Latest news with #Dorr
The Star
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
'Just regular people': Vintage fashion no longer caters to a niche market
'The New York eye is the best,' said Tommy Dorr, the owner of Mothfood, a vintage clothing business that this month opened a showroom in Lower Manhattan. 'I mean, people here have the best taste in clothes.' Dorr, 43, is originally from Michigan, where he got his start as a vintage seller working at a bowling alley turned flea market in the late 1990s. He later started a few of his own ventures, including Lost and Found Vintage, a shop he has kept open just outside Detroit since 2003. Mothfood is probably the project for which New Yorkers know him best, largely because of the Instagram account Dorr used to establish the brand more than a decade ago under the same name. 'I don't even remember why I picked it, but it's just a great tongue-in-cheek kind of name,' said Dorr, who considers it a good litmus test for customers. Are you in on the joke, or do you find the notion of moth-eaten clothing kind of, well, gross? He likes garments that are well worn – sun-bleached jackets, paint-splattered denim and holey T-shirts. They're not everyone's thing. Tommy Dorr (right), with Llewellyn Mejia at the new Mothfood showroom they run together on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Photo: The New York Times But over the years, Dorr has found a devoted following that counts celebrities, stylists, designers and everyday vintage hunters among its ranks. They are accustomed to ordering from his e-shop or visiting him in Los Angeles, where he opened the first Mothfood showroom in 2015. Read more: Are certain styles of dressing tied to Donald Trump and his family? 'I've been wanting him to come to New York,' said Emily Adams Bode Aujla, a New York designer and a friend of Dorr's who has been buying vintage pieces from him both for personal use and for her brand, Bode, for longer than either of them can remember. 'I think that I always have thought his business would do so well here, but I'm selfish,' she added with a laugh. Bode Aujla got her wish in April, when Dorr started moving into a 1,000-square-foot space on the second floor of a nondescript building on the corner of Allen and Canal Streets. On a recent afternoon, light poured in through a wall of windows, the door to the fire escape was cracked open and Dorr was sitting in a gray armchair wearing a thrashed baseball cap and canvas shorts, appreciating some quiet moments before he invited customers into the space. The shop, like his Los Angeles location, is appointment only. It's a casual system – anyone who wants to come by can reach Dorr by email through his website or shoot him a direct message on Instagram (though Dorr warns that direct messages risk getting lost in the shuffle). The goal isn't to exclude anyone, Dorr said, but rather to make the shopping experience more intentional. When he experimented last year with a pop-up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – in the former location of Chickee's, a vintage shop run by Kathleen Sorbara – he found that the foot traffic was mostly people biding their time while they waited for tables at nearby restaurants. 'Most of my good customers were ones I already knew,' Dorr said, or people who had set out to check out the brick-and-mortar version of his Instagram account. Lately, more intimate retail experiences are on the rise in New York, with some shopkeepers eschewing traditional storefronts by inviting shoppers into their studios or even their apartments. 'There's a value to these places because I think people want privacy in general,' added Llewellyn Mejia, who opened the Allen Street showroom with Dorr. People like 'just being able to shop on their own', he said, noting that appointment-only spaces were 'already booming'. The new Manhattan space is decorated with antique furniture and folk art Mejia sells from his shop Trinket. It is pleasantly filled – not crammed – with vintage clothing spanning the 20th century. A rack of Japanese hemp and linen suits from the 1930s at the new Mothfood showroom on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Photo: The New York Times Mejia's home furnishings and objets d'art, including a hand-carved statue of a poodle priced at US$450 (approximately RM1,890), were arranged on a gallery-style wall. Read more: Is the era of style critics ending? Fashion makeover show gets a makeover Elsewhere, a 19th-century church pew served as a display for Dorr's stacks of vintage work wear double-knee pants. So far, visitors to Dorr's new showroom have included people from around the neighbourhood, which is home to a vibrant crop of well-curated vintage stores like Leisure Centre and Desert Vintage (not to mention the robust community vintage institutions just across the East River in Brooklyn, such as Front General Store and Crowley Vintage). A few stylists, costume designers and fashion world people he is friendly with have also dropped by. Dorr estimates that about 75% of his business is from these industry types. He has supplied styles for period pieces like the recent Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and has helped dress musicians like Boy Genius and Paramore. Though he sources mainly men's clothing and sizing, his customers are pretty evenly split between men and women. In his showroom, Dorr walked around the racks pointing out some of his favourite pieces, like a simple cotton 1960s white dress shirt, a 1980s western-style Carhartt chore coat, a stack of 1990s Champion reverse-weave sweatshirts and a World War II-era anti-gas pullover with splatters of paint from its second life as a painter's smock. 'When I started, vintage was only for hipster kids and weirdos,' Dorr said. Nowadays, he added, the average vintage shopper is more likely to be 'just regular people'. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
