ANITA RIVERA GREW UP IN COASTAL North Carolina, and her family comes from Puerto Rico, so it was no surprise that after graduating from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a degree in interior design, she gravitated towards the water. Her first job was in design for a sport fishing engineering company. “I always loved the water. When I was a kid I wanted to be a marine biologist. I spent a lot of time outside. My family is from Puerto Rico, so we would go visit my family back home, and I was immersed in bright colors and that tropical feel.” Fast forward to 2021 when Rivera founded Verge Yacht Design.

“I worked in the yacht industry for about six years, designing everything from fishing equipment to custom furnishings and even doing sales, but I missed interior design. It was a natural progression to combine all of those skills and create Verge.”

Rivera stresses that while there are some basic similarities between residential and yacht design, the differences are vast. Beyond the logistics of designing in a structure that is restrictive and complex, there is also the unforgiving nature of the environment. “Everything we use has to be durable, corrosion-resistant, washable, color-fast, and able to resist the elements. But we are also looking for great style.”

And that is where Perennials comes in. Rivera says that she was disappointed with the lack of choice in the indoor/out- door textile category until she met with Perennials. “I was amazed at the range of textures and colors they offer, it wasn’t just bold primary colors. We have used them on four major projects and the quality is unsurpassed.”

For their first project together, Rivera created pillows and some custom rugs with the team, and the experience was so good that the brand is featured extensively in their latest project, a charter boat. “They helped me match and coordinate patterns and textures, and they really educated me on what they could do as a brand. They gave me all the tools to be successful from our very first project.”