Craig Conover Talks New Collab, Self-Care and Success: ‘Everyone Has Chapters in Life’

When Craig Conover first strutted his way onto the Bravo scene, he was a 24-year-old with aspirations of becoming a lawyer—and if you’ve been following his journey since his early days on the hit reality series Southern Charm, you know he’s come quite a long way. Now 37, the television personality has since set his legal ambitions aside for something a whole lot more fun: pillows. Sewing Down South, the Charleston-based lifestyle brand known for its chic throw pillows, housewares and clothing, has evolved into an empire—and it all began with Craig’s side hobby of sewing that he picked up in an eighth-grade home economics class. Here, Craig Conover chats with FIRST for Women about his latest Sewing Down South collab with Belk department stores, turning his hobby into a hustle and what we can expect from his next chapter. 

Craig Conover talks foray into the clothing world

Craig, who has done collaborations with countless brands and famous faces over the years, is thrilled about his latest partnership with Belk, as it pays homage to his love of the South. “This is our first venture into the clothing space, and it’s kind of my return to Charleston as the aesthetic,” he revealed to FIRST. 

“I grew up in a beach town, and we were all little surfer kids and baseball players, and so I moved to Charleston and girls were wearing sun dresses to 8 A.M. classes and the boys were dressed in pastel collared shirts—and I just loved it. I’ve always loved dressing up, and my style has evolved through the years and I’ve gotten away from a lot of those colors, and to bring that color scheme into my revised style now has been awesome.”

Craig celebrates six years of Sewing Down South

Knowing that the empire he’s built started merely as a hobby—one that many doubted could be anything but that—still shocks him. The reality star, who has appeared on both Summer House and Winter House in addition to Southern Charm over the years, just celebrated his company’s sixth anniversary, and every once in a while, he’s surprised at just how far he’s come. “No one saw my vision,” he revealed. “And I share that with people because that didn’t mean it wasn’t a good idea.” 

Craig, who now travels across the country meeting hundreds of people and talking about small business entrepreneurship, gets candid about what guided him in the early days of this career venture. “I used to beat myself up all the time,” says Craig. “It just really messed with me that I was 30 years old and I had nothing in my mind to show for it. But someone reminded me that Vera Wang didn’t tell her first dress until she was 41, and if tomorrow you put one foot in front of the other, it’ll add up. And now, six years later, it’s consistently grown year over year into what it is now. So, I feel very lucky to have the team that I do and the partners I have. Because if I hadn’t let them come in and help me, I would still be in my dining room sewing pillows and not sending them to anyone.”

How Craig remains positive

In the public eye and reality television sphere, Craig Conover is no stranger to opinions and chatter about everything from his professional life to his personal life and relationships, but the bullying he experienced throughout his adolescence, though difficult, taught him important lessons in the long run about tuning out the negative, focusing on the positive and finding confidence along the way. 

“A little bit of kindness goes a long way,” urges Craig. “The more successful my businesses get, the more I can help people, and the more philanthropic I can be. But tuning out the noise is just a choice.” He continues, “If you find yourself on the receiving end of someone being mean, you just got to tell yourself, it says more about them than it does you, and you have to take that power back, because if you live to make everyone else happy, you don’t ever actually accomplish your own happiness. So, it’s a challenge, but it’s possible.”

How self-care transformed Craig’s life

When life gets overwhelming, Craig finds that focusing on his physical health and taking care of his body with exercise is key—but it wasn’t something that happened overnight, nor was it something he accomplished on his own. “Everyone has chapters in life, and I had an incredible chapter with my ex for three years,” Craig says of his former partner Paige DeSorbo. “She helped me evolve into a person that I had only dreamt of being one day, and it was really about tapping into my full potential, and what that was was changing my relationship with alcohol.”

Altering his relationship with alcohol ultimately opened the door to focusing on his physical health. “My entire life changed, like everything about it, when I started to work out,” he shared. “I know it’s a tough one, but I think investing in your physical shape transcends to your bank account, to your business, to your mental health, everything.” 

As for what the next chapter holds for Craig, only time will tell. In the fall, fans of Sewing Down South can expect an exciting holiday line in partnership with Belk, and as for what’s next on the screen on Southern Charm, fans will just have to wait and see!