bar jewelry and accessories, and other pieces inspired by memories, travel, and coastal living. The store is built around interactive, hands-on design experiences to allow customers to mix, match, and create something that’s entirely their own. Whether it’s a souvenir from a family vacation or a meaningful gift, Faye & Madi aims to create pieces people will treasure for years to come. At its core, it is about more than personalization – it’s about connection, creativity, community, and making memories, one custom piece at a time.
“Faye & Madi was born from my love of design, entrepreneurship, and creating experiences that bring people together,” says owner Julie Haimbach. “The name itself comes from two places that shaped the journey – Fayetteville, Ark., and Madison, N.J. – blending ‘Faye’ and ‘Madi’ together as a reflection of the different chapters that helped shape the brand’s story. What began as a passion for thoughtful design and one-of-a-kind creations quickly evolved into a business centered around making pieces that reflect each customer’s unique style and story.”
Faye & Madi launched in 2024 with a series of flash locations before transitioning to permanent stores. Avalon becomes Faye & Madi’s second location, the original store now celebrating its second year on Long Beach Island at 905 North Bay Ave., Beach Haven.
“After seeing the incredible response to Faye & Madi in LBI, we knew we wanted to grow in another shore community that felt like a natural fit,” Haimbach says. “Avalon immediately stood out. It’s a town with a strong sense of community, where families and friends return year after year, and we’re excited to become part of those traditions and contribute to the vibrant local business community.”
She notes that her “background in interior design fuels my creative side, while my love for connecting with people has always drawn me toward retail. Even as a child, I was fascinated by stores and the experiences they create, and I’ve found myself continually coming back to this industry.
“Faye & Madi is the perfect blend of my passions – it allows me to combine creativity, design, and genuine human connection in a way that feels authentic and fulfilling. I feel incredibly lucky to have found a business that combines everything I love – creativity, retail, and connecting with people – in one place.”
Faye & Madi is always finding fun ways to celebrate the season, so expect pop-up promotions, themed events, and special surprises throughout the summer. Keep an eye out on social media for events.
“We hope people leave with more than just a product,” Haimbach says. “Whether they spend five minutes or an hour with us, we want them to have fun, feel inspired, and create something that makes them smile long after summer is over. We don’t just want to be a place people shop – we want to be a place they remember.”
Faye & Madi is open seven days a week from 10am-7pm at the Avalon location.
Ana-Maria and Maxwell Moran of Moran Made Studio
Moran Made Studio
9803 Third Ave., Stone Harbor | moranmadestudio.com | @moranmadestudio
Moran Made Studio is a hands-on creative jewelry studio where customers can design and personalize their own pieces. Its main service is the Charm Bar experience, where guests can create their own bracelets, necklaces, anklets, earrings, and keychains from a wide variety of charms and chains. Moran Made Studio also offers engraving services, including the ability to engrave loved ones’ handwriting, allowing customers to personalize jewelry and keepsakes with names, dates, handwritten messages, or pictures. In addition to the interactive experience, it carries a selection of ready-made accessories that can be mixed and matched or purchased as finished pieces.
Moran Made Studio has been up and running for a few years, and Stone Harbor is its first brick-and-mortar location.
Says Ana-Maria Moran: “Stone Harbor felt like the perfect place for Moran Made Studio because it has such a strong sense of community and attracts visitors looking for unique experiences, not just souvenirs. I wanted to create a space where families, friends, and vacationers could make something meaningful together and leave with a personalized keepsake that reminds them of their time here.”
You can also find Moran Made Studio throughout the Jersey area at local fairs, farmers markets, pop-up events, and community gatherings.
Moran and her husband, Maxwell, founded Moran Made Studio with a vision to create personal pieces that tell stories, not just mass-produced accessories.
“I was born and raised in Romania, where my love for jewelry began at a very young age,” she says. “When I was around 7 years old, my mother gave me bags filled with different beads and encouraged me to create whatever I imagined. That simple gift sparked a lifelong passion for jewelry design and taught me that creativity has no limits.”
Her husband is a Cape May native and has always had a passion for creating and earned a degree from the Hussian School of Art.
“Creativity has been our love language and something we’ve shared throughout our relationship,” Ana-Maria says. “Together, we built Moran Made Studio from the ground up with a passion for creating and connecting with people.”
