Playing Zander on General Hospital, Carly Jean LA, & Raising 4 Kids: Chad & Carly Brannon

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast

Episode Title: Playing Zander on General Hospital, Carly Jean LA, & Raising 4 Kids: Chad & Carly Brannon
Release Date: June 11, 2025
Hosts: Jinger Vuolo, Jeremy Vuolo
Guests: Chad & Carly Brannon

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Jinger & Jeremy Podcast, hosts Jinger Vuolo and Jeremy Vuolo welcome married entrepreneurs and former actors Chad and Carly Brannon. The couple shares their inspiring journey from the entertainment industry to building a successful Christian-based clothing brand, Carly Jean Los Angeles (CJLA), while navigating faith, family, and entrepreneurship.

Chad Brannon's Acting Career and Faith Transformation

[00:42] The conversation kicks off with Jinger complimenting Carly on her role as Xander on General Hospital. Chad humorously denies "locking down" the character but elaborates on his dramatic exit from the show.

Chad Brannon:
"I had to go back and film my death scene, which for an actor, this is like everything. It was Shakespearean, it was dramatic... I died in my ex-wife's arms. Extremely dramatic, exactly what every actor wants." [00:52]

Chad recounts how his character on General Hospital was intended to be a short-term role but extended due to the chemistry with Carly and positive fan reception. He proudly mentions winning an Emmy for his performance, highlighting a significant milestone in his acting career.

[07:10] Chad delves into a pivotal moment in his life where a conversation at a Christian conference deeply impacted his faith. Despite being raised Christian, he realized he hadn't fully committed to following Jesus. This spiritual awakening coincided with the dramatic conclusion of his character on the show.

Chad Brannon:
"The Holy Spirit used that conversation to convict me that I had never truly said, I want to make you lord of my life... It was the same week that my character died on General Hospital." [08:52]

Chad emphasizes how this period marked the end of his acting journey and the beginning of his deeper commitment to faith, culminating in winning an Emmy and using that platform to profess his newfound belief.

Carly Brannon's Entrepreneurial Journey with Carly Jean LA (CJLA)

[01:11] Jinger shifts the spotlight to Carly and her clothing brand, CJLA. Carly shares her entrepreneurial story, which began serendipitously during a junior college project.

Carly Brannon:
"I started junior college and I dropped out in a hot second when I was in a class that we were making a shoe company... So I called my mom and was like, hey, what if we opened a store together? And so my mom and I started a little 400 square foot shop in Burbank. Called it Carly Jean. My name's Carly. Her name's Jean." [01:20]

Carly explains how CJLA evolved from a small thrift-based boutique to a thriving clothing brand. She highlights the importance of quality, timeless fashion, and the seamless blend of producer and curator roles within the business.

Balancing Faith, Family, and Business

The Brannons discuss the challenges and triumphs of maintaining a strong Christian testimony while building a business in Los Angeles, a city known for its fast-paced and often secular environment.

[07:32] Chad reflects on the early days of their marriage, emphasizing how shared faith and trials strengthened their bond and prepared them for future challenges.

Chad Brannon:
"It took us, it made us a very old couple very quickly. And it drew us really close to the Lord first to go, like, is your faith real?" [46:07]

Carly shares her experiences of growing up in a non-traditional Christian home and how the church played a pivotal role in her spiritual maturation, ultimately leading her to meet Chad through church ministry.

Entrepreneurship Insights and Business Growth

Carly offers valuable insights into the creation and scaling of CJLA. She discusses sourcing unique pieces, building relationships with local designers, and maintaining a curated selection that appeals to their customer base.

Carly Brannon:
"I did have to give Chad some cred of just great leadership because I do think there's times that I'd be like, really? It was really late last night. And Chad's like, do we like pursue, you know, we'll bend our back to do a tent sale till 1:00am... [40:24]

Carly emphasizes the importance of quality and timelessness in their product offerings, ensuring that each piece not only meets aesthetic standards but also offers long-term value to customers.

Carly Brannon:
"I want to build a closet and create a home and those other things that are just timeless... I want to build a closet and a home that you look back, you're like, I don't know what that's from, but it's classic, it's timeless, it's Always cool." [54:36]

Community Involvement and Philanthropy

The Brannons highlight their commitment to giving back, showcasing how CJLA supports various Christian organizations and causes.

Carly Brannon:
"We have people who are like, you gave clothes to a pregnancy center... I'm using our resources to care for people in need. If that bothers you, there's other places to go and to shop." [62:30]

Chad adds that their customers are part of a larger community that values quality and faith-based initiatives, reinforcing the brand's mission beyond just selling clothes.

Navigating Busyness and Prioritizing Faith

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around managing the demands of a growing business, raising four children, and staying committed to their faith and church community.

Jinger Vuolo:
"So talk about navigating that space of priorities in your life of having being a successful businesswoman and having this business with your family, but then keeping the main thing. The main thing." [39:18]

Carly and Chad discuss strategies for maintaining a balanced life, emphasizing the importance of setting faith-based priorities over business or personal achievements.

Chad Brannon:
"It's a reminder that all of these things in this world are all just passing away anyway... He came to build his church, so that's what we're called to be a part of." [41:41]

Personal Stories and Listener Connections

Throughout the episode, the Brannons share personal anecdotes that demonstrate their commitment to faith and community, including the story of how Chad and Carly met through church activities.

[21:05] They recount their first meeting, which was orchestrated by mutual church friends aiming to connect like-minded singles.

Carly Brannon:
"We sat down next to one another... Chemistry at first sight. And from meet to marry was less than a year." [23:29]

These stories underscore the importance of community and shared values in building strong, lasting relationships.

Conclusion

In this heartfelt episode, Chad and Carly Brannon offer listeners a compelling narrative of faith intertwined with entrepreneurship and family life. Their dedication to creating a meaningful business that honors their Christian beliefs, coupled with their personal journey from acting to entrepreneurship, provides valuable insights for listeners aspiring to balance similar life aspects. The Brannons exemplify how unwavering faith and community support can drive success and fulfillment in both personal and professional realms.

Notable Quotes:

• Chad Brannon:
  "I had to abandon all my desires and hopes and aspirations and sin and say, I just want to follow you, Jesus, no matter what that means." [08:52]

• Carly Brannon:
  "We opened this little store together quickly... I can't really take much credit for any of it. I show up, but I breathe because of Him." [18:12]

• Jinger Vuolo:
  "If you keep the church community, you're going to find deep satisfaction and joy. If you don't, you could be in the greatest season with wealth and family and health and be miserable." [42:42]

• Chad Brannon:
  "Marriage is a circus... You have to find Somebody that's willing to go into that with you, that has the right tools for the war. Because the war is about serving Christ." [36:20]

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This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of Chad and Carly Brannon’s journey, blending their past in entertainment with their present in faith-driven entrepreneurship, and offers listeners both inspiration and practical insights.

Transcript

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[Ginger]

All right, so I have to say, Carly, I think a lot of women would be very jealous of you because you locked down Xander from General Hospital.

[Carly Brannon]

Lies.

[Chad Brannon]

Oh, no. It was that I had to go back and film my death scene, which for an actor, this is like everything. Like this is. It was Shakespearean, it was dramatic. There was cop cars and I got shot by the SWAT team and I died in my ex wife's arms. I mean, it was extremely dramatic, which is exactly what every actor wants, right?

[Ginger]

And Carly, a lot of our audience might know you predominantly from cjla, which is Carly Jean Los Angeles, an incredible clothing brand.

[Carly Brannon]

I started junior college and I dropped out in a hot second when I was in a class that we were making a like a shoe company.

[Jeremy]

We had to like, create.

[Carly Brannon]

I was like, let's just go start a real thing. Like, forget the fake one. Let's just go do something if this is kind of the steps to it. So I called my mom and was like, hey, what if we opened a store together? And so my mom and I started a little 400 square foot shop in Burbank. Called it Carly Jean. My name's Carly. Her name's Jean.

[Ginger]

They're entrepreneurs. They come from the world of acting as well. At least one of them does. And so we want to hear some of those experiences because I'm curious. It's a TV world, but it's a little different than yours, Ginge.

