Daily Inspiration: Meet Tori Dail

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tori Dail.

Hi Tori, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The road to having a successful business has been long and winding, but in the end, lead me to where I am today. I have done a three-part blog post on my journey as a creative, which is on my website. To sum it up, I tried out different businesses as a teenager, such as making jewelry and selling art prints, but ultimately discovered what my true passion was: writing.

I started a free blog which found a measure of success and made the switch to paid hosting, where I created my website. For several years, I operated under the name The Confused Craftgirl, but as of last year, have changed my brand identity and name. I was in a creative rut and decided to investigate what it was that I enjoyed about my job, and what was working for my business. It ended up coming full circle, with the main focus of writing stories. I changed my brand’s name to Stories From A Cafe, and am now focusing on the things I am passionate about.

At my core, I am a storyteller. I find that I am drawn to media that focuses on telling a captivating story, and gravitate to stories told through film, media, music, art, and comics. We all have our own personal stories as well, and my aim is to help other creatives tell their own unique story, as well as share my own. I am immensely grateful to be where I am today and look forward to where this journey leads me next.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I mentioned, things were not always easy. I have had several challenges along the way and will mention the ones that have had the biggest impact. First off, I am living with a disability. I was diagnosed as a teenager with Rod Cone Dystrophy, which is a condition where the rods and cones in your eyes are deteriorating. I have low vision, but will eventually go completely blind, which can be challenging to navigate. The rods and cones are what allow you to perceive color and light.

If you have rods and cones that are deteriorating, your perception of these is limited. I am extremely sensitive to bright lights and have a difficult time telling colors with similar shades apart, an example being dark grey, black, dark brown, and navy. The recent addition of dark modes has been a lifesaver, but many big companies still don’t offer a dark mode option. And as someone who does marker illustrations, it can be a challenge when select which colors to use. Another big issue with being an artist with low vision is the fact that a lot of marker companies operate with a color code system, meaning that they don’t print the name of the color, but rather use a three-digit code, or if they do print the name, it’s in a small, difficult to read font. Thankfully, there are brands out there that don’t use these methods, and so I stick to using them for the majority of my art.

I’ve also had to deal with my mental health and the journey of figuring out what was going on and learning to cope with it. It got to a point where I had to take a few steps back, taking a two-year break from posting. When I came back, I wrote what was my most impactful blog post to this day, entitled Why She Had To Disappear. I was shocked to see how much support I received from others and to hear how they benefited from my story. I’ve come a long way, and have ended up in a good place mentally and physically.

And finally, I experienced a challenge I was not expecting. In addition to writing posts, I also share original songs and song covers on social media. I love playing guitar, and singing is a part of who I am. In the spring of 2021, I worked on my next cover to post online but was struggling to pick a song, and I continued recording for hours. At the end of the day, I had completely lost my voice. This continued for several months, with it occasionally coming back every now and then.

But I had to work hard to get my singing voice back, and it took a long time. This caused me a lot of anxiety, but in the end, I got through it, and am able to sing and make music again.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
No matter what form it takes, I am a storyteller. For me, this is done through creative writing, poetry, illustrations, music, and sharing the process of creating a comic series. I also share writing tips, my current inspiration, and productivity hacks on my website. I am currently working on a few different projects, that will be available to purchase in the near future.

These include editing and compiling my poems into a collection, creating a series of character journals, and acting as a preview of the comics to come, and the comics that are to come. I’m also creating digital stickers and downloads to use for planning writing sessions and brainstorming new ideas.

Out of all the content I have created, I have a few pieces that I am especially proud of. These include the original poem I wrote called “Fragile”, which I am immensely proud of, a song I wrote based on the TV show Psych, which is called “Juliet”, and the three-part series I mentioned above, all about “My Creative Journey”.

Alright so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always open to collaborating with fellow storytellers, writers, and creatives, as well as sharing products and services that I believe in. The best way to contact me is by email, and I will get back to you within 1-2 business days.

I always appreciate those who want to support me and the content I create, and you can do so by purchasing the products available on my site, as well as leaving me a tip in the link I provide on my social media accounts. I’m also in the process of creating subscription-only content on my website, which will be available at the end of the month.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.storiesfromacafe.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/storiesfromacafe/

Image Credits
Spencer Selover and Tori Dail