Christy Plott is a Southern girl. She is the creative director, head of global sales, and co-owner of American Tanning and Leather. I’ll let her tell you what that’s all about below. Let’s just say she’s a red-headed spitfire who knows her way around a gator farm in Louisiana, as well as the corporate offices of Oscar de La Renta, Ralph Lauren and other hoity-toity fashion designers who buy up her alligator skins like hot cakes. She is as Two-Sided Southern as they come and one of the funniest, most charming people I know. Read below and you’ll soon agree.
What do you do for a living?
I am a fourth generation hide and leather dealer. My family and I own and operate an alligator leather tannery. I sell leather for footwear, handbags (or should I say pocketbooks), and other leather goods to luxury brands around the world.
Where did you grow up?
I tell most people Griffin, Georgia, but in reality, I grew up in Orchard Hill. (Orchard Hill is a small town, just south of Griffin. Population 230 in the 2000 Consensus.) We had two gas stations, a liquor store, and a video rental/tanning bed/pageant dress store. (Yes, all those things were sold there.) They have moved up in the world, and now Orchard Hill has a Dollar General that we call the “Orchard Hill Walmart.”
Where do you live now?
I live in Griffin PROPER. In “town” as my mama used to day. I have actual neighbors within earshot, and I am super happy about being able to have things like pizza delivery that Orchard Hill still can’t get.
When you were younger, what did you want to be?
Oh Lordy…. I pretty much always wanted to be a “business woman.” (That is what I called it.). There was a lot of playing “office” when I was little. I think I might have wanted to be a grocery store cashier for a little while, too, because those check out scanners looked neat when I about 4 years old.
Do you have to use your Southern charm at work?
Girl, please. My mama taught me to always say yes ma’am , thank you, and use my manners. I have been saying “my pleasure” way before Chick-fil-A made it a thing. I don’t really think of “southern charm” as well, southern charm…. it’s more about authenticity. Being real is what the therapists call being vulnerable, and I think southerners just say what we think and feel. So if that’s southern charm, then I would say yes.
What makes you Two-Sided Southern?
I am five-star or dive bar and equally as comfortable in the deer stand at the hunting camp or at the Apres Ski in Courmayeur, Italy. I once took a group of executives and supply chain directors from Louis Vuitton to the Waffle House. (They loved it.) I am super proud of having what most “fancy” people would say are humble roots, and I embrace them fully.
Do you monogram things?
Ok, when I was 22 years old, everything was monogrammed. Engraved cotton stationery, silver serving pieces, jewelry… you name it. If I could get it engraved or monogrammed, it was going to have a great big cPm on it. (All southern women know your last names initial goes in the middle, duh.) Today—not so much as then. I do have a few luggage items that are monogrammed, and I certainly still have my own personal stationery. I definitely DO NOT have my monogram decal on the back of my car window. Insert crying laughing emoji here.
Favorite high-end, hoity toity dish:
This isn’t politically correct, but terrine de foie gras. I love French food, and that high-calorie, buttery, salty deliciousness cannot be beat.
Favorite southern dish:
Ohhhh, this is a hard one. So many good choices. I would say cornbread and sweet milk.
Favorite high-end, hoity toity dessert/sweet:
Limoncello sorbet with vodka
Favorite low-brow dessert/sweet:
Little Debbie oatmeal cream pies.
Favorite high-brow restaurant:
In the USA, it’s a tie. The Polo Bar in New York City. (Although I don’t think it’s really that stuffy of a place. But the service and food is solid gold!). I also love Jean Georges.
Anywhere else in the world, Chez Fernand in Paris.
Favorite low-brow restaurant:
Krystal drive-thru
Southern dish you always serve at dinner parties:
Can’t go wrong with a sweet potato soufflé.
High-brow dish you always serve at dinner parties:
I recently made a beef Wellington, but honestly it was so much work that I’ll be doing steaks on the grill next time.
Something only Southerners would know:
How long a “Coon’s Age” is.
Do you believe in thank you notes as a rule?
YES. A thank you note is MORE than just a thank you. It’s the opportunity to graciously and politely thank someone for a gift, a dinner, coming to a funeral or wedding or birthday party. You get to express, in writing, why you appreciate the giver’s gesture. And you always write three paragraphs! None of that “thank you for the nice gift” business.
If you bring someone a casserole who is sick, just had a baby or a family member died, what is your tried-and-true casserole:
Hash brown casserole is always a winner.
Favorite sports teams:
The University of Georgia Bulldogs. There is no other team. Pro sports don’t matter to true Southerners.
Favorite drink at a tailgate:
Cold beer.
Favorite high-brow entertainment:
Going to fancy black-tie events.
Favorite low-brow entertainment:
Slot machines and scratch off lotto tickets.
Most eccentric southern person you know:
Without a doubt, my aunt. She collects Pez dispensers, had a She Shed before they were cool (she calls it a playhouse). My aunt has a sticker collection, uses coupons, prays before every meal, and loves bluegrass music. She is the best, and I adore her. There is no one else like her on the planet.
What are some misconceptions you’ve encountered about people from the South?
We can’t drive, we talk slow, we only eat fried foods, women should be quiet and demure, we are uneducated and don’t read much, and we are all ultrareligious. I do have to say that some of those things are indeed true, but we southerners always have TWO SIDES! 🙂