[Jeremy]

I'm excited for this because actually, I have no clue what to expect.

[Ginger]

What's going on, guys? Ginger and Jeremy back for another episode of the podcast.

[Jeremy]

We are so excited for this one. I think you guys are going to love this conversation. Because we have some very special guests.

[Ginger]

Yeah. And I think guests that will have a lot of input for giving us a healthy Christian worldview. They've got a very interesting story. They're entrepreneurs. They come from the world of acting as well. At least one of them does. And so we want to hear some of those experiences, because I'm curious. It's a TV world, but it's a little different than yours, Ginge.

[Jeremy]

I'm excited for this because, actually, I have no clue what to expect.

[Ginger]

Yeah, it'll be fun. So welcome Chad and Carly Brannon. Thank you so much.

[Chad Brannon]

Thanks for having us.

[Ginger]

Yeah. So a lot of our audience might know you, predominantly from cjla, which is Carly Jean Los Angeles, an incredible clothing brand, which I'll let Ginger rave about because I'm wearing it right now.

[Jeremy]

But, yeah, I was gonna wear my Karlie Jean stuff too, and then I was like, is that weird? Should I not? Should I just rep it? Yeah, sorry. Today I was, like, feeling so weird. What do I do? So I didn't wear it, but I should have.

[Ginger]

It's all good.

[Jeremy]

Anyhow. Welcome, welcome.

[Carly Brannon]

Thanks for having us.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. This is so fun. We are super excited to get into your story. I'm very curious how this whole thing started, because your brand, I've loved it in every season of Life. I feel like it's one of those things that I will be able to wear before I had kids. It's great. And then pregnancy was one of those things. I literally showed up at a game, and I saw y' all there, and I was like, dang, I'm wearing this shirt. I wear it every single day. I wore on the podcast. Like, if you go back and look at all these episodes, it was like a button down that had so much.

[Ginger]

Is it the blue with the white?

[Jeremy]

Yeah. Well, that one, too. But then the other button down that I had, this is the solid gray one.

[Ginger]

Oh, yeah.

[Jeremy]

That I wore. I'd wear it with leggings. I wear it with jeans, and I wore every day. And then you guys showed up at this game, and I was like, yep, that's all I wear every single day.

[Carly Brannon]

I was wearing compliment. I don't know why. That was great.

[Jeremy]

It was great. So I would wear it, like, every other day. Wash it, wear it, wash it, wear it. And that was the thing that got me through pregnancy.

[Carly Brannon]

That's incredible.

[Jeremy]

And postpartum, it's been great.

[Carly Brannon]

That's the goal. That's the goal right there. I'm glad it was. I'm glad it worked.

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah, that's the testimony of CJLA that it's always the thing that you pick because it's just the most comfortable.

[Jeremy]

It is.

[Ginger]

That's the win.

[Carly Brannon]

See, we try to make clothes that you actually live in. Like clothes that you live. And that's living. Right. Wearing it on repeat. That's living.

[Jeremy]

And I introduced my sister, a couple of my sisters, but one in particular, she was out here visiting and she needed to borrow some clothes. So I introduced her to your stuff, and then she was like, oh, my goodness, I need this stuff. So I. Yeah, it is. It is a favorite for sure.

[Carly Brannon]

Aw, sweet. That's encouraging.

[Ginger]

All right, so I have to say, Carly, I think you are. I think people are gonna be. A lot of women would be very jealous of you because you locked down Xander from General Hospital.

[Carly Brannon]

You guys.

[Chad Brannon]

Oh, no.

[Ginger]

And I feel like there's a little heartthrob action going on with that one. I mean, in the room now, I gotta say, I've. I've never been a huge General Hospital watcher. You weren't a soap fan, you know.

[Chad Brannon]

Come on.

[Ginger]

Didn't do that. Didn't do the soap opera so much.

[Chad Brannon]

Yes, okay.

[Ginger]

But was familiar with General Hospital growing up. I'm sure. I've seen you in action on General Hospital. Talk about Xander.

[Chad Brannon]

I mean, he.

[Ginger]

He's here in the flesh.

[Chad Brannon]

In the flesh. Not dead. Come back to life. Like, did Xander die a number of times.

[Ginger]

Okay.

[Chad Brannon]

And then came back from the grave.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

Multip times. Yeah. Lots of iterations.

[Carly Brannon]

Miracle he's here with us today.

[Chad Brannon]

Yes, exactly.

[Ginger]

So we want to get to your story because I do think the lessons or the input you'll have about entrepreneurship and then also maintaining like a really strong Christian testimony in that space will be really cool. So we want to hear all about cjla, its birth, its origin story. We want to hear about how you guys got together. So give us a little bit of background on each of your stories where you were raised.

[Carly Brannon]

Little.

[Ginger]

Little bio sketch.

[Carly Brannon]

Sure.

[Chad Brannon]

Born and raised in. I'll start with me.

[Carly Brannon]

Kick it off.

[Chad Brannon]

We'll get to you. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, and moved to Hollywood in 1999 to pursue acting and got out here and thankfully just had quick success. I ended up on like five guest star spots within a year. And then within a year or so I was on General Hospital and had been auditioning for that off and on a number of different times. And then book. General Hospital was supposed to be a six week gig and I was supposed to kidnap this girl and take her on the run. And we fell in love on the road as things happen, you know, in life. And the fans and the show liked it and they liked our storyline, and so they continued it. And I was there for four years, and I was ended up winning an Emmy at the end of my time on General Hospital. So my last year in 2004. So that was from 2000 to 2004. And yeah, so that's kind of the story of Xander kidnapped. The.

[Ginger]

How's it feel to win an Emmy?

[Chad Brannon]

It was awesome. It was definitely the capstone to a really incredible experience working on General Hospital because it was an incredible cast, an incredible crew. Love being a part of that show. But connecting to the faith aspect. Just before I finished General Hospital, this is kind of a fun part of the story is I had thought I was raised. I mean, I was raised as a Christian, had thought I was saved. And then I had a set of circumstances that sovereignly the Lord just used to bring me truly to faith. And through the course of a conversation with some friends who were coming out for a conference that was out here, and they were like, hey, can we come stay at your house? And they came and stayed at my house. And the night before the conference, we started debating the gospel. And through the course of the conversation, debating the gospel, they took me to Matthew 7, where it talks about, so that you will know them by their fruit. And it says, many will say to me, lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in your name and do all these things in your name? But Jesus says, depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of lawlessness. And through the course of that conversation, my debate was, I know the truth. I know the gospel. I could share the Romans road with with you. But ultimately, it was a question of the fruit in my life. And as you looked in the fruit of my life. As I looked at the fruit of my life through the course of this conversation, the Holy Spirit used that conversation to convict me that I had never truly said, I want to make you lord of my life. And I'm willing to abandon all my desires and hopes and aspirations and sin and say, I just want to follow you, Jesus, no matter what that means. And so that happened to be the same week that my character died on General Hospital.

[Jeremy]

Oh, wow.

[Ginger]

Really? Yes, for the final time.

[Chad Brannon]

For the wow. Yes, the final time. And so that's a wild part of the story, because I had gone to this conference and it was. I remember being. It was Thursday that I had to go back and film my death scene. Which for an actor, this is like everything. Like this is. It was Shakespearean, it was dramatic. There was cop cars and I got shot by the SWAT team and I died in my ex wife's arms. I mean, it was extremely dramatic, which is exactly what every actor wants. Right?

[Ginger]

Soap operas are dramatic 100%.

[Chad Brannon]

And as I'm dying, I'm literally sitting staring at the top of this huge movie studio and I'm like, I'm missing a conference. I'm missing something that I wanted to learn at that conference. Like, the Lord has just changed things so much in my heart and in my mind and my desires that I'm like, oh, I'm missing out on something that I want to learn about God. And so that week was the end of my time on General Hospital. And then it was just a couple months later that I won the Emmy. And by God's grace, since I won the Emmy, I was able to proclaim Christ with the statue in my hand on national television. So pretty cool.

