Today we’d like to introduce you to Corey Carrington.
Hi Corey, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always been interested in fashion ever since I could remember. When I was in the 1st grade my Dad bought me a pair of Black Karl Kani boots. I don’t if the boots actually had an impact on my behavior but shortly after wear the boots to school my Dad got a phone call that I’d been misbehaving. He said, “It’s those damn boots” and he took then away. I was very upset but since that day I really started paying attention to what I wore. As I got older, I made notes of how I wanted to look and what I wanted to wear.
As a young Black boy, I understood the hierarchy of sneaker brands. Jordan then Nike then Adidas then Reebok and so on and so forth. Knowing these unspoken rules of style & fashion helped me navigate adolescence & provided me with an armor so to speak. I was never a kid who got picked on mostly because I was friendly, cool, and I dressed well. I can’t say that I was always head to toe in the latest fashions but my fit was always clean and well put together. As I transitioned into high school I started a crew called P.O.D which consisted of multiple dudes from different parts of the city who came together to attend parties, work afterschool jobs, go to the mall, get numbers, and just do the things that high school kids did. One thing that stood out about us was our style. We each had a specialty. Jordans, exclusive fitteds, Forces, chains, earrings, grills, polos. You name it, we had it. We had jobs but we also had hustles. Cam was the hook-up at Finishline. He could hold shoes for people who paid top dollar. Joe knew how to program cell phones with ring tones. I had a knack for buying shoes, clothes, and hats that people would eventually want do to how exclusive and cool they were. I was the original reseller. During this time, Young Jeezy was hot and so were the Snowman shirts.
Eventually, those shirts got banned but from that idea, I developed my own idea for a T-shirt. I wasn’t interested is selling snow but I was interested in getting bread so I commissioned an artist in the school, Joktan, to make me a hustler Gingerbread Man using acrylic paint. This T-shirt was a hit in school and later Joktan started to make shirts for other people. Also around this time, I took a class with Mr. Anderson who taught me the process of screen printing t-shirts. I made a few t-shirts using the NBA logo and then further customizing with acrylic paint. My classmates started to inquire about me making shirts and I ended up making a couple for them to buy. This is truly where I fell in love with fashion design and realized that I could turn this into something.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road to “success”. One of the struggles I’ve experienced along the way has been the constant inclination to compare my journey to the journeys of others. With the advent of social media, we are bombarded with seeing the lives of other people within our peer group. Young people flying on private jets, buying designer clothes, and eating decadent foods has become the barometer of success for many of us. When you are intelligent, talented, and charismatic among other things you may start to ask yourself, Why haven’t I “made it” yet? When is it going to be my turn to shine? I have learned that comparison is the thief of joy. When you compare yourself to others you are denying your blessings because whether consciously or subconsciously you believe your blessing is supposed to look like someone else’s. Another struggle has been releasing the idea that my friends & family would be my biggest supporters. Letting go of the feeling of entitlement has been like a weight lifted off my shoulders. On your way to the top you realize that everybody can’t be there for you all the time and that you have to be ok with that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am the Creative Director of my own company, Deeper Than Grits Studios. The company has many arms: curation, content creation, artistic critique, and product development. This means I wear many hats: collagist, writer, curator, and fashion designer. When I do my art, I take inspiration from a variety of sources and put them together like a puzzle that I’ve never seen before. I do this when I am writing a poem, creating a new collage, or coming up with a new design. I specialize in mixing different forms of media to create my artwork. Many of my collages start off on paper first and then I translate them into a digital design using technology such as my computer, a cellphone, or an application.
I am known for a lot of different things, but I think that many people would look at me like a philosopher or a thought leader. I have a perspective that is respected amongst some of the most brilliant & talented people. This encourages me to learn as much as I can on a variety of topics so that I am able to be an advocate for the people who struggle to articulate themselves in society. I am most proud of the year I had in 2021. I resigned from my job in May of that year and after that, I proceeded to become a full-time artist/creative. During this time, I was recognized by the City of Pittsburgh as one of the”40 Under 40″ leaders who are at the top of their fields, curated Subversion, an exhibit at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and was on of 10 artists chosen for a commission by the August Wilson House for Art for August, a traveling exhibition celebrating the life and art of playwright, August Wilson
How do you define success?
I define success as being able to live life on your own terms and to prosper from the hands that were dealt to you. I don’t think success is any certain amount of money or title or status. Success comes from within. No one can tell that you are or aren’t successful. Only you can make that determination about yourself. I believe that success is happiness, peace, joy, love, family, and friendship.
Pricing:
- Andy’s Tea T-Shirt $30.00
Contact Info:
- Website: DeeperThanGritsStudios.BigCartel.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/deeperthangrits
- Facebook: facebook.com/DTGStudios
- Other: DeeperThanGritsStudios.com
