Craig Conover, star of Bravo’s ‘Southern Charm,’ sits down with Sid Evans to discuss his journey from a small-town Delaware upbringing to the roller-coaster ride of reality TV fame. Despite earning a law degree, Craig ended up turning a bad breakup and his passion for home economics into a thriving business, Sewing Down South. In this interview, Craig shares insights into season 10 of ‘Southern Charm,’ his unexpected career path, and his life in Charleston with girlfriend Paige DeSorbo.
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00:00Craig Conover, welcome to Biscuits and Jam.
00:02Thanks for having me, Cyn.
00:04Where am I reaching you right now?
00:06I am currently in Charleston, South Carolina,
00:09which is my home base.
00:12I split time between here in New York City,
00:15where my girlfriend lives, though.
00:16But this has been my home base since 2006 I moved here.
00:21And what part of town are you in?
00:23So I'm in Mount Pleasant, actually.
00:24I lived downtown Charleston for all of undergrad
00:29and then all of law school and a couple of years after.
00:32But what I have found in Charleston
00:34is when you're ready to grow up, it
00:38takes moving over the bridge.
00:40And so that's the sign that you're
00:42ready for the next chapter in your life.
00:44So I'm between the beach and downtown.
00:48I can relate to that.
00:49Well, I lived in Charleston for a while.
00:53We left in 2011.
00:56So it has been a minute.
00:58But we lived over on Sullivan's Island.
01:01And there was something really nice about crossing
01:04that bridge every day.
01:06Yeah.
01:07I'm right on the other side of the Isle of Palms connector.
01:10And it's just we have some nice drives here.
01:14You can just get in your car and drive and really zone out.
01:17And it's like, I mean, our main.
01:21It's not a bad commute, yeah.
01:23No, no, no.
01:23It's pretty neat.
01:25So it's growing.
01:27I'm sure when you were just back here for the design house,
01:30you saw that.
01:32I mean, it seems to us like every month there's new stuff.
01:36So I think if you haven't been here in a couple of years,
01:40I can't imagine what it looks like.
01:42Yeah, there's some traffic.
01:43That's what comes with growing up, I guess, as a city.
01:47So Craig, speaking of growing up,
01:49you grew up in Delaware, which is technically in the South.
01:54And I'm wondering, did it feel like the South to you?
01:58Well, is it, though?
01:59Because we are north of the Mason-Dixon.
02:02We're like right on it.
02:04Well, I guess maybe part of it is south of the Mason-Dixon.
02:09But we've claimed it.
02:11We claim Delaware.
02:12But I'm wondering, does it feel Southern in any way?
02:17Or did it feel that way where you were growing up?
02:20Yeah, I grew up.
02:22It was very country, I think.
02:25They called it Lower Slower Delaware.
02:28So Delaware has three counties.
02:30The northern county, Wilmington, is the corporate city.
02:34That's where everyone's business offices are.
02:36And then the middle is the Air Force Base, Dover,
02:39and some other stuff.
02:40And then we have cornfields and chicken farms and the beach.
02:45And so it was a good variety of different kind
02:51of livelihoods or cultures.
02:54I was friends with country people.
02:58I mean, I was friends with a lot of different groups.
03:01And then in the summer, it became a tourist town.
03:05We're right under Rehoboth Beach,
03:07right near Bethany Beach, and Ocean City, Maryland,
03:10which a lot of people are familiar with.
03:12So my move to Charleston actually
03:16felt more like a move to the city,
03:21I guess, than it would be for some.
03:25To me, it felt like I was going in the opposite direction.
03:29I was getting less country by going to South Carolina.
03:33Interesting, yeah, yeah.
03:37Honestly, when I was in high school,
03:40people would go deer hunting before school.
03:43And if you looked in our parking lot,
03:46you would see some people's kills from that morning.
03:53They had to make a rule that they
03:59had to address the fact that people
04:01had hunting rifles in their trucks at school
04:05when I was in high school.
04:08So super rural.
04:10Yes, yes, it was.
04:11And it was cool.
04:12I really enjoy going back.
04:16We still have my favorite grocery store.
04:18It's called Hawkers, and it's owned by a local family.
04:22And if you go in during the fall,
04:25it's a lot of talk about turkey hunting.
04:26And it's a nice place to go home to.
04:32It's kind of neat to be around all the country stuff.
04:36So tell me a little bit about the house and the neighborhood
04:40where you grew up.
04:41I mean, was that sort of rural feeling,
04:44or were you in more of a town?
04:46No, we called them communities, but they were really
04:51just developments, I guess.
04:52And so it hadn't really grown into a beach town
04:57as much as it is now.
04:58I mean, it's still very country.
05:01But even inland homes, they say, are at the beach,
05:05even though they're 20 minutes away now.
05:07The property has really, you've seen
05:09a lot of the farms developed.
05:11And it's interesting to see.
05:14But I grew up, my first home, our first home
05:17was a rancher inland.
05:20And we lived on a cul-de-sac.
05:22And I got to build a tree house in the backyard.
05:26We were on some woods.
05:27And my friend's grandmother had strawberry,
05:30a field of strawberries down the street.
05:33And so we really enjoyed cul-de-sac living.
05:37And then my father had started a cleaning company
05:42and a water mitigation company that turned
05:44into a construction company when I was little.
05:46So my mom was a school teacher,
05:48but my dad owned his own business.
05:50And why that was kind of neat to experience
05:54was as my childhood went on, my dad's business grew.
05:59And so we were, I lived in a couple of different homes,
06:03but we were always kind of moving into a bigger place.