Moran Made Studio will introduce new charms and collections throughout the summer and beyond. It currently offers a customer loyalty punch card program where guests earn rewards and discounts as they fill their card. Follow
@moranmadestudio on Instagram to stay up to date on the latest charm drops.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the amazing support we’ve received from the Stone Harbor community and visitors from all over,” the Moran family notes. “We hope to be part of people’s memories for years to come. Seeing families and friends create together and leave with something uniquely their own is the most rewarding part of what we do.”
Moran Made Studio is open Sunday through Thursday from 10am-6 pm and Friday through Saturday from 10am-7pm.
Jennie Mopsik of Mother’s Market & Bakery
Mother’s Market & Bakery
8307 Third Ave., Stone Harbor | 609-796-5357 | @mothersmarketandbakery
Mother’s Market & Bakery, which opened its doors in Stone Harbor this summer, offers a wide selection of food from quiches and pierogies to pasta and sauces. All the food is made fresh, including its soup: It makes 25 quarts of soup at a time and restocks when it runs out. A customer favorite has been the corn chowder, which features fresh Jersey corn. On top of that, Mother’s Market & Bakery has merchandise, fresh-cut flowers, delicious coffee, and an outdoor seating area.
Owner Jennie Mopsik is no stranger to Seven Mile Beach. She grew up in Philadelphia’s Center City but spent every summer in Stone Harbor with her grandparents. After a career in New York City and Philadelphia, Mopsik decided to make Stone Harbor her full-time home in 2016. This summer, she opened Mother’s Market & Bakery with her mother and father.
“I love different cultures of food, helping others, service, and creative pursuits like my floral work,” Mopsik says. “My father is a photographer by trade, my mother is a professor and graphic designer. Together, the three of us make a wonderful team. We opened the shop because we love to cook! We always entertained at home, had friends and family over for dinner, and that’s how we shared our love of food and love of the important people in our lives. We are hoping that by doing all of the cooking, we help customers have more time to enjoy with their loved ones around the table.”
She notes that “Each item we carry has a family connection to my parents, even if we do not make it. For example, the small scent sachets we sell are similar to what we would get each summer in Maine. We have C.O. Bigelow products, which are from the oldest apothecary in the United States, and is around the corner from where my father grew up. The recipes we cook are from scratch as well. For our hummus, we are boiling chickpeas, making confit garlic, zesting lemons, using Middle Eastern olive oil … we are not cutting any corners.”
The genuine care and dedication the Mopsik family puts into its food is evident, and we are very happy to welcome Mother’s Market & Bakery into the Seven Mile community.
Follow @mothermarketandbakery on Instagram to stay updated on the newest products and offerings. Mother’s Market & Bakery is open from 9am to 5pm Thursday to Tuesday.
free-est
280 96th St., Stone Harbor | 609-719-8915 | freepeople.com | @freepeople
Featuring textured, free-flowing wardrobe staples, free-est takes the Free People & FP Movement brand’s much-loved pieces for vacationing and unites them for every day and any wear. Customers can shop perfectly paired two-piece sets, sundresses, breezy tops, accessories, and everything in between.
As a specialty lifestyle brand, Free People aims to craft and curate for the creative spirit, to break and complement current trends with offerings in both contemporary and one-of-a-kind vintage collections. The brand provides a vast array of products, from apparel to accessories, outerwear, shoes, intimates, swimwear, and more, reflecting a penchant for high quality.
“Stone Harbor felt like a natural next step in our expansion into growing lifestyle markets,” says Beth Wehagen, the senior managing director of stores at Free People & FP Movement. “We saw a strong opportunity here to bring free-est into a physical retail setting and offer customers a new way to experience and connect with the brand in person.”
Free People’s first brick-and-mortar boutique opened in Paramus, N.J., in the fall of 2002. Now there are more than 180 stores operating throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Stone Harbor’s location becomes one of three standalone free-est stores, along with Palm Beach and Martha’s Vineyard, with more planned to open. In September, a fourth location in the Palisades will open.
The Stone Harbor store is open Sunday to Thursday from 9am to 8pm, Friday and Saturday from 9am to 9pm.