Not enough ink has been spilled on the magic that happens when men truly meet the moment. Success stories tend to hinge on a linear impetus that accrues with force, eventually becoming what we understand to be progress. But there are stories like Joseph Lor’s where the urge of the protagonist to answer to his muse erupts as a wellspring of emotion, a tidal force that is instantly followed by the urgency of endeavour.
Slickly tattooed and put together, Joseph cannot help but be cool, in the best possible sense of the term. But his mastery over how he presents himself is a reflection of his thorough commitment to fulfilling his sense of purpose. As the second-generation owner and Chief Executive Officer of powerhouse leather goods House Tocco Toscano, and the one responsible for its seven-figure worth, his business philosophy is inextricable from his life philosophy.
“I want to build something that lasts long after I pass on.”
The glint in his eyes after he utters those words is emphatic. It’s an instinctive, non-verbal affirmation of a life-defining calling. He resolves any talk of money––so irreducibly crucial to the conduct of business––by affirming the underlying impulse that fuels the making of it, almost as if profit is a happy result of the main prize, which is his legacy-building arc. And, because he regards action as the most valuable currency, he has already well-begun paving his own roads.
Inspired by what his father James Lor accomplished with Tocco Toscano, he co-founded his own label in the late 2010s. That brainchild, Faire Collective, grossed more than a million dollars in its first year of operation – and it is no mystery why. In its briefcase-forward offering, the brand makes the intangibles tangible: Head-turning design that reflects contemporary use cases and inflected on the material handled with especial care and expertise. Add to all that, a self-starting approach to trends that directly challenges the prevailing ones.
At this juncture, it is vital to know that Joseph is not designer or an artisan. But he is actively inspired by the serendipitous essence of everyday life that gives us pause to live. And to dream, to wander and wonder. And, of course, to build.
Behind Faire’s nifty designs is a turbocharged business model that believes in the power of keeping things in house. “Faire Collective is fully, vertically integrated. We run and own the factory”, goes the background on the company’s website, which houses this clincher: “This means we never have to pay a manufacturer’s fee or a sample production cost… savings are made throughout the entire production process, which we then pass on to you.”
Empires start as aims in the minds of singular men, but they are built by multiple hands. The strides towards a better future are more meaningful and effective if they are taken together. And as we make that walk, Joseph’s strut is unmistakable.
