People of Troy

Interview with Jessica Garrity, Owner of Collar City Cold Pressed.

What part of Troy mirrors a part of you?

"In a world where places and faces are all starting to look the same, Troy is keeping it real. Some of the things I love the most about Troy is the daily juxtaposition of something beautiful with something gritty, something soft and something strong, something dirty with something sweet. To me that resonates. It’s real, it’s authentic, it’s not perfect, and it’s never just one thing. Also it’s kind of relentless, through a lot, it just keeps going. "

If your storefront/studio/office could talk, what story would it tell?

"My building, my exact spot was built in the late 1800s for a butcher who  started out with a stall in the old Irving market next door when it was torn down. He went from a stall to a full shop, which is kind of exactly what I did. The man who started it, Anthony Trei, lived upstairs the entire time. He wasn’t leaving 2nd Street, wasn’t leaving the neighborhood, period. That kind of commitment feels very familiar around here. He loved people, loved a party, his family, his neighborhood. His wife died just before their 50th anniversary, and he  threw the party anyway because “she would have wanted it.” This is the exact kind of character this neighborhood is still full of.  He lived a long life doing what he loved, then his sons kept it going for another 50 years, living right here too. I love this building. You can feel the goodness in it. Being here 150 years later, doing something so similar, living a wildly different but similar life means something to me."

What does “success” look like for you here?

"Success for me is walking down the street on a random Monday afternoon and watching my ten-year-old greet every single person by name. Being able to get most things done on foot while having a good day. It’s having real, rooted relationships with the people around me, but also feeling free. Living my actual life in alignment with my values. I’m a triple Scorpio, so I can’t fake it. I’m very steady, very consistent with what I like and what I don’t. I’ve chosen what matters to me and opted out of what doesn’t. I love living here. I have a true village, and I get to live and work right in the middle of it all, to me, that’s a great success."