[Ginger]

Okay, there's, I've got a lot of questions to dig into that. To kill an actor like that. Was that, were you being fired or was that just the progression of the show?

[Chad Brannon]

Yes and no, I wasn't, I wasn't being fired. It was kind of the end of my contract and I had had a desire professionally at that point to say, like, man, I want to go try like primetime or movies and you know, that kind of thing. And so I think they kind of felt that and we had kind of talked about that a little bit, so it kind of just made it as a, a good end. And they were like, hey, yeah, let's, let's, let's do something special.

[Ginger]

I've always wondered about when they kill someone, what's going on behind the scenes?

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah, that's at least my story.

[Ginger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

I think they kill people off because.

[Ginger]

So they do fire people by killing them. Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Let's take a break from this episode to tell you about Lean.

[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

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[Ginger]

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[Jeremy]

Now back to the episode.

[Ginger]

So what's fascinating about that is it resonates a bit with my journey with soccer Were you thinking that, too?

[Jeremy]

Yeah, I, Like, I immediately thought that sounds exactly what. Like, what Jer was going through. Because that passion shifting.

[Ginger]

You have a passion, like, for you, acting was probably consumed your life 100%. And so you came out here to. I mean, did you do the whole. Like, you're a waiter at the restaurants, and then in the meantime, you're just going to audition after audition after audition?

[Chad Brannon]

100%.

[Ginger]

And then you get your big break. I mean, General Hospital, it's a soap opera. That's a big break. Like, that's not just a background character. And you were proving yourself and legitimizing yourself. You've made it, and then all of a sudden, you have this, like, shift in desire.

[Chad Brannon]

Totally.

[Ginger]

And I felt that. I mean, I was second year playing professionally. My whole life. I was, like, consumed to be a professional soccer player. It was obsessive for me. And my first year pro, actually, in Finland, connected with these Christians. I start feeling this pull towards ministry, and I'm like, what is this? Yeah, what's wrong with me? Like, I can't go there.

[Chad Brannon]

Got everything that I wanted before.

[Ginger]

And so you're sitting there literally filming a scene, looking up, and you're dying, but you're looking up in this movie warehouse, and you're thinking of all these opportunities, these open doors you would have. And your passion was, I want to be diving into the word of God. Totally interesting.

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah. And it's just such a testimony of how the Lord just, you know, takes away a stony heart and gives you a heart of flesh. Right. And just. The Lord just goes, I want to transform you into something fundamentally different. Grateful.

[Ginger]

Okay, so there's more to dissect in your story, but, Carly, tell us, where are you from? What was your journey? How'd you come out? How did you become cjla?

[Carly Brannon]

How do I become my name? I'm from Los Angeles. I'm from here. Born and raised here in la. My mom's an artist, my dad's a musician. So I was, like, bound to do something cool. Weird, right?

[Ginger]

Yep.

[Carly Brannon]

Can't have, like. I couldn't have been a doctor or a teacher or.

[Ginger]

You're not going to be an accountant.

[Carly Brannon]

I couldn't be something normal. Yeah. I had to be different. And so, yeah, I grew up in la, I think similar to Chad, and, like, the creative side, I just. I felt like even kind of growing up here, I do feel like this is always the land of possibilities. You're so close to so much, and there just is so much creativity here. And I think I watch that around me a lot with watching my, you know, my parents and their friends and just our community where you're like, you can kind of do anything here. Like, anything's fair game. You'll be an actor. You could be, you know, clothing person. I don't know. But I always loved clothing as like a young kid. I come from a grandma who was like a really talented seamstress and then another one who was just really cultured and traveled and knew she just had great natural style. And I always just remember learning from them and watching them. And I always say, like, they kind of taught me the ways. One of like fabrics and textures and how things are made, and then another of just appreciating just well made things or quality things, or just kind of seeing, you know, what was unique and beautiful. And so I attribute a lot, I feel like, to them and just kind of being around them. Growing up, I'm an only child, so I was always stuck with some grandma or someone when people were busy. And so I feel like at a young age I was like, I want to do something in clothing. I didn't know what that was. I didn't love school. I went because it was social. I was like, fun. This is what friends are. But I'm probably not great poster child for college, you know, I was like, I just want to get to this. I want to do something in this world. So I started junior college and I dropped out in a hot second. When I was in a class that we were making, we had like a shoe company, we had to like, create. And I'm probably too impulsive and too like, let me just go do this. I was like, let's just go start a real thing. Like, forget the fake one. Let's just go do something if this is kind of the steps to it. So I called my mom and was like, hey, what if we opened a store together? What if we. We both don't have any money? Like, but what if we put everything we had, you know, in a bucket and I emptied my closet? Cause I got plenty. I've been thrifting and estate sailing since I was little. My grandma would drop me off at the thrift store. No joke, leave me at the thrift store. And I, because I would go and like scour everything, hunting for vintage designer stuff. And then I would go call her from the payphone outside. That's how old I am. People are like, what's a payphone? And then she'd come pick me up and I'd go Shop on like senior day. So we'd get it like, you know, it's thrifted already and then it's discount, so.

[Jeremy]

Oh, I know what you're talking about.

[Ginger]

I have no idea what you're talking about, but you're talking about the thrifting princess here.

[Carly Brannon]

No, I still love thrifting, but. Yeah, so I'd find stuff in that way. But. But all that to say I probably had thrifted plenty and plenty of senior discounts. I had more product than anyone needed in their personal closet. And so my mom and I started a little 400 square foot shop in Burbank. Called it Carly Jean. My name's Jean. My name's Carly. Her name's Jean and it is my middle name, so.

[Ginger]

Oh, very good.

[Carly Brannon]

That's kind of the name of it. And we opened this little 400 square foot shop. No social media, nothing, no advertising. It was just like full word of mouth, old school shopping. But we were in Magnolia park in Burbank, which is like a little antique district, kind of little vintage things in that area. And we're right by the studio. So proximity to Warner Brothers and NBC and all those places were there. So I naturally had costumers and actors and actresses that were like close by and around in the area that would come in and shop and then tell people about it and became big fans and became fans. Yeah, it was fun. It was just like, we're in a fun spot. And I always say too, like, it's God kindness. Like, there's plenty of people that are creative and work hard and it looks different and so, you know, no guarantees in that. So I really do. I'm like, it's the Lord. Like, I can't take credit for any of it. I showed up, but I breathe because of him, so I can't really take much. But all that to say we opened this little store together quickly in. I was. It was kind of two paint. I always say it was like two painters on one canvas. A little bit cordial.

[Jeremy]

Great.

[Carly Brannon]

But enough that we were like. I feel like I'm like, ooh, I'm very visionary in this. I feel like this needs to be like this. And she was like, well, what if we maybe we both just do something different.

[Ginger]

Your mom, you mean?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Why don't you take the store and you kind of do this, but you have to pay me back. So I paid her back every dime that she put into it because she's not like, you know, we gotta keep this.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, that's great.

[Carly Brannon]

Keep it clean. So I paid her back 500 bucks a month for, I think, a year for whatever that was that we had, you know, invested in it. And I kind of took it onto my own little journey. I met Chad at that time. We met at church. I was in high school, on high school staff. And Chad was in the kind of young, you know, singles ministry at the time. And some friends of ours were like, we have two girls that you could work with.

[Chad Brannon]

Oh, you're going?

[Carly Brannon]

And so I was one of the girls. No, I'm not telling that story, but I was one of the options. I didn't know about it. We were kind of set up, so.

[Ginger]

So.

[Jeremy]

Proper setup, a good setup. We're all about set up the people.

[Carly Brannon]

We feel like we need to do that. Now.

[Ginger]

What I'm curious about, though, we've set people up. We're batting a thousand on our amazing. We're one for one. So.

[Chad Brannon]

Okay, keep it that way. You got good odds.

[Ginger]

Actually, it's a really funny story. There's a guy who was a buddy of mine in seminary. We were classmates, and I was leading the college ministry. But there was a girl, Constanza, who wasn't in College. She was 22, 23. He was probably 24. And she was a singer she was leading. And he just randomly came to Bible study one night. And I get down from announcements and Constanza singing. Matt is right in front of us, and Ginger nudges me and goes, constanza. I'm like, what about her? She goes for Matt. So I take a video, I zoom in on Matt, and then I zoom out. Then I zoom in on Constanza. I do it about three times and text it to Matt.

