Meet Kwynn Everest, owner of Odd McLean, a beloved Atlanta shop known for its standout style and uniquely thoughtful gifts.
Kwynn recently completed our 8-week women’s leadership group, Emerge, and she shares how the program impacted her—both personally and professionally. I can’t wait for you to learn more about the incredible woman behind this amazing local business.
Read on for a Q&A with Kwynn – a peek into her leadership journey and the heart and vision behind Odd McLean.
Tell us about your store, Odd McLean.
Kwynn: “Odd McLean is a retail store here in Atlanta that I opened in March 2022. I have a background in the furniture business, but I love the customer experience and helping people find curated gifts. I felt like Atlanta was missing a place to find beautiful and high-end, yet approachable, items for gifts, tabletop, and home decor. It’s a store full of color and spice and a reflection of the things I love. This stemmed from a passion project and has grown, and I love that I get to help people find things they love.”
It sounds like shopping there is like an experience, rather than a trip to buy something. Would you say that?
Kwynn:“This is something Leslie helped me realize in Emerge – it is more than a retail store. It’s a place to come and discover something you may not have found otherwise…as simple as a hostess gift but all the way to styling your home. I often do events at the store, hopefully monthly, to showcase a local, up and coming vendor of things I love and to introduce them to the community.”
You are a mom, and so many women are trying to find the blend and balance of family and work. What kind of challenges have you experienced as a business owner and mom of two?
Kwynn: “My girls are young and they notice so much more than I give them credit for. I want to model what it looks like to be a hard-working business woman AND a present mother. This is really important to me. Getting clear on priorities and knowing what matters has been a learning curve, and Emerge helped me so much with this.”
What brought you to saying YES to Emerge?
Kwynn: “My friend recommended it, and she works in corporate, so I envisioned Emerge was a corporate training, actually. But after I talked to your team about how Emerge walks you through clarity and understanding my patterns that are in the way, then creating a plan for how I want to lead with my own strengths and choices, I realized this was more than that – that this applied to women in so many different avenues and at so many different levels. The idea of being with other women and learning from them was so intriguing too.”
How has what you learned in Emerge helped you in your business?
Kwynn: “Emerge has helped me ‘zoom out’ and see the end goal of my business. And side note – I even use the zoom out tool with my kids every day, and while I didn’t expect this to help with my parenting, it is! Which does bleed over into my work.
Emerge has helped me see my business so differently, by getting more clarity on what I want to do. I learned from the tools and exercises how to have better conversations with my team at the store. It was such a great professional discovery of self and has touched so many other areas of my life.“
What would you say to someone on the fence about joining Emerge?
Kwynn: “I think as women we have a hard time investing in ourselves. You will spend money on clothing and material things and on your kids – I say spend the money on yourself. It’s not selfish. It’s made me a better business woman and a better mom and communicator, enough that I wish I had said YES sooner.
You are not just paying for group zoom calls – you get these amazing 1-1 coaching calls with Emerge to unpack and apply everything you are learning. They are so key.
If you are on the fence I want to say this too – it’s 8 weeks and you are going to wish it was 12. It will go by so fast and you will learn so much. I have been asked about my experience and I have said, ‘Go do it. If you are even considering it, just do it.’”
Odd McLean isn’t just a store; it’s an experience, a reflection of Kwynn’s hard work, creativity, and thoughtfulness. If you’re in Atlanta, it’s a must visit – especially this holiday season.
This is exactly why we created Emerge. To help women reconnect with vision, clarity, and purpose. And to have community for the journey.
If this sounds like something you’re interested in, head over to our Emerge page to learn more.