06:08Like they were modest, but I got to experience a lot.
06:13You know, we got to build a house that my mom said
06:16she would never move from.
06:18And then we got to build next door.
06:21And I got to be around some like,
06:25I guess I got to see my parents living out
06:28some of their dreams and I didn't really realize it yet.
06:31Because you don't know as a little kid.
06:33Right, that's a beautiful thing though.
06:35And to look back and think about it that way,
06:38that they were kind of growing and moving on
06:42and realizing some of their dreams, that's great.
06:48Yeah, when the house was being built,
06:50the first one we rented a haunted,
06:54what, like a home built in the 1800s
06:56across from a cemetery.
06:58And we had like giant tom turkeys that would, you know,
07:01come out and peck your car in the morning.
07:03But my little brother and I got to dig through the woods
07:06and find all these like antiques and stuff.
07:08I mean, looking back, it was pretty,
07:11it was good for the imagination.
07:13You know, I guess, you know, we weren't really allowed to,
07:20I don't even think we had video games till later on,
07:22but I was only allowed to play them on weekends.
07:24So, you know, after school was still getting your hands
07:28dirty and eventually got into gardening,
07:32which came later, but that was really cool too.
07:34But that came from, you know, playing outside
07:36and discovering different plants and all this stuff.
07:39Yeah, definitely not, you know,
07:41looking at a phone all the time.
07:43No, it was, you know, we got around with our bicycles.
07:47And I think that's something that I think about now
07:50is that, you know, I love Charleston,
07:54but I also attribute a lot of where I am in life
07:59to the childhood I had, which, you know,
08:02was spent in the woods or on four wheelers,
08:05or, you know, it was just different than where I live now.
08:09And so it'll be, you know, it'll be interesting
08:14to see if I can one day replicate as best as I can
08:18the childhood that I had, because, you know,
08:20with technology and stuff now, like, you know,
08:23and then you work really hard too to provide,
08:25you know, for things and it's,
08:28I'm sure it's a delicate balance for parents.
08:31Yeah, it's hard as a, you know, as a father of two kids
08:35who grew up in the phone era, it's hard to do.
08:38And, you know, it is a battle to keep them
08:43away from some of that and to keep them away
08:47from the right amount of it and to do it in the right way.
08:49You know, it's a delicate dance.
08:53There's no guidebook, you know, it's right there.
08:57Craig, I want to ask about food for a minute.
09:01Who was the cook in your family?
09:03So it became me.
09:06Really?
09:07Yeah, so my mom was our cook when we were growing up.
09:12Like I said, she was a school teacher.
09:14And so, and she didn't grow up cooking.
09:17And so, you know, it took,
09:19she would come home from a long day at school
09:22with elementary school kids.
09:24And then like we, again, another thing
09:26I was fortunate to have that I didn't know till later on,
09:29like we had dinner as a family every night.
09:32So, you know, that's something I didn't know
09:35wasn't a thing until I got older.
09:38And so we tease her now and we're very appreciative
09:42of everything that she did.
09:44But we've gotten to a place now
09:46where we really laugh looking back.
09:50You know, we had just a couple things
09:52that she knew how to make, you know,
09:54whether it was spaghetti or TV dinners, you know,
09:57pot roast in the crock pot was a delicacy for us
10:00or beef stroganoff.
10:03There wasn't a lot in the rotation.
10:04No, there wasn't.
10:06And, you know, around sixth or seventh grade,
10:10I started to become enamored with the cooking channel.
10:14And I would come home after practice
10:16and I would watch Good Eats by Alton Brown
10:19and Emeril Lagasse show.
10:21And I just loved the science behind it.
10:23And so fortunately I was allowed to cook whatever I wanted
10:27as long as it meant my mom didn't have to cook.
10:30And so that's, I became cooking more and more
10:33and then I was able to teach my mom
10:35and now she's a great cook.
10:36And so she learned later in life,
10:38but that was, you know, I leave a extremely messy kitchen,
10:45but I did like a little cookbook in seventh grade
10:48with, you know, Polaroid pictures and stuff.
10:50Cause we took it.
10:50Really?
10:51Yeah, because we, and my parents still have it,
10:53which is great.
10:54So the goal is to one day do a cookbook
10:57and then have some of the, you know,
10:58the old recipes in there.
11:02But yeah.
11:03Can you remember a recipe that's in there?
11:06The first thing I made was a key lime pie from scratch,
11:09which is what my dad loves to talk about.
11:13So that was the first thing that I plated
11:15and, you know, took pictures of
11:17and zested the lime around the plate.
11:19And I just thought it was, you know, so cool.
11:23And then, you know, there was,
11:25you went into like bacon wrapped scallops
11:27or whatever it was.
11:28But the grill is where I found,
11:31the grill is where I found success early on.
11:34And yeah, so, you know, it was fun to cook as a young,
11:44that was kind of my first step into the hobbies
11:50and, you know, kind of personality I have now was cooking.
11:54So, and it explains a lot of your interest in restaurants.
11:58I mean, you've got a restaurant in New York
12:01and you're about to open one in Charleston
12:05called By The Way.
12:08Are there aspects of your kind of cooking interests
12:13that have found their way into the restaurants?
12:15I think there's, I think it's helped facilitate
12:18the relationships that got me there.
12:21And so my, one of my very close friends, Jordan Andino
12:25is an incredible Filipino chef in New York City.
12:30And he and I have just, I think we,
12:36our friendship grew on that passion for food.
12:39And so he would take me around New York City
12:41and he knew all these like different chefs.