WellSaid Appoints CFO Benjamin Dorr as Chief Executive Officer
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WellSaid, the industry's most trusted AI voice platform for businesses, today announced the appointment of Benjamin Dorr as Chief Executive Officer. Dorr, previously WellSaid's Chief Financial Officer, is taking on the leadership role to help the company drive further growth in enterprise solutions for WellSaid Studio and expand the potential of AI voice through the official rollout of its highly anticipated ' Caruso ' foundational model. With Caruso, WellSaid will deliver the highest quality-to-cost ratio in the Text-to-Speech industry. 'Ben's proven expertise in leading growth-stage companies will be invaluable as we continue to scale and advance our AI voice capabilities for enterprise customers,' said Matt Hocking, founder and Executive Chairman at WellSaid. 'During his tenure as CFO, he demonstrated his strong operational sense and ability to partner cross-functionally to drive our strategy. As he steps into the role of CEO to help take the company to the next level, we have no doubt that Ben's impressive track record will play an essential role in WellSaid's long-term success, especially as we prepare to deliver our highest quality model yet.' Dorr brings over 20 years of executive leadership experience operating and investing in high-growth companies. Prior to joining WellSaid, Dorr was the Chief Operating Officer of Cordial, an enterprise cross-channel marketing platform and two-time Deloitte Fast 500 selection, where he delivered a 10-fold increase in annual recurring revenue and orchestrated more than $80 million in equity and debt financing to drive expansion. He also held executive roles at Rhythm NewMedia, Rustic Pathways, Counsyl, and Valassis, where he helped quadruple digital revenue through acquisition. Dorr started his career at Citi, Morgan Stanley, and The Carlyle Group, and received his bachelor's degree from Harvard in computer science and public policy. 'I've spent my time at WellSaid learning the ins and outs of our business,' said Dorr. 'WellSaid is not only driving unprecedented innovation in AI voiceover technology, with AI voices that achieve human parity and commercial quality, but we're also setting a new industry standard for responsible and ethical AI practices. My career and education have been shaped by looking at the cross-section of technology and ethics, and as CEO, I look forward to leading the company through this next chapter of growth.' WellSaid's enterprise AI voice platform enables users to create natural sounding voiceovers in seconds for corporate training, advertising and marketing, product and customer education, and more. Unlike competitors, WellSaid's closed-source platform uses exclusive voice data from professional voice actors who have all consented and are compensated for their work. This approach ensures WellSaid customers have commercial usage rights for any voice content they create on the WellSaid platform. WellSaid is trusted by over 50 percent of the Fortune 500, including LinkedIn, T-Mobile, ServiceNow, Accenture, and more. About WellSaid WellSaid is an advanced AI voice platform. The company's Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology leverages proprietary AI models, which are trained on exclusive and licensed voice data, to generate natural sounding voice overs. WellSaid's TTS system can produce unique dialects, accents, and languages to optimize audio content creation for corporate training, advertising, products, experiences, video production, publishing, audiobooks, and more. Built with ethics at its core, WellSaid's responsible AI platform is trusted by 50 percent of leading Fortune 500 brands including LinkedIn, T-Mobile, ServiceNow, and Accenture. For more information, visit
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Mississippi teacher donates part of liver to save student
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WJTV) – Mississippi State University (MSU) alumna and Tupelo Public School District special education teacher Holly Allgood didn't hesitate to help one of her students. Allgood was in her classroom at Tupelo's Early Childhood Education Center when she received a call that she was a match. She donated 30% of her liver to her student, Bowen Dorr, who is battling carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency (CPS1). Belhaven University recognized for online programs 'MSU alumna Holly Allgood's selfless act of love and concern for one of her students reflects what I believe is a core value of our university, which is service,' said MSU President Mark E. Keenum. 'We try to instill in our College of Education graduates the sense that they are stewards of the future in teaching and impacting the lives of their students. Certainly, Holly has taken that to an entirely new level, and all of us in the Mississippi State family admire and applaud her sacrifice and devotion to her student.' Both Allgood and Bowen are recovering well after the August transplant and have gained national attention for their story. Allgood, Dorr, and Dorr's mother were recently featured on the 'Jennifer Hudson Show' during this week's national Teacher Appreciation Week. They shared Dorr's story, and Allgood received a $10,000 gift from PaperMate. 'He's a completely different kid now,' Jamie Dorr, Bowen's mother, said in the interview. '…To have someone so close to home that was willing to lay down her life for [my child] when I couldn't—it's a gift I can't put words to. We need more Hollys.' Allgood, a Tupelo native and 2005 MSU College of Education graduate, has spent nearly two decades teaching special education. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