[Chad Brannon]

Yes.

[Ginger]

And that was the beginning of their love story.

[Carly Brannon]

And they're married.

[Ginger]

They're married. Yeah. Happily married.

[Carly Brannon]

Impressive.

[Chad Brannon]

Nice.

[Ginger]

So we do take resumes, but what I'm curious about this setup was we've never set someone up and submitted submitted link below. Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Never given them options.

[Ginger]

This podcast brought to you by Jeremy Matchmakers. Imagine we just threw a segment. An ad segment. What I'm curious about your setup is that they gave you options. Like, they were like, here's to. Oh, Carly, you opened the can of worms.

[Carly Brannon]

I'm like, oh. I mean, careful opening your mouth.

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[Carly Brannon]

I felt like it added some, like, dimension to the story. Right. It turned into 4D. Someone told us about each other, and that's boring.

[Jeremy]

And he chose you. He just was like, you. You're a great fit.

[Chad Brannon]

I actually think it's a fun story. So the Reality is, is what we had done was we had tried to coordinate with this couple friend a way to set up that we could all hang out. And it was kind of like on the DL, right? Nobody really knew it was up. So the two.

[Ginger]

Which is the best way to set it up? Totally. Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

You know, it's not like, hi, want to talk about things.

[Carly Brannon]

You know, it was.

[Chad Brannon]

No, we were going to like, keep it on the deal. So I was. I was given the job of bringing a bunch of single dudes. And he and his wife were gonna bring some gals. Two of them were Carly and this friend.

[Carly Brannon]

It was like Christian bachelor, you know?

[Chad Brannon]

Right.

[Jeremy]

There you go.

[Ginger]

What are you doing before Christian mingle before incinerate. Before you got it.

[Carly Brannon]

You gotta payphone date.

[Ginger]

Yeah. So send a telegram. What are you gonna do?

[Chad Brannon]

So we sit down next to one another, and this other gal and I are sitting next to each other. And Carly is sitting across from me. And this gal is an amazing conversationalist asking a thousand questions. Great conversation. We're having incredible conversation. But Carly and I can't keep our eyes off each other.

[Carly Brannon]

We're also across from each other. Just like, you're undersell it. I mean, we're married now. I mean, it sounds like I was like, swooping in. Like, it sounds like I'm like, no.

[Ginger]

This is how guys interpret. You're sitting there just staring in front of you, and he's going, she can't not stop.

[Carly Brannon]

We were. I mean, it was. I was like. I was like, if it doesn't work out, like, it was clicking. I am over here. But I would.

[Chad Brannon]

No, no, it was chemistry.

[Carly Brannon]

But I was also being like. I feel like, respectful. Like, it wasn't.

[Chad Brannon]

No, no, no. So then I leave and I'm like. And they're like, so what you think? And I was like, oh, she's awesome. So what's the deal with Carly? And they were like, oh, okay.

[Ginger]

I mean, Xander. I don't know if you were Xander.

[Chad Brannon]

Or Chad moment, but I think Xander was dead at that point. He died. I don't know.

[Ginger]

Sorry if I keep bringing.

[Chad Brannon]

Recently died. So it was just instant. Like, we just. It clicked. And then it was like, all right. So then I. I ended up chatting with a bunch of friends and it was like, hey, I think this gal could be the one. Like, really quickly. And we. From meet to marry was less than a year.

[Ginger]

Really?

[Carly Brannon]

That's awesome.

[Chad Brannon]

So, yeah, I think we met in. It was like July or August. Then we got engaged in February and then got married May 10 months, 28th.

[Ginger]

We dug speed, just so you know. Oh, yeah, what you say, that's like dugger speed. Relationships, that is.

[Chad Brannon]

You're done when you know, you know.

[Ginger]

When you know, you know.

[Chad Brannon]

You guys were. Were fast.

[Ginger]

Pretty fast. We were fast, yeah. Yeah. It took a little. So I was from the outside of that circle and world, so it took a while for me to, you know, get known and be known. But I had my eye on Ginger. We were interesting.

[Jeremy]

Made it in once.

[Ginger]

Once I got in a few checkpoints.

[Jeremy]

Once I got in all the family once.

[Ginger]

He was a lot of family to.

[Chad Brannon]

Get a lot of family.

[Carly Brannon]

It was pret.

[Ginger]

That's a lot. Yeah, that's a. That's a big filter. You know what I mean?

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Ten brothers, you know.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah. Good luck.

[Ginger]

But, yeah, then we were six months. Right. Three months dating, recording.

[Chad Brannon]

Am I ever allowed. Am I allowed to ask a question?

[Ginger]

No, I'm sorry, you're not allowed to ask us questions.

[Chad Brannon]

I just want to know, was there, like, an outlying brother that you had to, like, prove yourself to? Was there like, everybody else has bought it?

[Ginger]

About six, probably. Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, that's about.

[Ginger]

So the younger brothers, I got real easy. Okay. Because they're just down for a good time.

[Chad Brannon]

Sure.

[Ginger]

You know. Although Jackson was a little skeptical.

[Jeremy]

I remember Jackson a few who were skeptical.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Big Jack came up to me a few times with a couple challenging questions. He would just come up to me. He was probably, what, 15 at the time or something? And he'd go, so, what about this? And I'd be like, I'm sorry, what? He'd be like, in Luke 12, it says this, and I'm like, oh, oh. Because I was from a different. I was like, from a different theological camp, too. So that's what a lot of the rip was. They were trying to figure me out.

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

And so I remember one time in the kitchen. I remember one time I got cornered and it was Jed. It was. And Jed and I have laughed about this. I forget who else it was. It might have been Jir, but Jir's, like, a lot more quiet. But they. They came at me and we were, you know, all the questions. Because they want to know, like, okay, what's your deal?

[Jeremy]

And they want to know if they're going to stick around.

[Carly Brannon]

What.

[Ginger]

They're there for sure.

[Jeremy]

And that's part of the deal. And so once he made it in, it was. It was really fast. And then they love him to death. Oh, sweet. So, yeah, he's awesome. I'd say he's a favorite, but I can't say that I can confidently say.

[Ginger]

I'm her favorite, so.

[Chad Brannon]

Well, that's good, right?

[Jeremy]

There you go. We'll say that.

[Ginger]

People always say when they meet Ginger and have seen the show or something, they'll go, oh, my goodness, I love your wife. And I'm like, same, you know?

[Chad Brannon]

That's crazy.

[Ginger]

Yeah, she's my favorite.

[Chad Brannon]

Mine, too.

[Ginger]

It's wild how that works.

[Chad Brannon]

I say that all the time. Be like, I just love your wife. She's so special. Yes. We're tracking.

[Ginger]

So this is like, love at first sight.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah, I think connect at first.

[Chad Brannon]

Connect at first sight, for sure.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

Chemistry at first sight. And it was like, all right, is this real? All the things like, you know, and then we started getting, you know, hearing from other people in our lives, going, like, is she this gal that I need to be with? Is she godly? Is she serving? Is she, you know, is she, like, mature? Is she? And same thing with me. I was. I had been way vetted. I mean, like, our. Her pastor got involved, who became my pastor and now is, like, a dear friend. And my pastor got involved, and they became like, let's talk this out. It was just like, let's just make sure this is a right match, make sure there's a good connection.

[Ginger]

I've got a question, Carly. Then, as you're. Had you been walking with the Lord for a while at that point?