12:43And I think he saw my appreciation for it.
12:47And so during COVID, he had always kind of heard
12:51that I knew how to cook, but he didn't know for sure.
12:54And so during COVID, he was doing like a cooking series
12:58or whatever.
13:00And so we cooked together one day.
13:03He showed me how to make his like grandmother's
13:05adobe chicken and then his, some fish tacos.
13:09And we had so much fun during that video
13:12that he was like, oh wait, like you actually
13:15know how to cook.
13:16And again, I'm not great, but I just, you know,
13:18I know my way around the kitchen.
13:20And so I think that led to conversations
13:24about opening a restaurant together.
13:26And then when the restaurant was opened,
13:28I think he respected, and I know he did,
13:31what I thought about the menu and like the different items.
13:33And so we, it was very tough for me
13:37to have open conversations, critical, you know,
13:41like constructive criticism conversations,
13:46but it's not that constructive, you know,
13:48it's a little more critical than I'm used to being.
13:51And I don't like telling people things
13:53they don't want to hear.
13:54It's something that I've worked on.
13:56So I think it led to that respect
13:58and me being able to offer suggestions
14:01instead of just criticizing something
14:03and just being like, I don't like this.
14:04Like I was actually able to help with the dishes.
14:08So I think it just gives me a foot into that arena.
14:11You know, I still am smart enough to know
14:14that I don't know what I'm doing entirely with that stuff.
14:18And so he gets to lead the way,
14:20but I feel like I'm a good supportive, you know,
14:25supplemental partner that brings more to the table
14:27than just, you know, whatever it is we bring to the table.
14:31Well, you have genuine interest,
14:33which, you know, is, I think,
14:36more than half the battle right there.
14:38Just the fact that you're, you care about it
14:41and you care that the food is good
14:44and that the hospitality is good.
14:45And, you know, that makes a difference.
14:49Yeah, I grew up in, not grew up,
14:52but when I was 15, I started to work in restaurants.
14:56And I think that was, I think,
14:59I think when you hang out with someone
15:02or spend enough time with them,
15:03you can almost tell if they worked in restaurants or not.
15:06I think there's some definitive,
15:09just ways they, you know, behave
15:11and carry themselves with certain things.
15:13And I think it was really,
15:14I'm really appreciative that I worked,
15:17that I spent as much time as I did in restaurants.
15:19And I worked in the SoDel restaurant group
15:21down in Delaware and bartended and served tables.
15:25And it, you know, it gave me a lot of goals
15:29of where I wanted to get in life
15:31and so that I could enjoy, you know, restaurant experiences.
15:34Like I used to be able to serve to other people, I guess.
15:38And so I think my time in restaurants
15:41helped with the restaurants we have now too.
15:44Yeah, well, it teaches you a lot about working with a team,
15:49working under pressure, serving people,
15:53dealing with all kinds of different personalities, you know.
15:56Yeah, I mean, I miss it sometimes,
15:59but everyone tells me, like,
16:02I'm like, I would go back and like, you know, bartend.
16:04And they're like, Craig, you'd do it for two nights
16:06and then you'd be done with it.
16:08And I was like, yeah, but I loved, you know,
16:11just the social, you know, aspect of it and the speed.
16:15And there was definitely, I definitely had fun doing it.
16:19So, Craig, I wanna talk about another passion of yours
16:22and that's sewing.
16:25So you have a business called Sewing Down South.
16:30How did you get into this?
16:32How did you get into sewing?
16:34So the same class that taught me how to cook
16:36also taught me how to sew.
16:38And so we were fortunate to still have Home Ec
16:42when I was in school.
16:44I went to public school in Delaware
16:45and no matter what sport you played,
16:47no matter what your hobbies were,
16:48everyone took Home Ec and everyone took Tech Ed.
16:51And I didn't revisit sewing, you know,
16:57after high school for years.
16:59And I, throughout college, you know, I, I don't know,
17:05growing up, I was bullied pretty bad
17:07and I never really understood it.
17:09So I spent a lot of my time trying to like understand it.
17:13And I think I eventually got to the point
17:14where like a lot of the things that were done to me
17:19were just because these kids were experiencing it at home.
17:22And so there was kind of an empathy towards it
17:24where it was like, my perspective was good.
17:27You know, it really wasn't fun to go through it,
17:29but you know, I moved to Charleston from Delaware.
17:31That was a big reason.
17:32Like I didn't go to University of Delaware
17:34like everyone else from my high school.
17:36I was like, I just need to, I need a fresh start.
17:38Went to the College of Charleston.
17:39Yeah, I went to College of Charleston.
17:40And I, I found this new confidence where I was like,
17:47you know, you're kind of decide your own fate.
17:49You know, there's no board of people that decide
17:53who's cool or who's fun or popular.
17:55Like you just decide that's you.
17:58And it allowed me to start doing things that I wanted to do,
18:04even if they seemed different or eccentric.
18:09And I feel like when you have, you know,
18:13it comes off as confidence, I guess,
18:15when you do things that other people are too nervous to do
18:18because of stereotypes or whatnot.
18:20And so I always dressed a little, you know,
18:24different or loud or just, but it wasn't loud.
18:28It was like subtly done.
18:29Like I would change the buttons on my shirt
18:32to a different color or my shoelaces or something.
18:34And so when I eventually, I just got to a point,
18:40I was studying for the bar exam and I was,
18:44I really wanted to start to fidget with my clothes
18:47a little more and add some pops of color.
18:50So I got an embroidery machine from Amazon.
