(Radio Iowa) – A reality T-V show star and entrepreneur will make two appearances in Iowa next week. Craig Conover is a founding cast member on “Southern Charm,” which launched on Bravo in 2013, following the lives of several young professionals in Charleston, South Carolina. Conover says he’s thrilled to be making his first trip to Iowa for the Des Moines Home and Garden Show.  “We’ll have a nice fireside chat on the stage where I’ll tell you a little bit more about my life and whatever the moderator wants to ask me, and how I was able to start my business and some tips for small businesses and entrepreneurship, and some fun behind-the-scenes stuff for the show,” Conover says. “Then we always do a question-and-answer session with the audience and they can ask me whatever they want. I’m an open book.”

Sewing is an atypical avocation for most men, but Conover loves it. It’s why he launched Sewing Down South in 2019, which features Southern-inspired pillows, home décor, lifestyle, and apparel collections — all of which he designs. “I grew up with home ec class still in schools, which was awesome, so I learned to cook and garden and sew, and I just found it incredibly therapeutic,” Conover says. “So as I started to make throw pillows, our business grew into other areas of the home. Eight small family businesses go into each one of our pillows that are made, and we sew everything in the Carolinas.” Conover is one of only two original cast members who’s still on “Southern Charm,” which is now in its 11th season with more than 160 episodes. He attributes the program’s longevity to the South Carolina community where it’s based.

“I think the city of Charleston is its own character and one of our biggest cast members,” Conover says. “People who have visited Charleston love to watch it on their television screens, or who have lived there or who want to visit one day, so I think Charleston itself and all the history. It’s just a beautiful city.” Conover’s birthday is next week and he’s accomplished much in his 38 years. When asked about his goals for the -next- 38 years, he says philanthropy is what makes him the happiest. “I’ve traveled a lot all over the world and seen a lot of different levels of living,” Conover says. “I was talking to an actor friend last night, actually, and he said, ‘Maybe one day we’ll feed a million people together.’ So it’s really just trying to figure out a way to most efficiently turn my personal success into that where I can help as many people as possible.”

Conover is to appear next Friday and Saturday (Feb 13 and 14) at the Des Moines Home and Garden Show at the Iowa Events Center. The show runs February 12th through the 15th.

DesMoinesHomeAndGardenShow.com
https://www.sewingdownsouth.com/