EXCLUSIVE: WTAJ speaks to officials at White House as Trump marks 100 days in office
WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAJ) — As President Donald Trump marked his first 100 days in office, WTAJ was one of 10 stations from across the country that attended a Local TV media row at the White House Monday. We had a chance to speak with the Trump Administration about the start of his term and what we can expect moving forward. One common theme from the conversations with the trump administration was that the president is delivering on his promises, and that he will continue to do so during the rest of his second term. 'I would categorize this first 100 days as promises made, promises kept,' White House Deputy Communications Director Kaelan Dorr said. Government reactivates Penn State students' visas, university says President Donald Trump has made his priorities known from the start, from imposing tariffs to securing the border and reducing federal spending. Over one hundred executive orders were signed in his first week in office. 'Exactly what the American people voted for is what they're getting – secure borders, the economy is getting back up to speed after four years slowing down … I think we'll go peace deals and trade deals next and then we'll see what's left,' Dorr said. One of the most prominent actions so far, according to the administration, has been securing the border. Displayed on the north lawn Monday were 101 mugshots of illegal aliens arrested for violent crimes such as rape, sexual assault and murder. 'We won't rest until we see every illegal immigrant starting with those who've committed these heinous crimes removed and our country and communities are safe again,' Dorr said. Also in Trump's first 100 days: a promise of imposing sweeping tariffs. 'The president finally said, after policies by Democrats and Republicans who have long ripped off farmers, workers, and manufacturers in Pennsylvania and across the country this president is finally saying enough is enough. So we're experiencing a really exciting realignment that's ultimately going to drive down costs and create really great jobs and revitalize our manufacturing sector that has been totally hollowed out by these decades of unfair trading practices,' White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly said. Most recently, Trump placed a 90-day pause on new tariffs, but Chinese imports are still being taxed at a 145% rate. Meanwhile, Trump's reciprocal tariffs will remain at 10%. Dorr says Americans can expect to see some trade deals soon, as well as other America-first policies. 'Everyone should really buckle up for a really important next 100 days because I think the best is yet to come,' Dorr said. Dorr added that it's all gas and no brakes from here, saying that the administration is going to stay aggressive in pursuing the America first agenda. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Boston Globe
19-04-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Another gem from Johnny Escobalez and No. 3 Taunton baseball unseats newly top-ranked Xaverian
On Saturday, Escobalez added another chapter, silencing the bats of The lefthander threw 5⅓ innings for the No. 3 Tigers (8-0), allowing one earned run and four hits with three strikeouts. Escobalez's sidewinder arm slot makes him a difficult matchup. 'Since I was 12, I was doing the sidearm,' Escobalez said. 'My dad just said to try it out. It's one of my favorite pitches. If it's a 3-2 count and I need a pitch to go to, yeah.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Advertisement It wasn't just Escobalez's pitching that propelled Taunton past the Hawks. Escobalez walked in the first inning, stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on a Came Dorr flared single. 'It gives me a lot of relief, [having] a cushion,' Escobalez said. 'That's when I can get ahead of batters. Always having the lead helps.' The Tigers plated two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, junior Dylan Keenan roped a bases-loaded single to right-center to bring in a run, and Cameron Tomaszycki's sacrifice fly brought in another run. Xaverian's Jackson Morse gets Taunton's Johnny Escobalez in a rundown between first and second. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff Caden Lindskog got the bats clicking in the fifth with a single, followed by Dorr's ground-rule double. Jace Galante brought a run in with an RBI groundout, then Joseph Benoit singled, scoring Dorr to put the Tigers' up, 5-0. Advertisement 'We try to score at least one run an inning,' Taunton coach Blair Bourque said. 'And then if we can get greedy and selfish, obviously score some more.' Related : Xaverian's Nolan Rappoli doubled and scored on Brady Hargraves's sacrifice fly in the sixth for the Hawks' only run of the game. With one out and two Xaverian runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Cam Tomaszycki induced a double play to secure the nonleague victory. 'Cam's a guy that we trust, one of the aces on the team,' Bourque said. 'It's a testament to his hard work. He's a competitor. He wants the ball.'