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah, I got saved young. I grew up in a home, and not probably traditional home. I feel like our church is amazing and so many solid families have been there forever. My mom and dad had me before they were married. We were not, like, the poster child for, like, you know, what it was supposed to look like. But the Lord was so kind in that. Like, I'm really grateful for just my life, our experience, my Just, like, walk with the Lord and have the Lord use so many different circumstances to bring me to him. And, you know, not in the cookie cutter, maybe way that you would guess, but I feel like the Lord just used the church in huge ways. I grew up going to a Christian school, and so I felt like I just heard God's word all the time and was just like, oh, this is the. This is true. This is real, and understood that. And then I had the contrast, too, of having, you know, things at home where like, oh, wow, it's a little different than kind of what it is here. I see the difference of those two things, and I think just seeing how God's word is so Clear that, like, this is how he's designed it to be, and this is what he's created. And just being like, oh, this is. This is true. This is real. I'm watching this. We're seeing that, too. In circumstances where you're like, wow, when you're not walking with the Lord, like, what your life looks like and how hard that is. And so I think seeing kind of both sides of that as a kid. And then, yeah, I feel like I got saved young. I feel like I just felt convicted in my heart, was like, I am not the Lord's. I need to be saved. I need to come before him and repent of my sin and turn and turn to him. But it wasn't till I was in junior high that I really. I feel like I saw kind of that maturity start to grow. And I'm always like, you know, is that just because that's the season of life that you're like, hey, things are clicking and I'm maturing and just not a little kid anymore. But, yeah, I feel like the Lord just used different accountability. There was a kid that used to sit next to me in a class and would always say, like, what are you learning? What are you. What's God teaching you right now? And I'd be like, what, are you reading, your Bible? And I'm like, I don't know if I'm reading my Bible. You know, just was so convicted of, like, yeah, if I'm a Christian, I should be. I should have something. And again, not to say to you, but before the Lord, like, am I seeking him? Am I wanting to grow and learn? And so that was just convicting. The Lord used it to kind of wake me up and go, like, oh, if I'm saved, then what is? You know, am I seeking him? Am I pursuing him? And so that was in that kind of later junior high time. And then high school came. And I think the Lord really just provided the church at a just amazing time. I think that's why we love youth ministry. We love serving. I think I just watched God show me what the church is and what the church looks like and how it functions. And especially coming from a home that I come from a sweet home and a good home, but I think wasn't quite, you know, hey, here's what the church looks like. Here's what this is, and here's how to, you know, walk with the Lord. And so I think just being there, God just used it to. At a perfect time. I was just in high school kind of going, okay, what way am I going? Am I. You know, am I choosing this? Am I choosing that? Am I being faithful? Am I. Am I gonna stand out and be bold for my faith and show that I love the Lord? Or am I gonna be like, oh, I'm kind of lukewarm, and I'm following what everyone else in high school is doing. And I think the Lord just kind of used it to kind of make me clearly choose kind of where I'm going and what I'm doing. And so, yeah, use the church in that way. And so I very quickly started just serving. And I feel like we met shortly after. I was 21 and you were 25.

[Ginger]

Did you have. I mean, here's this guy who's pursuing acting at that time. Were you still kind of in that world?

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

So was that a concern? I mean, that's like the quintessential, like, Red Flags in LA is, you know, the acting scene and Hollywood and you could even say, like, soap operas, which are all about drama and all this stuff.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

And here you're a young lady who's serious about the Lord.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

And you meet this guy at church. When you heard that he was Xander or was. You were in other roles in other movies, was that a concern to you? Is that a red flag? Were you like, whoa, what's that about? Or had you gotten to kind of know him at a point and go, like, it was kind of not a concern for you?

[Carly Brannon]

I guess, yeah. I think what I would. I think the biggest thing that I feel like made me comfortable was how known he was. And I think we both pursued that.

[Ginger]

Like, in the church.

[Carly Brannon]

In the church, like, we were, like, not known.

[Chad Brannon]

He was so famous.

[Carly Brannon]

He was so popular.

[Chad Brannon]

That's not Copper and dying jokes.

[Carly Brannon]

No, no, no. That was not what I meant. That sounded wrong. No, that we were both, I feel like seeking the Lord and we were both seeking accountability. I think that was really something that was so, so important for us was just that I felt like you could see that. You could hear that you could look at his life and go, hey, there's so many people that know him that are spending time with him, that have. Again, that season might not have been long. He had recently been saved, you know, but seeing that he was just faithfully pursuing godly men to hold him accountable, and I think we both were. I was pursuing women, and we were both showing up, and I feel like using what we had to serve the Lord, like, I think you could see that. So.

[Ginger]

Yeah, go ahead.

[Chad Brannon]

I had quickly gotten plugged into the church number one. So I was serving there as well. And. And I had also gone back to try and finish my degree in Christian ministry. So at the time, I was like, I don't know if I'm supposed to be a preacher. It sounds kind of like similar to what. What you were thinking and what obviously has transpired in your life. And I was like, I feel like I just want to know more of God's word, so I want to go plug in to learn. So I'm going to go just finish my degree, make my mama happy to get the degree on the wall and, you know, study Christian ministry. And. And I was like, that's. That's what I'm going after. So that was happening as well. As a matter of fact, I remember I sat Carly down, we went to the House of PI.

[Carly Brannon]

I was literally gonna say, are you gonna say that?

[Chad Brannon]

Go ahead, you tell it.

[Carly Brannon]

No, I. That just comes to mind. I think that was. I kind of was fully warned what I was signing up for. That's. I just have to say that we sat down, I remember, at House of Pie in Hollywood, and he was like, so it was kind of like a. Was it kind of a dtr?

[Chad Brannon]

It was like a DTR that, like, hey, I'm about to put a ring on it.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

It's kind of like, you know, like.

[Ginger]

This is the feel, this dtr, define the relationship.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

But I remember him saying, and maybe I'll butcher it. Maybe better you saying it. But I think he said, like, I'm either gonna be like Tom Cruise or I'm gonna be like a missionary in like a jungle. Hey.

[Jeremy]

Like, it was actually the best.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah. It was like, we either could be on the red carpet.

[Ginger]

Cruise, who is a missionary.

[Carly Brannon]

It was either like, we're gonna be on the red carpet or we're gonna be like dirt poor in a village. Like, are you down for red carpet or village? Like, oh, my God. And I remember being like, yeah, yeah, I'm down for red carpenter village. Like, whatever it. Whatever it is. I knew that. I think just seeing that he was pursuing the Lord and loved the Lord and his life was about the Lord. I think we both were like, whatever it's going to be. Let's go.

[Ginger]

I think I want to hear your guys thoughts on this and yours too, Ginger, more. Because two things. One, I saw that same thing in Ginger, where I remember literally thinking and praying that if the Lord called me to live in a hut in a third world country as a missionary, Ginger would be right there with Me. And I think that's. It's not common for the Lord to call those types of missionaries, so he does. But I think what we were recognizing, you and each other and us and each other, is there's like a deep seated submission to the Lord in that, like, wherever you go, I'll go. Not a grasping at a certain way of life or a certain, you know, comfortability where you go, yeah, I'll follow Jesus if. And I saw that Ginger, like, she'll go wherever the Lord leads us. And it gave me peace. But I want to hear more on this because this is like a little PSA for young folks who are. Or not just young folks, but people who are seeking to get married is. And you brought it up, Carly. It's so insightful. Who knows that person? And that is one thing that, you know, we were joking about Christian Mingle and all that. We know some incredible couples who've been married on Christian Mingle or met each other on Instagram or whatever. So it's a wonderful avenue. But one of the downsides is you might get to know that person in isolation. And dating relationships should happen in community because it's safer, because you see that person amongst the people who know them. And so across a few DMs or a video call or a few dates, you can be whoever you want to the other person, but you can't fake that in genuine community. So talk a little bit more, give some insights and go deeper. Help our listeners who are thinking, like, maybe they haven't heard that or considered that, but how important it is that the person you're interested in is known by other people to have integrity. You know what I'm getting at?