18:54It was a embroidery machine and a sewing machine.
18:57And I kind of thought I was going to make clothes,
19:01but it's extremely hard and I had never been taught
19:03how to make clothes.
19:04So I really just relied on the embroidering side of things.
19:08And it was cool and I really enjoyed it.
19:10And there was something about the creation
19:12that was therapeutic to me during this time.
19:15And I was at the tail end of a relationship
19:19and it was my mid twenties relationship,
19:21which I'm glad it happened
19:22because I get to talk to people about it now,
19:24like when I go around and speak,
19:25but you know, you think you're going to get married
19:27and it does something to your psyche
19:30when it doesn't work out
19:31because you're stuck in this habitual pattern.
19:34But wait a minute, I was so close to this person
19:37and now it's just gone.
19:39And so I left my garden behind
19:42because I lived with this person
19:43and I left my workshop behind
19:45and all I had was this sewing machine.
19:48And the only thing I remembered how to make
19:50was a pillow from Homek.
19:51And so I just started to sew one night
19:53and I was probably listening to Eminem or Taylor Swift
19:59and just like, and I was in a tough,
20:02I was going through a breakup for the first time like that.
20:06And I just started to find this happiness through sewing.
20:10And so I started to watch YouTube videos
20:12on how to get better
20:13and you can learn so much online now.
20:16I mean, I know that's a simplistic statement,
20:20but you really can.
20:20You can Google how to do anything and watch videos.
20:24And that's kind of how it started.
20:26And I got so much response from this post
20:31that I put on Instagram,
20:33which wasn't about the pillows.
20:34They were just kind of on the side with my sewing machine,
20:36but the response was like, please tell me you sew them.
20:39Please tell me you sew them.
20:40Like, how do we get a Craig pillow?
20:41And it just triggered something in me where I was like,
20:44this might just be different enough to work.
20:46Wow.
20:47So that's, it was like your followers
20:52almost told you like this,
20:55you need to be doing this, you know?
20:58Yep.
20:59And I think it's a really neat relationship
21:01to have with your consumer.
21:05You know, I was very fortunate to have Bravo as a platform,
21:10but what we've been able to do with Sewing Down South
21:13is build our own family and platform of people.
21:18And we actually try to do as much as we can
21:23off of their feedback as possible.
21:26And my partner, Amanda,
21:27is really good at gathering that information.
21:29And, you know, I'm constantly doing face-to-faces
21:32with people at our stores.
21:34And, you know, we put a lot of their suggestions
21:38into practice because, you know,
21:40that's who it's ultimately for.
21:42You know, you, not only were you going through a breakup,
21:46but I mean, you were going through a breakup on TV.
21:51And I think I saw a clip of your girlfriend
21:55at the time yelling at you, you were in a fight.
22:00And she said, all you ever do is stay home
22:05and sew all the time.
22:09I mean, was that kind of true?
22:11Did you have a moment where you were really getting into it
22:15and doing a lot of it?
22:17Or was that more just a TV moment?
22:19No, I mean, I was.
22:21And I think it was so interesting to me
22:24because I really thought when I walked through the door
22:29with the sewing machine for the first time,
22:31everyone was going to be like, oh my God, that's so cool.
22:34And I couldn't have been more wrong.
22:36Like I was met with such negativity
22:39from everyone in my life, you know, except my parents.
22:43I mean, at that point they had a son that went to law school
22:46and then reality TV, and now he's buying a sewing machine.
22:49They were just happy I was, you know, alive and healthy.
22:53But it was, I was baffled by it.
22:58And it was, became such of an introspective kind of time
23:05in my life where I, and I, this is a great thing.
23:08It wasn't fun to be filmed at the time,
23:10but it's a great thing to tell people now.
23:13There wasn't a single person in my life
23:15that thought it was a good idea.
23:16You know, not a single person thought sewing down South
23:18was a good idea.
23:19And like, you know, no matter if your inner circle
23:22can see it or not, like if you believe in it, just,
23:25you know, please don't not attempt, you know,
23:29whatever it is that you think you have there.
23:32And so I started to sew and it became, you know,
23:38I guess lonely, which again, when you talk to people
23:41that started businesses, there is a period
23:44where it gets lonely because you start to put all
23:46of your time and effort into that.
23:48Now, I think that statement came from,
23:53I think my girlfriend at the time was worried
23:56about what people were gonna think.
23:59You know, I feel comfortable that I'm not putting words,
24:03you know, in her mouth and it was a long time ago,
24:04but I think that I overestimated the self-validating
24:11that I had to do when I left, like in high school,
24:14like the bullying that I went through as a kid,
24:16where I had to tell myself that I was good enough.
24:19I didn't realize that a lot of people
24:20didn't go through that.
24:22You know, there was things that I learned
24:26from that like detrimental experience
24:29that actually became positives later in life.
24:32And so you had some people on our show
24:34that had never dealt with adversity, I guess,
24:38from like bullies before, like online, you know,
24:41then it became online stuff.
24:43And so I think she was really worried about the fact
24:46that I was gonna be known as this kid that like just sewed
24:48and that's okay, like everyone's different,
24:50but that never even crossed my mind.
24:52I knew that, you know, being confident enough
24:56to do something that, you know,
24:58not everyone was comfortable doing was great.
25:00And so the message became really positive,
25:02but it wasn't until, you know,
25:07I was studying for the bar at that time too.
25:09And so it was really just studying and sewing
25:11and I lost myself in it though.
25:13I just, I had so much fun doing it
25:15and something was telling me to keep going.
