A little bit about me:

Hello! This is for those of you who want to know a little bit more about me. My name is Cory, and I am an artist from Kansas City, Missouri. I’ve always had a love for fashion and creating art. My mom kept a journal about me when I was a child, and on one of the pages she wrote that I was very particular about the clothes I wore and that I’d change my outfits multiple times a day. That was when I was three years old. I’ve always loved fashion, and I’ve always taken creating art seriously as well.

In the fourth grade, I was dead set on becoming a skilled origami artist and making pop-up books, cards, and things like that. What I found through constantly making things is that my medium always evolves. I started with drawing and painting as a child, moved on to origami around fourth grade, and then started doing photography around age 13 when I got my first flip phone. Around middle school, I started a sneaker reselling business on eBay and made some money that way. I got a nicer camera around my freshman year of high school as a birthday gift and became obsessed with taking photos. Around my sophomore and junior years, I was going to concerts and taking photos with my friend Nick Fry (aka Nick’s Music Taste today), capturing images of different musicians we loved. You can see all of my photography work at the bottom of my other Instagram account, @coryandbeyond.

After COVID shut down all the concerts, my passion for photography was stripped away, and I was lost… but not for long. I took a fashion class my senior year of high school, which taught me the basics of how to use an in-home sewing machine. Special thank you to my fashion teacher, Mrs. Silvey. You helped me take my first steps as a designer, and I am forever grateful for that. I was at a point where I knew I didn’t want to go to college or art school, and I had to figure something out. I was working at a grocery store the summer after my senior year and making clothes on the side. I was blessed to have a dad who allowed me to live and create in his house. He trusted my vision.

I made about 10 handmade sweaters and promoted them through TikTok and Instagram, and I sold them all in about two days after the drop. After that, I got a message from someone with 13 million followers who wanted a piece. I sent it to them, and they posted a photo wearing it and tagged me. I was in the parking lot of my grocery store job pushing carts while my phone was blowing up. I gained around 3,000 followers in one night and put in my two weeks’ notice the next day.

Since graduating high school in 2020, I’ve been able to combine all my artistic journeys into one by starting my sustainable clothing brand. Origami, drawing, photography, cut and sew, filming and editing videos, etc. Over the last six years, I’ve built a following of over 830K across Instagram and TikTok and have been able to work with brands and musicians such as Converse, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, Yung Lean, Teezo Touchdown, UFO361, Magdalena Bay, 347aidan, and more. My pieces have appeared in Vogue Germany and have been worn on stage at Coachella, Dave Chappelle’s nightclub, and on Jimmy Kimmel Live. My brand stands for sustainability, positivity, creativity, inclusivity, and infinite human potential. I seek to encourage others to tap into their infinite potential and use what’s already around them to the best of their ability.

One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned on this journey is that everything is a blessing—especially the hard times. I believe God blesses us with hard times to teach us exactly what we’re supposed to learn. We have the ability to either get upset and quit or have faith and learn to love and accept every part of the story. I also try to apply this mindset to creating art. My inspiration is God and the intricacies of this world that He so beautifully designed. We can create anything out of anything and inspire anyone along the way. There is no limit to anyone’s or anything’s potential.

You are capable.

You are worthy.

You are infinite.

Be you. Be Infinite.

— Cory