While society seems to believe that one’s “influence” is directly correlated to the number of followers they have on Instagram, we chose a different (and dare I say, authentic) approach when choosing our Leading Ladies. The women featured in our summer series, The Women’s Edit, are women who are true trailblazers in our beautiful, booming city. We wanted to highlight women who, like us, are creatives seeking to add more life and love to our community. The Women’s Edit is a salute to those making their own way, setting trends we want to follow and shifting how Nashville is viewed by the outside world. This forward-thinking group of women makes us want to do more, to be better and to challenge ourselves to tackle something new.
Each of our Leading Ladies will be at our Women’s Edit event on June 13th. Enjoy Moet Imperial Ice, hors d’ oeuvres, shopping, music and so much more.
This week’s Lady of the Moment?
Libby Callaway | Writer and Founder of The Callaway
The Nashville Edit: Explain to us what went into The Callaway.
Libby Callaway: I launched both of them [The Callaway and The Callaway Report] at the same time, in January 2016, with the idea that the content I chose to highlight in TCR — the people who were profiled, the photographers I worked with, the style of the writing, which initially was all done by me — would give potential clients and other people curious about my company some insight into what we were all about. Having a deep background in journalism was incredibly helpful. I spent over 10 years working in newsrooms and have written for national magazines for my entire career. That said, knowing how to write is one thing, but having worked closely with photographers and designers in the past was invaluable in the TCR “birthing” process.
TNE: Describe The Callaway in 5 words.
LC: Smart, warm, responsive, efficient and thoughtful.
TNE: What is the first thing you do once you’re out of bed?
LC: Make coffee and then head out to the driveway to pick up my copies of The New York Times and Tennessean. I read those two newspapers before I do anything else.
TNE: What is your take on social media?
LC: It’s a necessary evil. The idea of living your life out-loud, online is not going anywhere, so we have to learn to adapt. The key is figuring out how to use it in ways that are constructive and positive. We have to harness its power for good instead of letting it control and define us.
TNE: Women are constantly made to feel like they can somehow “be” or “do” better. Describe your journey with self-confidence.
LC: It’s a daily process. As successful as I’ve been and as much as I’ve achieved in both my work and in my personal life, I still suffer from major self-doubt. It’s gotten a lot better since I got sober 14 years ago and began approaching life in a more honest, straightforward way. I still have to talk myself off ledges, but less frequently now than when I was younger. That thing about getting older and wiser is totally legit.
“That thing about getting older and wiser is totally legit.”
– Libby Callaway
TNE: What is the most important thing you’ve learned from life?
LC: Love is the answer.
TNE: What is some advice you’d give your teenage self?
LC: Chill out. The decisions you make now are important, but they’re not going to define you forever. I was a super high-strung kid and took things way too seriously. I wish I’d have worried less and partied more.
TNE: Tell us a bit about your involvement with the Nashville Fashion Alliance.
LC: I am a founding board member of the first iteration of the NFA, which is currently on hiatus as we figure out how to make it a volunteer-led organization. I’m incredibly proud of what the board and leadership of the organization accomplished during its four-year tenure and look forward to watching its evolution.
TNE: You call yourself a maximalist. What can you not have too much of in your closet? Kitchen? Bedroom?
LC: Closet: Vintage maxi dresses.
Kitchen: Trader Joe’s coffee, Maldon salt, and Gerolsteiner water.
Bedroom: Pillows on my bed and lamps on the tables.
TNE: Tell us about your love affair with interior design.
LC: Interior design is my mother’s family’s business, so changing interiors has always been a constant in my life. I grew up in a three-story 1929 house that my mother was constantly renovating or redecorating. I learned so much watching her and my aunt, who is ASID, work together to make their visions come to life. There is little surprise that I went into fashion, a discipline that is totally interior adjacent. Curating a wardrobe is not that different from decorating a house.
TNE: Where do you recommend going for the best vintage finds in Nashville?
LC: For clothes, my go-to boutiques are High Class Hillbilly and Pre-to-Post Modern. For furniture and home accessories, it’s GasLamp Antiques and Wonders on Woodland, FTW! WOW owners Deb and Wayne Goodwyn are the best.
This or That:
- Luxury resort / Pitching a tent
- Long Shower / Long Bath
- Suede / Velvet
- White Subway Tile / Floral Wallpaper
Each of our Leading Ladies will be at our Women’s Edit event on June 13th. Enjoy Moet Imperial Ice, hors d’ oeuvres, shopping, music and so much more.