25:18And it was probably a lot of the support
25:20from the outside world too.
25:22So that really gave the whole story its seeds though.
25:28You know, if I would have started this business
25:29and it became an overnight success,
25:32I don't know if I would have the impact that it does now,
25:36you know, but people got to watch everyone in my life
25:39really try to stop this from happening.
25:43Is it still sort of a retreat for you
25:45or something that you even have time to do?
25:47I mean, you've got, you're spending so much time
25:50in front of a camera, dealing with social media,
25:54running a business, you know,
25:56do you actually get to take a little bit of time
25:59every now and then and just do that thing
26:04that doesn't involve a screen?
26:06Right.
26:06I recently have made it a priority.
26:12You know, the business got really busy last year,
26:16which is, it's been great and it's fun.
26:18But I was asked that question by someone
26:22that had come in the store.
26:24And I realized that I had never even made
26:26my girlfriend anything, Paige, the new girlfriend,
26:29not my girlfriend now.
26:31But I was like, wow, Craig, you went from sewing every day
26:35to, you know, eventually, you know, as businesses size,
26:40they, you know, you're not doing, you know,
26:42a lot of the things that you used to do.
26:44And so I've made it a priority to start again.
26:46And I think one of my favorite things to do
26:49is the gifting aspect of sewing.
26:54You know, with Amazon and the internet,
26:56you really can buy someone anything.
26:58And I feel like recently, not that it ever lost its charm,
27:03but recently handmade gifts go so far and it's so unique
27:09and it's really fun to make stuff for people.
27:11So that's something that I've had to write down
27:15and make a goal, which is crazy.
27:18Cause like you said, I used to, you know,
27:21that's what I used to do.
27:22That was my escape.
27:23So I think recently I've gone back to it.
27:27That's great.
27:28What a great thing to focus on,
27:32especially just, you know, in the chaos of everything else
27:36and the holidays are here.
27:37So, you know, it's also another reason to do it.
27:40It's good because I feel like we're missing out
27:44on some hobbies these days
27:46and like making stuff with your hands,
27:49you know, with video games and the internet,
27:51like there's nothing wrong with those things,
27:53but there is a massively therapeutic nature
27:58to creating stuff with your hands.
28:00And I think people were trying to break down
28:03the barriers of that.
28:04You know, some people think like,
28:06oh, if I don't have my grandmother's sewing machine,
28:08I can't get into crafting.
28:09And it's not, you know, yes, there are some,
28:14you know, a few barriers to entry,
28:16but I think everyone, you know,
28:18and then we meet so many people that are like,
28:21oh, my grandmother taught me to sew
28:22and, you know, kids bring me stuff to the store
28:25that they made.
28:25And so hopefully we can have a hand
28:27in stepping back into that a little bit.
28:31Well, Craig, kind of an extension
28:33of your interest in sewing.
28:36I wanted to ask about your house reno.
28:40I know you've been kind of working on your own home.
28:45Is there a room in particular
28:48that you're most excited about
28:50or that you've really, you know,
28:52where you've really enjoyed the process the most?
28:55Yeah, designing my kitchen was something
28:59that I had looked forward to since I was a kid.
29:02You know, you put yourself in my parents' kitchen,
29:09which was fine, but everything, you know,
29:11you start to get bothered by the placement of stuff
29:14or the drawers and you start to fantasize
29:16about designing your own kitchen and be like,
29:19if I did this, I would have this there
29:21and this there and this there.
29:22And so I did have a water damage at my house
29:25and the house was built in 1970.
29:27And so then we ran into an asbestos issue
29:30and I really had to make a decision.
29:32I was either gonna do a total overhaul or move.
29:36My neighbors are so incredible.
29:39And I started to hear horror stories from my friends
29:42of moving into a house and having like neighbors
29:45that weren't nice, which I had never even thought of
29:48that I was like, you don't get to pick your neighbors
29:52and these guys, these families are great.
29:54So I decided to do the whole thing.
29:57And I almost forgot about this dream of designing my kitchen
30:01because I had, Thomasville Cabinets were great.
30:04They came in and they were like,
30:06okay, here's the kitchen we designed for you.
30:08And I had to take a moment to step back
30:10and be like, wait a minute.
30:11I actually have been thinking about this since I was a kid.
30:15And so I got to design the kitchen,
30:19which was, and make it as functional as possible,
30:22which was really cool.
30:24But once you start, you can't really stop.
30:27You tell yourself, this is the last project.
30:29This is the last project.
30:30We just did the front yard with, I took a picture for y'all.
30:35I had hundreds of Southern Living pots in my front yard
30:38when I pulled up the other night, all these potted plants.
30:42That's a great thing.
30:43There might be a story here, Craig.
30:45We gotta talk about that.
30:46Yeah, so now the last room that I'm doing
30:52is I'm currently sitting in the bonus room above the garage.
30:56And I used it for a podcast studio
30:58and kind of technology room for a while.
31:01But I'm now turning this into a crafting room
31:05to help with getting back into sewing and stuff.
31:08Oh, that's great.
31:09That's great.
31:09Now you have a place to go and a retreat for that.
31:13Yeah, no excuses.
31:14No more excuses.
31:17All right, so Craig, I wanna do something real quick.
31:20So we do a little rapid fire kind of Q and A thing.
31:24Are you game for that?
31:25Yeah, let's do it.
31:26Biscuits or cornbread?
31:28Oh, cornbread.
31:29I do love biscuits, but cornbread.
31:31Sweet or unsweet?
31:33Unsweet.
