Tori with Toriola, a Very Dear Friend and Entrepreneur

I am ecstatic to say that one of my best friends, Tori just launched his own line, Toriola (In the picture above, Tori is sewing the skirt I wore in the picture below.) In the other picture are 2 of his pieces he designed and made, on the right, I am wearing a Toriola wrap skirt, which can also be worn as a dress. I paired it with a white button down, but can also wear it with a black halter or tank top, the designer and stylist Tori is in the middle and Vanessa on the left is wearing a Toriola wrap dress.

Born in the USA, but raised in Nigeria, Tori came back to the USA to attend college in Maryland. Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in International Business with a minor in Economics. While he was in college, he started working at American Eagle as a sales associate before he was promoted to Visual Specialist. An opportunity presented itself for him to open American Eagle's first urban store in NYC, he took it and has been in NYC ever since. He worked at American Eagle for about 10 years leaving with the title Regional Visual Manager for the New York Metro Area.

After American Eagle, Tori worked as the Senior Visual Merchandising Manager/Visual Director of Victoria Secret, where he was in charge of flagship development and branding. He also hosted all the successful events with the Victoria Secret super models that were televised.

While working, Tori began styling photo shoots on the side for fun and simply because it comes natural to him. For years he has been creatively dressing displays, why not transition to dressing models for photo shoots, especially when they were asking him to do so?! So he did, he does and he enjoys it so much he wanted to brand himself as an entrepreneur who can freelance as a stylist, visual merchant and designer of Toriola fashion, which brings him back to his roots, adding a flare to Nigerian fashion.

He styled the shoot we did for Di Manno Designs fashion accessories. He picked out every one's outfits and accessories for the shoot. The group shot Tori styled is on the contact page of http://www.dimannodesigns.com/contact.htm.

A man of many talents, he also does beautiful memory books. (pictures above of a book he did for a friend's wedding) I already signed him up to do mine when I get married!:) I went to an event he was hosting at Victoria Secret and saw a concept book he had made for them, which was out on a table for customers to look at. It was so unique and creative with magazine cut outs, fabrics, trinkets and more to show different themes and trends. It was truly one of a kind, I was blown away and then started seeing dollar signs of him selling these books for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays etc! lol My mind was spinning with all these different ideas of him making these special books for people and starting his own business! If you would like your own custom memory book made by Tori, reach out to him at: toriolafam@gmail.com.

On a personal level, I met Tori through our mutual friend Vanessa (in the picture above with Tori and I and also in the picture above in a Toriola top made by Tori). I instantly adored his bubbly, loving, charismatic, fun, genuine character and his edgy sense of style. Getting to know him over the years, I can now say that I also respect what he stands for and his morals, his strength of character, his perspective on life and his zest for life. He has been a true inspiration in my life in every sense of the word, as a person, through his work, spiritually and as my friend. I feel truly blessed to have him in my life.

I am so happy he started his own company! I saw his potential long ago and wished he would branch off on his own with all of his talent and personality. I can't say this about too many people, but with Tori, I knew he could handle the challenge, had the talent and most importantly is a good honest person, who is loved by many, who I know will succeed. So hats off to you Toriola Famuyiwa, it is your time to shine as an entrepreneur, just like you have as my best friend. Love you:)

To see his work, go to: http://www.wix.com/torifam/creative