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

Well, I think marriage is a circus, right? I mean, it really is. You get into this thing and you go, hey, it's all about, like, there's the reason they call it the Newlywed. Like, everything's great, you can't do anything wrong. And then you start getting into this thing. I'm into a couple of years, and you're like, oh, wait, it's why that book was written. When sinners say, I do right, that you get on the other side of that and you're like, oh, actually, this is really challenging because you're sinful and selfish, and I'm sinful and selfish, and what are we going to do to work this out? Who wins? You know, and if that's the battle, then everybody loses. Right? And so I think that's one of those things, is that you have to find Somebody that's willing to go into that with you, that has the right tools for the war. Because the war is about serving Christ. It's submitting to Christ. It's. So you want to find people that know you, that are able to say that's who they are. So even though I can promise you they're not perfect, I can promise you they're going to be selfish, because that's what every sinner is. But what you need is somebody that's going to go, I exalt God's word. At the end of the day, I just want to know what he has to say. And whatever he says, I'm going to submit my life to. Ultimately that they go, I'm abandoned to following Christ because that's what it means to be a Christ follower. So I just want to be like him. And if we're both committed to that, that's going to solve the majority of our problems. If we're willing to go, know your way. Know your way, right? That you just go, I just want to work that out. And that you truly love each other. Right. I mean, that's really what it is. Because Christ loves his church. He loves his church so much that he was willing to give up his life for his church. So that's what we're called as husbands to do. And wives are called to respect and submit. And so what a beautiful relationship. And you want to find people that are going to go, hey, it ain't going to be perfect. They've got the right tools and they're going to be the right person.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah. And I think it's such a calm. It's interesting. I feel like it's such a common thing too, to go. If you are not known by people that might be. Because you might not be one. Putting yourself out there in a sense of, like, maybe you're not even serving. Nobody knows you because you don't show up. Maybe nobody knows you because you don't come to anything. Maybe, you know, and again, not that those things, you know, it's. You need to attend all these things. But I do think that we also live in a. A time and a climate that everyone is so busy, everyone is too busy to. To serve or too busy to attend a Bible study. Too busy. You're like, oh, I watched something on Instagram. I'm good. You know, like, but like, like that community aspect of it, of, like, fellowship and connecting with people, are too busy to do any of those things. To me, I'm like, that's like a Little bit of a warning sign of like, hey, if someone is too busy to show up to things or to be known or to be, you know, discipled or to be accountable, I'm like warning they might be too busy to pursue that in the future.

[Chad Brannon]

And I think it's also a pattern that you want to develop in life that you go, that needs to continue.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

Because that's how the Lord built his church. He's like, you're supposed to be in each other's lives, right. You're supposed to love one another, you're supposed to speak into each other's lives. And so I think that's part of it is that that's got to be a pattern that started before because you're going to need the help on the other side. You're going to need somebody to go, let me help you.

[Ginger]

Okay, so you just said too busy and you're talking about serving in the church and you're a mother who's a wife, who's an entrepreneur in Los Angeles whose business is doing very well and you're doing pop ups across the country now in Nashville, and you're talking about someone being too busy to serve in a local church.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

So I think a lot of mothers or a lot of people listening would go, wait, aren't you too busy? Like, don't you have too much going on? So talk about navigating that space of the priorities in your life of having being a successful businesswoman and having this business with your family, but then keeping the main thing. The main thing, like, help us think through that. Because you're saying too busy. And I'm going, but Carly Jean la is very busy.

[Carly Brannon]

So yeah, I do have to give Chad some cred of just great leadership because I do think there's times that I'd be like, really? It was really late last night. And Chad's like, do we like pursue, you know, we'll bend our back to do a tent sale till 1:00am he's like, but we won't bend our back to show up for church like anything in the example that we set our kids. Talking about convicting the example we set for our kids too. He's like, so you want our, you want our kids to see us dive into our business and dive and sacrifice all these things, but not do that on a Sunday morning. He's like, if we're gonna sacrifice anything, show up on Sunday morning, you know, like, he's like, I don't care how late. So I can't take all the cred because there's plenty of times that I'm like, really? Let's sleep in. But I think.

[Ginger]

But that's part of it though is the partnership you have in your marriage is a component to that.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah, no, I think just the reminder of that, like, it's all the Lord's, it's all his. So how out of order is this gonna be when we make all the time for these things and yet we won't make time for the Lord? And again, I think that we have to be careful with that too. That doesn't mean there's times there's like, hey, it's okay. The Lord knows you love him if you miss a Sunday. I'm not saying that, but I think, and I think you've been very consistent in that of saying, hey, like it's the pattern of that. Like, what's the pattern of our life? What's the pattern that we're setting for our kids? The example of that. Like, our hope is, again, it's not a formula. We can't save our children. But we pray that our kids look back and go, man, our parents were really faithful. And even in seasons of like, the Lord blessing, I'm like, that would be the worst. I think you should show up even more if God's being kind to provide and to bless your things. And I feel like it's just honoring to him to go like, hey, this is where you get the glory. This all comes from you. And I want to just honor you in that. And I think to stay humble in that, like, Lord can take it away in five seconds. So who am I to. Who are we to be like, oh, we're so busy with all of these things that we can't put him first and put the church first.

[Chad Brannon]

It's always such a reminder that just like all of these things in this world are all just passing away anyway, so store up your treasure in heaven where moth and rust don't destroy. So that's really what it's all about. Right? And that can happen in the midst of a business as you faithfully execute well according to God's will. But it's in his church. He came to build his church, so that's what we're called to be a part of.

[Ginger]

And I was thinking earlier today about, you know, we're in a really sweet season of life, you know, six year old, four year old, two month old, and I come home and the kids, you know, run full speed into me. That's not going to last forever.

[Carly Brannon]

Sure.

[Ginger]

You know, just for Safety precautions. It can't. But it's a sweet season, and I was just thinking of this. You know, if we're constantly chasing something because life does get busy, we'll find a lack of fulfillment even in the sweetest seasons of life.

[Jeremy]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

Yeah, we'll miss it. And I don't want to look back on my life and go, oh, I missed it.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

But if we keep, like. If we keep our well full and I mean, like the well of our soul, like Christ stands up in John 7 and says, if anyone thirsts, come to me, and from him will flow rivers of living water. You're not only going to be full and satisfied yourself, he's saying you're going to overflow and become a life source to others. And if we keep the church community, because that's a means of grace, that's a means by which God keeps us on the right path and focused and prioritizing the right things, then whether your business is thriving or maybe you're struggling or whatever you're doing in life, you'll find deep satisfaction and joy in that. Whereas if you don't keep those things priority, you could be in the greatest season with wealth and family and health and be miserable. And we see that all around us. I mean, we see that here in Los Angeles, everywhere. Some of the wealthiest people in the world on the globe are the most miserable people. And it's because they're missing that essential. And then you see people who are by no means well to do, and they have the joy of the Lord. And it's like. It's like, if you thought of what gift should I give them? You couldn't even. They have everything they need. And so it's maintaining that focus and it's maintaining that priority in the busyness of life.

[Jeremy]

Yeah. Well, I have a question for you, because I guess when did you guys first decide to have kids? Did you wait a while? Because you have quite a few kids. And also, I kind of like the second half of that question is, how did you navigate still having a shop? Because you had, like, a brick and mortar shop, Right. For how many years did you have that for?

[Carly Brannon]

6. I feel like I have a bad memory. I'm like, how long was that?

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah. Six. 2004 to 2010.

[Ginger]

Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

All right. Awesome. And then when did y' all have kids? Was it like, right away or did you wait for a bit?

[Chad Brannon]

Pretty quickly.

[Carly Brannon]

Pretty quickly.

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Ginger]

So you're young, mid-20s. You're what, 25 when you got married? 22. Yeah.

[Carly Brannon]

21.

[Ginger]

21, yeah. Yeah.

[Jeremy]

Wow, that's awesome.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

So cool. So did you have them back to back? Are they close in age or.

[Chad Brannon]

About two years.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah, two years actually. Full story. I actually, I'll make it quick, but I actually got pregnant. I'm trying to think through within our first year of marriage. And I lost a baby girl at almost eight months. So we got pretty far. We were pretty far along. So technically I've been pregnant six times. But yeah, so we lost little baby girl. And then I had Hudson, my oldest, pretty quickly after that. So we had. And then forward. Then we were on the two year. So. So, yeah, the Lord, it was one of those two. We were like, I. When we look back, I'm like, I know God loves us because he has constantly just walked us through all sorts of adventure along the way and tests along the way. And yeah, that was, I think, a quick. Very quickly. I think I look back on that, I'm like, the Lord will use that in a lot of ways, obviously, grievous on one hand, but on the other, I think very quick, a little maturity, like steroid, where you're like, wait, I'm 21. What are we walking through right now? But I think it. I think that prepared us for other seasons ahead of us that were like, hey, we've been through some things. We've seen God's faithfulness. We've seen what this doesn't make sense to us. And we've seen him carry us through. So I think we look back on that, you know, in the moment, like, what is this? But I can so honestly faithfully say, like, he has been in every little detail of it along the way.