31:34I think I know the answer to this one.
31:36Sewing or gardening?
31:39Oh man, that's really, it's really tough.
31:45Obviously my whole life is around sewing,
31:48but I have gross shelves in my garage.
31:51I start all my vegetables from seed.
31:52I love gardening.
31:53I don't know, I wish this was a drinking game
31:55where I could drink instead of answering.
31:58But if I had to, I don't know,
32:00I might be surprising you in going with gardening
32:04if I can only do one forever,
32:06just because I could feed my family with it.
32:08Okay, that's fair.
32:09I guess we wouldn't have any clothes,
32:10but at least we'd have some fresh veggies.
32:14You'd have some tomatoes.
32:15Yeah, exactly.
32:16All right, the best barbecue place in Charleston is blank.
32:19I love Home Team.
32:23I haven't done enough of my research.
32:26You guys had all the greats out there
32:28at the Southern Living Tailgate, Rodney Scottson.
32:33I mean, they're all so good,
32:34but we just had Home Team do the,
32:37my brother got married on a Friday last week,
32:39and so we hosted the Saturday pool party,
32:41and we had Home Team cater it, and it's just always a hit.
32:45So I'm gonna go with Home Team.
32:46It's a good one.
32:48No argument there.
32:50The best bar in Charleston is blank.
32:52Soon to be, by the way.
32:54But I'll give it to,
33:00so I really love going to Sharehouse and Uptown,
33:06but Dispensary's awesome.
33:09They're great.
33:09I've spent a lot of time there.
33:11And then my college bar was the Silver Dollar,
33:13but that's just where I spent college at.
33:16But yeah, I think a rotation of,
33:21but see, then my favorite is Red's,
33:23too low-key on Shem Creek.
33:25Red's is awesome.
33:26So I used to spend a lot of time at the bars,
33:31so that's a hard one to pick.
33:35All right, last one.
33:36The most Southern thing about me is blank.
33:38The most Southern thing about me,
33:40I would love for Paige to answer this question.
33:42I think my love for country music.
33:45Yeah, I think I bounce.
33:47I'm very mid-Atlantic.
33:49I bounce around with different stuff, my style,
33:52and I don't think I have an accent.
33:54So I think the country music
33:59and the cooking style now, probably.
34:02All right, great.
34:03So I've just got a few more.
34:06I wanna ask you about Southern Charm.
34:09You have been doing Southern Charm for 10 years now,
34:14which is kind of amazing.
34:18And there have been some pretty heated arguments
34:24and fights and that sort of thing on Southern Charm,
34:26which is, of course, part of what makes it entertaining.
34:29But I'm curious, what does the dynamic look like
34:32when the cameras aren't rolling?
34:34It's a great question,
34:34because I actually, I started to film when I was 24.
34:37I'm 36 now.
34:39And fortunately, we've captured us.
34:46I was just trying, I was going through my 20s.
34:48I was making a lot of mistakes and doing silly things,
34:53but I've learned that a lot of people did that too.
34:58A lot of us go through similar things.
35:01Our traumas might be different.
35:03I do some work with the veterans or Paralympic.
35:05Everyone has their own thing,
35:06but a lot of the feelings and the human emotions,
35:09they're all the same.
35:10And so you capture us on Southern Charm,
35:11really trying to work through these issues
35:14that we're forced to confront.
35:18A lot of the personalities-
35:19In front of a camera.
35:20Yeah, in front of a camera.
35:21And a lot of the personalities
35:23probably would run away at times.
35:26But Charleston's such a small town
35:29that you cannot avoid running into someone.
35:33You just can't.
35:34Even if you're not filming,
35:36you're gonna run into whoever you have an issue with
35:41in this town.
35:42And as I started to get into,
35:46grow into my own and the business side of things,
35:48you can't have unsettled problems with people around town.
35:52Like it's just not,
35:53like you really have to grow up and handle things maturely.
35:56But not everyone's on the same page.
35:58And my friend, Sierra from Summerhouse
36:03told me a couple of years ago,
36:04she was like, Craig, your message is usually correct,
36:08but it gets lost in your delivery.
36:11A lot of times I was drinking a lot on the shows
36:13because it made it easier to talk about things
36:16that you didn't necessarily wanna talk about.
36:19And the problem is, is I would lose the delivery,
36:25basically lost my message.
36:26And so I've worked on that a lot.
36:28And when we're done filming,
36:30a lot of times we take a break,
36:33or we used to take a break from each other,
36:35but the boys don't, you know,
36:37like Shep goes and travels a lot.
36:40I think he's dealing with,
36:42is Charleston the right place for him
36:44to be all the time as a single person?
36:47Because your options are in his world are a little limited.
36:52Like he knows how to go out and meet people at the bar.
36:54And I don't know if that works for him here anymore.
36:58And so he travels a little bit.
36:59Austin and I have twisted the knife into each other
37:03of being like, or the hook, the fishing hook
37:07of being like, let's do more and more businesses together
37:10so that we are forced to,
37:12or that we can't escape each other.
37:15But that's been a fun study into, you know,
37:19work ethic and personality and working with friends.
37:22Cause all of my businesses are with friends.
37:26So if it falls apart, you know,
37:29it's gonna be tough.
37:30But yeah, I would say that our show has lasted 10 seasons.
37:36You know, the 10th season's about to come out in December,
37:39I think, somewhere around there.
37:42Our show has lasted because it's authentic and organic.
37:47Like they did a really good job of just showing up
37:50and filming the craziness that's here.
