Craig Conover didn’t plan on becoming one of the most successful entrepreneurs on Bravo. When he first appeared on Southern Charm at 24 years old, viewers saw the law school student as a bit distracted and arguably misunderstood. Few imagined he’d eventually build a fast-growing lifestyle brand anchored by a Charleston flagship store. Even fewer imagined it would all begin with something as simple as, well, sewing pillows.
He remembers the moment it clicked. “I posted on Instagram—three pillows stacked up with my sewing machine to the side,” the Delaware native, 36, exclusively says in a sit-down with Men’s Journal. “Everyone was like, Please tell me you sewed those. I was like, this might just be different enough to work.”
That spark became Sewing Down South, now known for pillows, apparel, garden goods, and more. But Conover is the first to say it wouldn’t exist without partners who believed in him—and pushed him to think differently. “They wanted to split the company in thirds,” he says. “I grew up watching Shark Tank, and my dad said, ‘Do you want 100 percent of something with no sales or a third of something that could become real?’”
They launched the website on April 1—“a cheeky screw you” to anyone who doubted him—with just five pillows. “We sold nine that day,” he says proudly. “I knew we had something.”
But that early confidence didn’t mean everyone was on board. His sewing was openly mocked on Southern Charm for years, even by close friends, and perhaps most infamously in a confrontation with an ex-girlfriend that later turned into a viral TikTok sound: “You sit at home and you sew and you pretend to do things.” Conover fired back in the moment with the now-iconic line: “What’s wrong with my sewing?” What once felt like a jab eventually became the foundation of a fast-growing lifestyle brand.
The business eventually grew quickly—maybe too quickly. “About a year ago, the company hit a size where we didn’t know what to do anymore,” he says. His partners, Jerry Casselano and Amanda Latifi, brought expertise in operations and marketing, but growing the brand beyond Conover’s personal identity proved tricky. “This company is tied to who I am,” the reality TV star explains. “We almost forgot the people who supported us from the beginning. So now we’ve stepped back and said, ‘It’s okay that Craig is the brand.’”
For years, he admits, people’s assumptions about him weighed heavily. “I spent a lot of time trying to prove myself to people who already decided who I was,” he says. “Eventually I realized I don’t have to win that battle.” He also learned something just as important: “I had to learn to get out of the way sometimes,” he says. “You hire experts for a reason.”
As the company scaled, Conover also underwent his own transformation. Fitness, he says, helped him rebuild structure and sanity. “For me, things that matter before the gym don’t matter after the gym,” he says. He started with a trainer, eventually learning to train on his own—especially after a much-publicized breakup in late 2024—when the gym became a form of therapy. “Obviously I have actual therapy, but lifting was where my mind found clarity.”
The split forced him to rethink how he coped in general. “I realized I needed tools that worked offline and weren’t tied to Bravo or social media,” he says. “Stuff that actually helped me when no one was watching.”
After that long-term relationship ended, Conover found himself single for the first time in years, mainly off-camera. And instead of rushing into dating, he threw himself into travel, work, and meeting fans on a national speaking tour. “Everyone gets broken up with,” he tells MJ. “Everyone’s going through something. I’m lucky. I can restart.”
Gabe Araujo
In mid-November, while attending BravoCon in Las Vegas, he was waking up at 6 a.m. each day to work out. “I needed to be in the right headspace in case any triggers popped up,” he says, knowing people would inquire more about the fallout. “And honestly, I love that I’m not puffy on camera anymore.”
He’s also redefined his relationship with alcohol, which is currently playing out on season 11 of the hit show. “I earn my drinks,” he says. “I used to drink just because it felt like part of the job. Now it has to be a special occasion.”
Creating things—whether products, food, or a garden—still grounds him more than anything. “A psychologist told me I have the need to create,” he explains. “Gardening, sewing, cooking… I get satisfaction from making something. That’s where I find purpose.” His South Carolina backyard is full of herbs, vegetables, citrus trees, and even bees. “We got five gallons of honey this year,” he says. And yes—he still sews. “It’s funny, people always ask if I still sew. Of course I do. That’s kind of the whole point.”
He’s now working on starter kits to encourage people to try sewing and gardening without feeling intimidated: “People think you need to be an expert to start. You don’t.”
He’s also planning his first-ever solo trip and trying to resist the part of him that wants every answer in advance. “Everyone says when you finally let go and stop searching for things, that’s when it finds you,” he says. “I’m trying to actually live that, not force it.”
Through all the growth—personal, professional, emotional—Conover says what matters most hasn’t changed. Sewing Down South has donated more than $500,000 to charity over the last five years. He still sketches every product. He still fights with his partner over candle pricing. He still gives away too many items during meet-and-greets.
People may misunderstand him, but he doesn’t seem too bothered anymore. “My job is to keep growing,” he says. “Keep creating. Keep showing up. And be grateful for all of it.”