[Jeremy]

Well, thank you for sharing that too. I know that's so difficult. I can't imagine that pain. I had miscarriage. Mine was early on. But just the pain that you feel in that loss. Like, you can imagine being in the place and at the same time you do. I'd imagine, like you're saying, you see that growth and probably even for the two of you being so young, to rely on the Lord in a way that you never would have expected walking into early marriage, that's. Yeah, that's incredible.

[Chad Brannon]

And I think it took us. It made us a very old couple very quickly.

[Carly Brannon]

I know.

[Chad Brannon]

And I think it drew us really close to the Lord first to go, like, is your faith real? And trials like that have a way of. Of bringing that clarity for you. Right? It's one of the aspects of proving your faith to see, oh, no, he's alive in me because I couldn't do this alone. And so it definitely drew us close to Christ, but it also drew us close to each other. And I think it just made us go like, wow, we just lived a lot of life in a very quick way. And we were still very young as a married couple and youngest people to have to go through that. So Lord was kind. And we had this. We had the church around us as well. We were serving in high school ministry, and lots of people came around us and just loved us well. And family did as well. And so it was. It was a hard time, but beautiful at the same time.

[Carly Brannon]

That's.

[Jeremy]

Yeah, that's incredible. I have a logistical question because having little kids. Yeah. How were you, like, with this, I'm assuming with this, like, you know, boutique style, like, consignment, thrifting, all that. How did you source your clothes? Were you going out still to shops to source those unique pieces for your boutique? Like the brick and mortar.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

With little kids. Like, once you guys, you know, was that something that you were doing? I just picture you out there at the Goodwill, like, scoring. There's.

[Carly Brannon]

At that point I had.

[Chad Brannon]

With a baby carrier, I got pictures of it.

[Carly Brannon]

I mean, yeah, I mean, a little bit of that. But that time I was basically carrying local designers brands.

[Jeremy]

Okay.

[Carly Brannon]

So I still at time again, you know, this is like very, like grassroots. We're growing this on our own. I would go to different manufacturers, and even at the time, I didn't have enough capital to buy full runs of things. So I would basically buy samples. I would go and be like, hey, I'm a great treasure hunter. So I could go in and be like, okay, let me find the good things out of here. But I would source that way. And so that was kind of how it kind of started. And then I was working with different manufacturers and meeting different brands. I'd find brands like, oh, how do I get this? So started with samples. And as the. As we grew as a store, I was able to then be like, okay, now I can buy, like, runs of your pieces. And as we just started to grow. So, yeah, a little bit of that. And then at the time, we were doing estate sale stuff as well. So, yeah, I would actually have people bring in stuff, so it's like, technically curated. And then they would come into the shop with, you know, set up an appointment and be like, hey, I've got all this stuff. Do you want to purchase from it? So some of that came to me. But yeah, a lot of it was. I Look back, and I'm like, I really don't know how we did it. I don't know how we're.

[Jeremy]

That's incredible.

[Chad Brannon]

I'm like.

[Carly Brannon]

I mean, literally, I'm like, what were you doing? God's kindness, I don't know. He carried us through. But, yeah, we. I just remember one time, it was like, an accident. Stroller part forgot to get put in the car, and I just had a. I was, like, savage. Like, we, like, had, like, the car seat carrier.

[Jeremy]

And I remember one day we had to.

[Carly Brannon]

When you're a mom, you don't need a gym anymore. Carrying, like, a car seat carrier all day. Like, the car seat.

[Jeremy]

It was before Suna.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah, No, I. Yeah, we're talking payphone time. So I did have a cell phone, but. Yeah.

[Chad Brannon]

And Carly's gift, I think, is that she has incredible taste. She really has incredible taste almost in everything that she does. Like, she can find something and be like, I mean, I don't even go to regular stores, much less a thrift store without her, because she could go into, like, the fancy store.

[Carly Brannon]

People are gonna be like, does she own a thrift store? I'm like, I actually have clothing company. It's not a thrift store store.

[Jeremy]

Yes, we're going to get into that. We're going to get into that.

[Chad Brannon]

But that's the thing. I think it's gone from then. It's been a. It's been a thing that's been consistent. She has incredible taste. To be able to see from, you know, a young age to then starting her store to. As it developed and matured as a business and then to what we do today. Her taste has stayed consistent, that everything that she chooses is just right. And. And. And then the other thing I think that her major gift is, I think, is that when people get a hold of that, they go, I want what you have. And I used to say that was my joke when we began the business was I was like, carly, people want to know what toothpaste you use. I don't know why, but they want to know everything about you, right? And it was just, they want what you. They were like, where'd you get that? I want that. Where'd you get that? Can you tell me about where you got that? Like, that's just what the story of Carly has always been. And I was like, there's something here and it's already happening. But, like, I think this could be a bigger thing.

[Jeremy]

That's incredible.

[Chad Brannon]

Yeah, she's got an incredible taste.

[Jeremy]

How did that start so you. You started out kind of like just, you know, sorting through Goodwill bins, and then you went to where you were sourcing your own stuff.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

How. How did that. You know, when did that start? And how did you decide? Okay, I actually want to choose the things I'm going to put in the shop.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And start your own clothing line.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah. I feel like a little part of it just. We didn't grow with a ton. We didn't have. We lived with family. I mean, we've had all sorts. I think people often think, like, oh, Carla Jean. Oh, it's this branch, this thing. I'm like, actually, like, I don't come from a ton. Like, every little piece, I feel like, has been, you know, slowly built and grown, and the Lord just used all those little parts to lead us to where we are today. But, yeah, I think part of it was just resourcefulness. Just growing up as a kid, like, hey, you've only got this, so make the most of it. And then I think, yeah, just soaking up things all around me, just learning in unique situations. It wasn't always like, oh, I learned that from my own world, but observing that from others, like, ooh, finding beauty in. You find beauty in anything, you know, So I think part of it was that. But the sourcing side, yeah, just using what I had. And then as we grew. And I think so much of it is how you present something and how you display something and how you storytell something and are able to piece things together. I think oftentimes everything's served on a platter, and yet people don't know how to put it together. But if you can, you know, really show the how and the. And the why and the what in something, I think it brings life to it. So I think we just did that in the shop. And then, yeah, I would. I mean, I would just observe. I'd be in a. In a Nordstrom or whatever, looking around like, ooh, that's a cool. Ooh, that feels good. Ooh, that's a cool. What is this brand? What is this thing? And so just learning brands and learn. Just honestly, just being observational. Um, and then would kind of source. Okay, where do you find that? How do you buy that? Where do you go? Um, I mean, I. I didn't go to design school. So much of it was just curiosity and Curiosity watching and. Yeah, and I think. Yeah, Yeah, I think just being observant and then, yeah, asking questions. I think a lot of people could do a whole lot more stuff if they literally asked questions.

[Jeremy]

The humility of that, though, it takes a lot to, like, realize, okay, I have a lot to learn.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And to be able to learn that craft and that skill, not going to school for it, that's incredible. And it is a gift because some people just have an eye for design. And I love what you guys have done and branched out from clothes into the home side of things and everything that you have. I don't know how you categorize the style of cjla, but it is so beautiful. Like, that's all I say. It's classic, timeless. And that's what I love about your pieces that I get, because I think, okay, if I get something from you guys, it's gonna last. And it's not. There's a trendiness to it that's really fun. You'll have, like, fun pieces you put out. But I feel like I can wear it and pass it down to the girls because it's. It's that timeless. And so I don't know what you'd say the style is. Like, what's. What is it, like, your style? Are you more just, like, looking at things that you want to wear that are just more basics? And is that your desire or you like the fun? Bold, fun, like.