37:54You know, sometimes they have to guide you
37:56to talk about the things that you don't want to talk about.
38:00But that's their, you know, their job.
38:03But it's real, it's pretty, it's real what you're seeing
38:05and the emotions are real anyway, yeah.
38:09Yeah, you know, it has to be structured a little bit
38:11because, you know, if you're fighting, you know,
38:16off camera and that's what, you know, has been,
38:19like if the big blow up's off camera,
38:20like that's not fair to anyone,
38:21that's not fair to the show or the viewers or anyone.
38:24And so they try to keep it structured
38:27so that our interactions are able to be shared
38:30with everyone else.
38:32You know, it's funny to be in this world, though.
38:33You learn, you know, certain friends have certain things
38:39that maybe like they'll get caught,
38:40like trying to text on the side
38:42or take care of something on the side.
38:45But that's a good way to, you know, to let go.
38:47Like I don't think you really have the longevity
38:50in reality TV if you're not all in.
38:54And for better or for worse, you know, we're still here.
38:58You're still in it.
38:59Well, and you've got season 10 that's about to roll out.
39:03Is there anything about this season
39:06that felt really different to you?
39:08Yeah, so I mean, I'm in a new place in my life.
39:13I changed my relationship with alcohol
39:16about a year and a half ago or two years ago
39:18where I started to really cut back
39:23because everything that I did was kind of like
39:24a social event.
39:26And so I didn't know any better.
39:27There wasn't, like my dad told me,
39:29he said, there's nothing bad happening, Craig,
39:31but is there anything good happening either?
39:33Like I was kind of stuck in this flatline, you know, pattern.
39:39Everything, businesses was profitable.
39:41But anyway, so I just decided to try something new.
39:46And all of a sudden I was waking up in the mornings
39:48with like a fresh head and businesses started to do better.
39:51And I could quantify not drinking as much.
39:56And once I started to make more money by getting healthier
39:59and working out in the morning, that was a no brainer.
40:02And I was very fortunate to make that change.
40:05The issue is that goes kind of against-
40:09Is that good TV?
40:10Right, it goes against, you know,
40:13the Craig that a lot of people knew on the show.
40:17Now I'm confident that people who have known me
40:20since I was 24 through TV and my book or whatever stuff,
40:25like they're going to be very happy
40:26to see the changes in my life.
40:29However, I think it's challenging on the people in my life
40:35where like, you know, going to the bar, going out,
40:39you know, was a big part of our relationship.
40:42You know, change isn't always easy.
40:45And so I think that finding, I think I'm just going to be,
40:51like I'm in a new place in my life.
40:53I'm growing up, you know, I want to like settle down
40:56and have a family and stuff.
40:58And I think that's the first time
41:00that that's really going to be, have to be addressed.
41:04It might sound easy or silly, but you know, it's not.
41:08And then you have Shep who I think is the MVP
41:16on just being himself.
41:18I think we get to see a side of Shep
41:20that the viewer has never seen before
41:25and it allows him and I to connect at a new level.
41:29And I think it's, it might not be
41:32what everyone thinks it's about.
41:34I think there'll be surprised to find out what it's about.
41:37And I applaud him for being as open and honest
41:41as he is this season.
41:43So I think, you know, somehow our 10th season
41:47is going to be something that viewers have not seen before.
41:50I don't think anyone's going to be let down.
41:52I think it's going to be really exciting, you know,
41:56when the trailer drops sometime soon.
41:59Well, it's a great preview without giving away too much.
42:03Thank you for that.
42:05And for sure.
42:06I'm probably going to shoot myself in the foot
42:07and be like, I'm saying like, I can't wait for it to come out.
42:10Then it's going to come out and be like, how Craig?
42:12No, I'm just kidding.
42:13How did they edit it that way?
42:15Yeah.
42:16I will tell, fortunately, I feel like our show
42:19does a good job of, it's all contextual, you know,
42:23what context is presented is very important.
42:28And I applaud Southern Charm for giving,
42:33I think, great context for a lot of stuff.
42:35So you better not mess it up guys and girls up in New York.
42:39But I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
42:41I think there's a lot of excitement around it.
42:44Austin and I had some, you know, business stuff going on
42:47and I don't know, it's going to be a good one.
42:50I'm sure it is.
42:52Speaking of New York, I've got to ask you one question
42:54about Paige, your girlfriend,
42:58who you really introduced to Charleston,
43:02if I'm not mistaken.
43:05So tell me about her just first visit to the city
43:09and how her perception has changed
43:12over the last couple of years.
43:14She's made a bunch of trips now.
43:18What's her take on Charleston?
43:21Yeah, I mean, to her credit, I think she had been here
43:23like once or twice in her past life at some point.
43:28But it's really a neat,
43:34you know, I don't know if we've found the balance yet,
43:36but it's really neat sharing time
43:38between New York City and Charleston
43:39because it's the North and the South.
43:42It's the speed of New York
43:45with this complete relaxation of Charleston.
43:51You know, you have everyone talks to everyone in Charleston.
43:55Like in New York, it's actually considered polite
43:59to not talk to people is what they'll convince you.
44:02You know, everyone has somewhere to be.
44:04It's considerate to not slow them down by talking.
44:08The fashion is intertwined.
44:10Fortunately, Charleston's an incredible food city.
44:13So I think it's fun to watch her try to figure it out
44:22because they are different.
44:24And I think if we can figure out
44:26how to have a little piece of each,
44:28like that's the dream scenario
44:31because they're two great places.
44:33I always fantasized about having a life in New York
44:36in an early, you know, when I was in law school and stuff,
44:39but life just never took me there.
