2020 Issue 6 Nov/Dec - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

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life LIVING HIS BEST LIFE Page 12 / focusmidtenn.com / NOV+DEC 2020 / CHEERS!
Christopher Lester talks past, present and future of Clifton+Leopold by Lauren Means | photo by Tennessee Photographs No one could have expected 2020 to turn out the way it has. If we had a crystal ball to see the future, no business would have planned to launch this year. No one knows this better than Christopher Lester. A vision that started to come to fruition in October 2018 had a launch date of May 2020. A brand focused on dressing up to go out now had to deal with a quarantine culture. Christopher lets us in on how his brand came to be and gives advice for anyone looking to take a leap of faith on their own ideas. Tell us a little about yourself so our readers can get to know you. My name is Christopher Lester and while not a Nashville native, I’ve called the city home for over two decades. I’ve spent the better part of the last decade working in the digital marketing and brand storytelling space and currently work with companies to help them leverage email and social media to tell a better story. I’ve always been a serial entrepreneur and enjoy the excitement of taking an idea and nurturing it into reality. Prior to Clifton+Leopold, I had the privilege of working at Emma Email Marketing where I served as the VP of Sales. It was here that I learned to dream big, work hard and lose the fear — all tools that have aided me in the launch of Clifton+Leopold and gave me the courage to say out loud “I’m going to launch an apparel manufacturing company in the United States during a global pandemic” and not feel crazy. Outside of my daily life, I serve on the Nashville LGBT Chamber’s board where I have the opportunity to work alongside some of the smartest and most driven people I know. I’ve led the marketing committee for the last five years where I had the privilege to serve with two amazing CEOs, lead a complete rebranding and help create the 20th-anniversary video — a project that I’m deeply proud of. I am a lover of the arts and love living in a city that values them. I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and some of my earliest memories were of going to the theatre, symphony and ballet. As we continue to deal with the fall out of COVID and the toll it is taking on these things I hold so dear, my goal is to find opportunities to plugin even more and help these irreplaceable institutions continue in our great city. I am the father of the most amazing 16-year-old Weimaraner named Olive and share a home with her in East Nashville. She reminds me every day to be thankful for waking up, to make the most of the sunshine on a cool day and to not ever feel bad for taking a nap when the mood hits. Why Clifton+Leopold? Is there a story behind the brand? For the “short” version we share with everyone, you can find the Clifton+Leopold origin story here, but just for the Focus audience, I am happy to share a little of a “behind the scenes” story. When I was early in the development process, everyone kept asking what I wanted to call the company — a step that I sort of jumped over because working through how to manufacture apparel in the U.S. was a much bigger challenge than what to name a company. But, the name thing was the first question on everyone’s mind. I knew from the start that I wanted a “something and something” name and I really wanted to use classic quintessential British names if I could make it work. I began researching names and filling them in on the chalkboard wall in my dining room. Clifton was the first CHEERS! / NOV+DEC 2020 / focusmidtenn.com / Page 13
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2020 Issue 6 Nov/Dec - Focus Mid-Tenn Magazine

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