We recently connected with Tor Smith and have shared our conversation below.
Tor, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Throughout my adult life, I’ve always been drawn to nostalgia (my love of the 70s & 80s, pop culture, old horror movie posters, wrestling) and people have always complimented me on my personal style. When I started really exploring the world of thrifting and vintage finding, and began accumulating awesome finds, it just felt natural to open up my own shop that leaned into all of those interests of mine. I was at a point in my life where professionally, in my 9-5, I felt lost, and unsatisfied, and just yearned for more of a creative outlet. I always felt I was a creator but it was hard owning it, believing it, and being vulnerable to share my art so the world can see it. I saw a need for vintage items that were fairly priced for the public. As a fan of vintage clothing, I was disappointed to see so many shops selling items that were outrageously overpriced IMO, like $500 for a tee. I wanted to make the rare, cool, cherished, fun vibe of vintage shopping accessible again for everyone. You can find items from my shop, for all aesthetic tastes & price ranges. The Old Resurrected concept came to me, as I was padding. At first, I was toying around with calling the shop “TOR” and then, I had the idea of making it an acronym; the rest of it just hit me at once and it felt so organic when I said it back, like it was meant to be….”The Old Resurrected.” I wanted a shop to reflect my style & uniqueness. The original artwork, soundtracks & souvenirs are to round out the whole experience and set us apart from others. The joy I have of running this shop is unparelleled
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your background and context?
T.O.R. or The Old Resurrected is a curated shop, based in San Francisco, California. We focus on vintage garments, upcycled goods & original souvenirs. As a Black creator, I’m very proud that I can help shift the mainstream cultural perception of vintage clothing and who is supposed to look like and wear what. What sets me apart from others is my keen eye. I just want to be different and I don’t want to look like anybody else. The vintage clothing x the original art x the original souvenirs x the original music x the recycled goods = no other shop out there is doing what we’re doing. There is an inherent rebelliousness in the brand. Most black men are told growing up, what you’re supposed to listen to, what you’re supposed to wear, and I’ve never been someone who can be contained by someone else’s expectations or doubts. I’ve been told at points in my life, oh you’re too black, you’re not black enough, and I’m beyond that. The Old Resurrected lets me embrace all the weird, rad elements that make me who I am.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A major lesson I had to unlearn was to take my time. There is no timetable and there isn’t a race. Let a idea grow naturally instead of trying to force it. It’s ok to be slow. Seize the day at your own pace.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My dream was always having a pop-up shop at art&crafts festivals and for folks to run over to my booth in excitement lol. For some time, I didn’t think I was good enough to make it to that level. I had to kick away my own negative energy and put the good, vibrant energy into the air. I’ve had the pleasure of attending craft shows as an artist and working on my own events with other local, small businesses. Don’t let the bad thoughts detract you from your vision.
Contact Info:
- Website: theoldresurrected.com
- Instagram: @theoldresurrected
Image credit:
Jose Ortez Jr.