44:41You know, for Paige,
44:43I think Charleston symbolizes slowing down.
44:50And I think she's just in this place
44:52where her career's taking off and she's so busy.
44:56Like, yes, there are plenty
44:59of extremely successful people here
45:01and awesome careers and all that stuff.
45:04Paige just happens to be in an industry
45:06that's not well-represented down here yet.
45:08Like, we just don't have the same fashion world
45:11that New York has yet.
45:12You know, it's coming, but, you know, we're,
45:14and so right now we use it as recharging.
45:19You know, when she's here, we, fortunately,
45:22maybe you guys will come take some pictures of it one day,
45:24but we've got this awesome backyard with a huge pool
45:27and we've got our bees back there.
45:29We have beehives and an outdoor kitchen
45:31and a garden and a putting green.
45:33And so when she's here, she really uses it to recharge
45:37and take in, like, it's a very relaxing life,
45:41or it can be a relaxing life here.
45:43And then when we're in New York,
45:44it's really like hustle and bustle.
45:46It's go, go, go, yeah.
45:47Yeah, so I don't know.
45:48I think it's evolving, but it's still very,
45:52like, those differences are still there.
45:56You know, we've been together for three years now,
45:58so I think we try really hard to live in the present
46:04and not let the unknown of the future,
46:07which is very unknown, ruin the happiness of today.
46:11But that's, you know, you also can't live in denial.
46:14You also have to recognize that you can't do this forever.
46:18You know?
46:19Yeah, right.
46:20And so I hope that we show a lot of that this year
46:26because we've, I like,
46:29there's more long-distance relationships than people think.
46:34And they all reach out to us and, well, not all of them,
46:37but I just, I like meeting people
46:39that can connect through that.
46:40And they're like, it's really funny to watch you guys on TV
46:43because we're going through like the same thing.
46:45I think it's, she probably has a very similar perspective
46:49as a lot of people that moved down.
46:50The difference is, is during COVID and stuff,
46:54a lot of New Yorkers that came to Charleston
46:57had lived their careers out in New York already
47:00and maybe started a family.
47:02And, you know, all of a sudden they're in Charleston
47:04and there's a backyard and it is the slower pace.
47:07And all of a sudden your dollar goes a little further.
47:10I think it just depends on where you are in life
47:13for what Charleston means to you.
47:16And that's just, you know,
47:17that's what we'll figure out one day.
47:20Until then, I hope you keep enjoying it
47:24and hope you stick around in Charleston for a long time.
47:30I just have one more question for you, Craig.
47:33What does it mean to you to be Southern?
47:34I really like the manners, how I was raised, you know?
47:40And I know that people are raised
47:44to have manners all over the country,
47:46but I think there has been this level of decorum
47:51that is entrapped in cities like Charleston.
47:55I travel a lot, you know, I'm on,
47:57I fly three times a week for work now,
48:00which is, I'm blessed to do,
48:02but it gives me insight into the rest of the country.
48:05And there's some places that general decorum
48:10is just doesn't exist anymore.
48:12You know, it's on the downslope.
48:15And I do like that it's still valued here.
48:20And so to be Southern to me is,
48:25to go back in the past a little bit of being like,
48:28you know, home cooked meals, you know,
48:31a sense of community, you know,
48:34if stuff hits the fan tomorrow,
48:37I hope to think that like you,
48:39everyone has some neighbors that they could count on,
48:41but you know, that doesn't exist in a lot of places now.
48:44So I know that's a,
48:47that's not saying that other places don't have it,
48:49but that's what I really like about being down here
48:52is kind of that gentleness and, you know, respect for others.
48:57Now, the counter of like a Northerner would say,
49:01hey, you guys all say that on the face,
49:03and then you talk behind each other's backs,
49:05but hey, you're still polite to each other's, you know, face.
49:08You still hold the door for each other and,
49:12but yeah, that's at least my personal attachment to it.
49:15Well, and then you see something like
49:16what's happened in North Carolina
49:18and you see the way that that community springs to action
49:21and, you know, what that is really about
49:25and people show up and they're pitching in
49:27and they're helping each other and they are, you know,
49:31bringing out their chainsaws and their shovels
49:35and they're delivering food and they're, you know,
49:38doing everything that they can
49:40to help each other get through it.
49:41And, you know, that's the really positive side of it.
49:48Well, there's nothing neat about it,
49:49but it is neat to see how different areas
49:53handle stuff like that.
49:54And you're right, like I,
49:56it really stinks that it happened altogether,
49:59but there is this like level of fortunateness
50:02that the communities have each other, I guess,
50:06like not that it happened, but like where it happened,
50:09you're right, like everyone banded together
50:12to help each other, which was really nice to see.
50:16And I'll actually, I'm going up there in a couple of weeks
50:19because I've talked to some people
50:21and they're really worried that as the news cycle shifts,
50:26they're going to be forgotten about.
50:27And, you know, their entire infrastructure was washed away.
50:30So it's a long recovery process
50:35and you hope that they're at least able to stay,
50:38you know, in the area, but it's going to be tough.
50:40But yeah, that level of community
50:42was a silver lining that came out of that.
50:46Well, for anyone who makes it to the end of this podcast
50:48in December, when it comes out,
50:51I hope this is a good reminder
50:52that they're going to continue to need help up there.
50:54That's right.
50:55Well, Craig Conover, thanks so much
50:57for being on Biscuits & Jam.
50:58Thanks for having me, Sid.
50:59It was a pleasure.