Interview 3: Jen Goodall
I met Jen Goodall in early 2016. I had just opened The Callaway and was on the lookout for dynamic local brands to represent. She was on the verge of launching Clary Collection, the Nashville-based natural beauty company she co-founded.
Connected by a mutual friend, I reached out to Jen about potentially working together. She invited me to her home (gorgeous — Jen has mad, mad interior design chops) for tea (delicious), where we bonded over our love of vintage clothes, traded stories about our former lives in NYC, and began to hatch a plan to get Clary the press it deserved. How’d it go? Let’s just say that the first of the many press placements Clary scored was a beautiful feature on Vogue.com.
As things often do, our professional relationship evolved into a friendship. I frequently get texts from her with links to clothes or furniture she thinks I’d appreciate, always addressed with one of the nicknames she’s given me (my favorite: LL, for Leopard Libby).
But Jen’s not merely a woman of amazing style and sharp-as-shit humor; she’s got major substance to back it up. She’s a devoted mother to her young son, Early, and has a long and commendable history of helping people in need (more on her international volunteerism below), which she’s carrying on this spring as chairman of Oyster Easter, a festive event befitting Nashville’s Community Resource Center.
— Libby
What’s your name? Jen Goodall
Where were you born? I was born in England, but my parents moved to Australia when I was a baby and continued to flip-flop between both countries, renovating old, weird properties. Hence, my attending 14 different schools in the process. Traveling via Sydney, London, and NYC, my final destination landed me in Nashville.
Did you have any nicknames growing up? Yes, and I still have it, to my entire family. Biff — because when I was a baby, I punched everything.
How long have you lived in Nashville? Eight years
Which neighborhood do you live in? Belle Meade
When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? I wanted to own a florist during the day and be a news reader by night. Nightly, I would force my parents to listen to my news report.
What do you do now? I channeled my desire for plants into co-founding a line of plant-infused organic skin care called Clary Collection with my best friend and birthing partner, Adriel Denae.
Tell us some things that are rocking your world at the moment:
To wear: I love my leopard print Savas Legend ankle boots (1). And please, Santa — next year may you deliver me this velvet Alessandra Rich mini dress (2).
To eat: The Gulf Shrimp a la Plancha at The Optimist (3), served with chili butter and “sopping toast.”
Decor: A few years ago, I was honored to share my design favorites with Chairish, my go-to source for all interior design searches.
To read: Two current book favorites keeping my soul connected are Brene Brown’s Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience (4) and Yung Pueblo’s In Clarity & Connection (5).
Community engagement: I love the Community Resource Center, a non-profit that is always helping our neighbors in need. Their mission is to provide critical essential items to the most vulnerable Middle Tennesseans, both during times of disaster and during seasons of ongoing need. I am very honored to be chairing their 2022 Oyster Easter fundraiser. Oyster Easter began 60 years ago at Vanderbilt University, where Dudley Warner organized students unable to head home over Easter break in a local backyard to enjoy oysters and beer. The celebration continued each year until it finally outgrew the yard and was turned over to the Community Resource Center. This year, it’s being held on April 16 at Rocketown. Tickets go on sale February 21 on the CRC website.
What word or phrase best describes your personal style? Schizophrenic? Ha. For interiors, I love classic French art deco. I love European art deco by Hildo Krop (6). I love the decadence of the early 1900s. I also like original mid-century modern design, such as Alvar Aalto. Throw that together with some Adirondack and folk art and you have a magical environment created by a very indecisive woman who has travelled a lot and has had many previous lives!
What’s fashion advice you live by? If the shoes are great, you can probably pull off most outfits.
What’s your favorite piece in your closet? I’m a sucker for my red Dorateymur knee-high boots (7).
What’s your favorite space in your home? My kitchen. It’s got natural skylights, which makes summer pretty and rainy days romantic. It’s the room I spend the most time in with my little boy.
What’s your favorite road trip you’ve ever taken? I took my most life-changing road trip during the time I spent volunteering for a non-profit called the Small Steps Project (8), which delivers aid to children living on burning trash sites in India. I traveled to slum villages and landfill sites in Varanasi and Ghazipur, outside Delhi. I was deeply concerned at the lack of hygiene and school supplies available to them, and focused on delivering aid, including food, clothes, shoes and hygiene products.
What’s a road trip you want to take next? I’d like to go to New Mexico and stay in an earthship (9), a kind of passive solar home — or community of homes — typically made of natural and recycled materials such as old tires and recycled cans. Such homes make use of non-polluting renewable energy sources and smart design to meet most if not all heating, cooling and power needs .
What’s the best gift you’ve ever given? Probably the 1937 engraved silver ring that belonged to boxer Joe Louis, which I gave to my man. The original inscription reads: We’re going to do our part and we’ll win because we’re on God's side. You know when you’ve crushed gift giving and that was the time!
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? A hand-painted watermelon side table from the talented Vadis Turner (10).
Wild card! What are three products in your beauty arsenal that you use the most?
Without bias, the Clary All-Purpose Balm (11). I am unable to leave home without it, especially during these dry winter months, when I use it on my hands and lips .
Also, Clary Bath + Body Oil (12), one of the first products we launched and a daily must-have. It’s safe for everybody. I’m glad we made this power product in a travel size, so no matter where I am, I never have to worry about having dry skin .
Nutrafol hair supplements (13). After childbirth, you lose your good hair. After trying four million hair products, this is by far the brand that actually works.