If you know us, you know how much we love to shoutout the boss-a** womxn entrepreneurs.
This week we excitingly present to you Kristi Frank & Taylor Cottrell, CEO & CMO (respectively) of Clutch Creations. Featuring their patented "Clutch Strap" - a strap for your phone to keep it on you at all times without the hassle of taking it in and out of your pockets, purse, or wherever you may store it - these boss babes are taking the scene by storm!
Check out below a special interview we did with Kristi & Taylor & get to know and love them just like we did!
We love their product so much that we've teamed up with them for a very special giveaway featuring their brand new, limited edition "Wild Night" Mini Clutch Strap dropping August 27th. What better to pair this WILD strap that with our "Wild Instinct" Rave Nailz press on set ! Name a better duo...we'll wait!
Our giveaway is on now through Friday so make sure to enter HERE!
Without further ado - we present to you Kristi & Taylor from Clutch Creations!
Company Name: Clutch Creations
Founding/HQ Location: Athens, GA | Offices in Chicago & Atlanta
Founders Names & Titles: Kristi Frank, CEO & Taylor Cottrell, CMO
Pronouns: She/Her
SocialHandle: @thats.clutch , @clutch.cameron , @taylorcottrell
Website: www.shopclutchcreations.com
What’s the founding story of your company?
Kristi: Taylor and I are two girls on a mission to change the way we look at functional fashion. Having first met back in college at The University of Georgia, Taylor and I discovered a shared passion for music festivals.
"It’s no secret that we have our phones on us everywhere we go, the problem is finding a solution that takes our mind off its whereabouts, so we can live in the moment.”
When packing for Hulaween, a music festival in Suwanee, FL in 2013, I was struck with inspiration for a universal strap for my phone. This led to the first prototype of what would become “The Clutch Strap.”
After crossing paths with Taylor, I introduced my idea and together we set out on a shared dream and joint passion of bringing convenience and style into an area no one has seen before.
What are you listening to right now?
Kristi: I've been listening to EDM for over a decade so I finally am venturing and exploring into some sub-genres like drum and bass and sub low. As for my everyday tunes, I love Hozier and other alternative & indie crossover music like Glass Animals, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Brooks & The Bluff. However, you can’t take the rap lifestyle out of me either, from A$AP Rocky to Jack Harlow to MIGOS, I am a big music fan, loving all the sounds.
Taylor: I also have a love for EDM as the kids call it. My go-to artists I queue up in the car are usually Manic Focus, CloZee, Apashe, Jade Cicada, Thriftworks, Glitch Mob, etc. When I want a more ambient vibe I love some Tony Anderson, Rufus Du Sol, Odesza, Tame Impala, Purity Ring, the list goes on! Notable guilty pleasures are Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber always.
What’s your favorite product you’re selling at your company right now?
Kristi: I am obsessed with the new Mini Clutch Strap! It is so great for when I go on runs and still end up carrying my phone, but now with added security and ease. It’s also been great functionally attaching it to my pants or wearing it on my wrist when my hands are full. The Oil Spill Mini Clutch Strap is a special leather that I’ve been wanting to make products out of forever and I’m so glad we have it available for purchase now!
Taylor: My favorite strap is probably our Original Black Leather Strap. It’s what I always come back to. I’m lucky in that I can wear it lanyard-style or cross-body, and black goes with everything. It’s the #1 staple in my closet.
What are some of your biggest inspirations?
Kristi: Sara Blakely is a fabulous inspiration to all female entrepreneurs and especially for me because she invented a product for women, out of necessity and built her empire from the ground up. Other things that inspire me are simply my surroundings. Nature, strangers, fashion and TV/podcasts/movies & music are great inspirations for me to get my creative juices flowing.
Taylor: My family has been my biggest inspiration. Relatives that I look up to who have succeeded in more ways than one, and who I go to for business and life advice. They are the people I strive to make proud and the ones who push me the most. Unwavering support is one of the biggest blessings I have been given.
What are some of your goals with the company?
Kristi: We are thrilled to be reintroducing the Classic Clutch Strap 2.0, a phone strap that functionally works like the rest of our products but has a different design and more-so mocks a camera strap. It was the Original Clutch Strap for a long time and has a greater potential to be custom branded for events. We are thrilled to explore more B2B orders and licensing deals with large events, festivals and charities to get our products in the hands of more people who will benefit from a Clutch lifestyle!
Taylor: Since the inception of Clutch, I have aspired for us to be a tastemaker of products sought after by Music Lovers. I am thrilled to finally see our brand being able to pursue partnerships with some of the leading industry events of our time. It’s the cross-pollination of my two passions. Music and Clutch.
Tell us one thing you’d really like to accomplish with your time on earth?
Kristi: It has always been my goal to help make people’s lives easier. I am an empath, a giver and no longer a “people pleaser” but I have a huge passion for helping others and doing so in style! It is our mission to provide our Crew, customers and community with high-quality products that represent the freedom to live, be and contribute to the world around them in the most convenient and stylish ways possible.
It is our Clutch vision is to invent solutions for a world thriving on convenience and cultivate a conscientious community that supports our mission to make fashion more functional.
And lastly, it is my vision is to put our products in the hands of people who will utilize it’s Clutch convenience to live their life to the absolute fullest. :)
Taylor: Since choosing to pursue occupations I am passionate about, I feel lucky and accomplished waking up every day doing things that I love. I can rest easy at night knowing that my passion and drive in turn help others succeed in the many ways they define their success. I think that is what I find fueling any feeling of “success” of my own...genuinely helping others be the best version of themselves. This applies to our mission behind Clutch, and my career in Artist Management.
Favorite self care ritual?
Kristi: Journaling and expressing myself through writing and freestyle rapping are my favorite! I find it so important to document my fast paced life of being the CEO of a startup and patented product, because if I don’t it seems that time is flying by without recognizing my small and large wins along the way! I start my mornings with a self-care ritual and accountability check in with my best friend Ansley including giving gratitude to my many blessings and checking in on our favorite daily reads including “The Daily Stoic”, “How to be More Tree” and the daily Buddhist offering. Checking in with myself mentally and meditating are my favorite in terms of a self-care routine!
Taylor: Oooo did someone say self care? I have a tendency to splurge on skin care (among other things lol). I love a good Tata Harper Face Mask with a glass of wine and takeout sushi. Throw on some crime-tv and I’m good to go.
Make sure to enter the Rave Nailz x Clutch Creations giveaway HERE & subscribe to our newsletter to be kept up with more giveaway, interviews, drops & more!
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