building toward a future home for books, art, and community.
Hey, I’m Jacqueline — an award-winning writer, reader, and creative born and raised along the St. Clair River.
After years of traveling, living abroad, and building a public relations career that included work with multiple Fortune 500 companies, I eventually found my way back home. I came back to Michigan with a clearer sense of what I truly wanted more of in my life: creativity, community, books, art, and the kind of work that feels rooted in something real.
I earned my master’s degree, began querying my debut novel, and kept coming back to one question: why doesn’t Downtown Port Huron — the place that shaped so much of who I am — have an independent bookstore?
Cue River & Ink.
The Dream
River & Ink began during a season of forced stillness.
Shortly after graduating with my master’s degree, I broke my leg and found myself stuck in bed, thinking hard about what I wanted my life to look like beyond writing books. The answer came quietly, but clearly: I wanted to build something that gave back to the community that raised me. Something that made literature, art, and creativity feel more accessible. Something that created space for readers, writers, artists, makers, and neighbors to gather.
We’re starting small — with pop-ups, blind-date books, handmade bookmarks, paper arts, and literary goods. But the larger dream is to open an independent bookstore with a coffee bar and community-centered creative space in Downtown Port Huron.
River & Ink operates under Moonwake Creative LLC.
Where It's Rooted
What River & Ink Believes
stories are shared experiences
Books have a way of gathering people — across tables, shelves, markets, classrooms, and quiet corners. River & Ink believes literature belongs in the everyday life of a community.
local art deserves a shelf
We believe local authors, artists, and makers deserve more places to be discovered. River & Ink hopes to become a home for regional voices, handmade work, and creative exchange.
Creativity Should Be Accessible
Art, literature, and creative spaces should not be reserved for people with extra time, money, or permission. River & Ink is being built with the hope that more people can read, make, gather, and feel welcome.