A Continuous Lean is a first-wave men’s style site turned newsletter. Founded in 2007 by Michael Williams, ACL celebrates the often under-appreciated companies and artisans who make traditional things the old ways. Over the course of his career, Michael has become one of the leading advocates for both well-made things and American manufacturing, a focus that led Fast Company to name him one of the 100 most creative people in business.
In 2009, Michael co-founded The Pop Up Flea, a one-weekend at a time marketplace with a carefully selected roster of brands. Over the past five years, tens of thousands of people have passionately followed and showed up to shop Pop Up Flea’s non-traditional shopping events in New York and London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Detroit and Austin.
As a writer, his work has appeared in GQ, the Financial Times, Men’s Journal, GOLF, The Motoring Journal, Men’s Health and various other national publications.
Michael Williams currently lives in Los Angeles.
ACL & Co. is a marketing practice run by A Continuous Lean founder Michael Williams.
At ACL & Co. we work with brands that we believe in. Our clients are small craft-focused companies that continue to make things in traditional ways. The goal for our work are simple: to use marketing, public relations, content creation and social media to create a lasting impression for our clients.
Our tenets aren’t revolutionary. We believe in hard work, good relationships and integrity. Our experience has given us a deep understanding of both our clients and the market. We understand the media, positioning, brand building and strategy.
What we do is not formulaic, but it does adhere to a few guiding philosophies that shape both our outlook on marketing and the brands we want to work with. In a noisy world we seek authentic brands that make great products and have real stories to tell. Our clients are highly specialized and often have rich histories that can go back hundreds of years. Our work on their behalf helps them continue to stand the test of time.