Carlton Franklin is a native of Chicago.  It was there that he learned to appreciate fashion and development his personal sense of style. 

Carlton attended Anderson University where he received a bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management with a minor in Economics.  Upon graduating he moved to Los Angeles where he was married and raised a family of six.  During his children's formative years he was very involved in their schooling.   From being the Dean of Discipline at their high school to founding the dad's mentoring group "Menfolk".  

With the kids all in college and on their own, Carlton was finally able to pursue his dream of bringing the Shortti to the world.  So he opened a small office in the "Golden Triangle", in the heart of Beverly Hills.  It was there that he began to refine and perfect the idea of the Shortti. He first envisioned the Shortti when he was 18 years old working as a runner at the Chicago Board of Trade. 

Thirty three years later in 2014, Carlton Franklin and the Original Shortti were featured in the October issue of the British GQ along with five other designers. And in 2018 the US Patent and Trademark Office awarded him a design patent for the Original Shortti...designated as the "Diamond shaped Necktie".