[Carly Brannon]

No. I think I'd probably start from my style of just being. I. You know, I. I want to build a closet and create a home and those other things that are just timeless. Right. I feel like everything is so fluid these days where something's cool for five minutes. I feel like that just creates a. A wasteful lifestyle. If you're using something that you can use for one time or, you know, whether that's your closet or the decor of your home, I think there really is a little system and rhythm where if you have those, like, base things that are beautiful, neutral, quality, excellent, those can carry throughout seasons, and you can layer and mix again from your outfit to your furniture. You can change those things and update those things without, like, literally throwing your couch away. So I think it kind of comes to that same thought with a closet where you're like, hey, if you have those base things, those great, beautiful basics that are cool that you. I always joke, I always say, like, you don't want something that someone's like, oh, 2025. No, like, oh, yeah. Remember. Remember when we did that in 2025? I want to build a closet and a home that you look back, you're like, I don't know what that's from, but it's classic, it's timeless, it's Always cool. So.

[Chad Brannon]

Well, and I think. I think it started, I was going to say in that once you had had kids, you were like, hey, I would love to revisit this store idea. And you were like, I'm tired of shopping in all of these different places. I want it all to come from one place. And I think our theme was, like, keeping ladies out of the mall. Since whatever I did, I did a newspaper article.

[Carly Brannon]

I did a newspaper article when I first opened the store. Like, the. The Burbank Times, whatever came, I was like, hey, you know, what's your, you know, little questionnaire thing? And they're like, what's your. Like, what's the point of your store? I'm like, I'm just trying to keep people out of the mall. Something like, you know, I don't even know where it came from, but it is that. I feel like it was, you know, it was like shopping in a different. In a different way, a different experience. That was our whole goal with the brand, was just being able to shop somewhere and not, you know, be cared for in a different way, to have it curated in a different way.

[Jeremy]

It's so fun. So for those of you who don't know about cjla, you've got to check it out. Of course we're going to have all of the links for you. But I have to just say, the first time I think I came to, like, learn about your product and everything, somebody invited me to a tent sale. I showed up, and I was like, where am I? This is. I think it was in, like, Tarzana.

[Carly Brannon]

Yeah.

[Jeremy]

And there was this massive tent. I think it had been raining maybe the day before. So you guys were. You just, like, had a system. You made it work. There was food, there was coffee. Just, like, incredible. The lines. The lines. I didn't know that there was gonna be a line. And so I showed up, and I think I actually brought my kids with me, because Jer was in seminary, and he was, like, in class. And so I brought my girls. And then I was like, oh, no, should I not brought the girls? This is, like, intense. So these ladies are waiting. They're waiting.

[Ginger]

Hey, Carly, you had a tent sale outside down the street here?

[Carly Brannon]

We did.

[Ginger]

And it was like, at o' clock at night or something. It started. It was like six hours before in the heat of summer. And these ladies were lined up, just waiting as the tent was being set up. And I went, what are you guys doing? They're saying, we're waiting in line for the Carly Jean tent sale. I'm like, that's in six hours.

[Jeremy]

I'd say it's a bit of a cult following. I mean, I don't know. I was talking to people in line in front, in behind me, and they're like, we drove for six hours. We're here. And I mean, the second that they let them in, they scanned their ticket. They were, like, running through the mud over to this tent, and I thought, oh, my goodness, I'm carrying my kids. Maybe I shouldn't have brought them. I should have left them with a babysitter or something in the mud. So then these sweet ladies around me, a couple of them, I guess they were from my church, I don't know. But they offered to help me carry my kids across some straight, friendly shows.

[Ginger]

Strangers showed up.

[Jeremy]

They were like, no. They were like, hey, do you want to help me? I'll help you hold the kids so you can get a pile of clothes. So it was very, very sweet. And they kind of followed me around, and they were like. They were there to buy clothes, too, and wanted to get the best deals before they were gone. But they helped me, like, you know, lug the kids around.

[Carly Brannon]

That's like, the perfect. It was one of our customers.

[Jeremy]

It was amazing. And so then I was, like, grabbing a couple pieces. I made my pile and then got my kids. We checked out, and then we went around, and I was, like, getting them snacks because they're hungry, you know, it's so fun. But I love the experience. I didn't bring the kids. Next time I learned you came getting ready. Next time I'm ready. This is so fun. I love it. I love the chaos of it. But you guys are so organized. I was surprised the amount of people that showed up. The lines you had us checking out really, really fast. And that was another huge thing with the kids I had in tow. But if you haven't experienced a sale, you guys have to do the tent sale. Because shopping online is super fun. You're keeping them out of the mall, but you have to experience the tent sale. It's super fun.

[Ginger]

Yeah. And you're having one in Nashville, right? Or you just had one?

[Carly Brannon]

We just did. We had just. Actually, it's just like a community week. We have just an amazing. We always say CGLA is more than clothes. It is so much more than just, we make really awesome clothes. So check out the clothes. But, yeah, I think the ability to do cool things with what we, you know, with what we sell the funds of what we, you know, make as a Christian company we're able to allocate that to things that we're passionate about.

[Jeremy]

And that's what I love about you guys. The things that you choose to donate to are you're very thoughtful, and I love the pregnancy resource centers that you donate to. And just like, the heart that you have and, you know, just supporting Christian companies and Christian Christian places where you can just show. You show your heart and where you really, you know, you can talk, like, brands and companies can talk all day about, like, what they care about, but when you show that, like, sure, that means the world. And it's incredible when I think that's.

[Chad Brannon]

The testimony of why our customer is who they are, why they would do what they did for you to take care of your kiddos is because the things that people say that they love about our business is really amazing quality, quality that surpasses the price point and what we stand for. And they go, I want to be a part of something like that. And so then they are. So then they're part of our community. And so they show up to our events or they show up online, and we just have this amazing interaction. And it's just. It's a blessing. We often say, I feel like I could literally just hire all these people and we'd have a great time. Like, I literally just could go around and be like, all of you could either work for us or babysit my kids, and it'd be a great day. We'd have a great time.

[Ginger]

That's great.

[Carly Brannon]

Events are awesome, and it doesn't come without a cost. You know, we have people who are like, you gave clothes to a pregnancy center. And we're like, yeah, what's wrong with that? Literally providing a mom who chooses life a dress or a clothing or diapers. We've had people so annoyed by that. And I think it's the point where, like, you're gonna get canceled for something in this day and age. And we're like, I'd rather stand for the things that we so passionately care for and believe in. I'm like, we're using our resources to care for people in need. And I'm like, at that point, if that bothers you, there's other places to go and to shop. And I think at the same time, there's also people who are looking around at all these other places and companies to shop and go, I don't want my money going to things that I grieve. And so to be able to. You have that choice. We have that choice. That's the Wonderful part about getting to choose that. So, you know, we have that. We get those messages in those DMs. You're like, I will no longer be supporting, you know, and that's like, sad. Of course. I'm like, I'm gonna make everyone happy and please everyone. But at the end of the day, I think just being reminded, like, we serve the Lord and this is all his.

[Ginger]

If you get canceled for caring for widows and orphans and children and mothers, it's a good reason to get canceled.

[Chad Brannon]

That's the reason to get canceled.

[Ginger]

Amen.

[Chad Brannon]

And I think it's a stewardship thing. I think it's like too much is given, much is required. And so the Lord's blessed us with talents, Carly's talents, these opportunities that have come, success that has come. You know, an amazing business, amazing employees and these opportunities. So what are you going to do with what you've been given? And it's such a blessing to be a part of it.

[Jeremy]

Incredible.

[Ginger]

You guys are an exemplary couple. It's, it's been fun having this conversation with you guys. Honestly, we're excited just to introduce you and Carly Jean, of course, Carly Jean, Los Angeles to our listeners. But thanks for coming and hanging out, guys. Yours is a really special story.

[Chad Brannon]

Thanks for having us. It's been a blessing.

[Ginger]

It's our joy.

[Jeremy]

It's been so fun.

[Ginger]

Thanks for hanging out, guys. Yeah. Thanks for watching. We'll see you next week.

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