ABOUT
aTHRIFTEDtemple
aTHRIFTEDtemple was founded by artist and designer Alex Ruffin in Stamford, Connecticut.
What began with sketchbooks and canvases evolved into clothing, and eventually into an exploration of the relationship between what we wear, where we're from, and the cultural moments that stay with us.
From 2016 through 2022, Alex has transformed individual garments into one-of-one pieces of wearable art. In 2023, that approach evolved into Hometown Hero, a concept built around a simple idea: the teams that represent a city can tell a larger story when brought together.
Since its introduction, Alex’s work has appeared across professional sports, music and popular culture while receiving coverage from national and local media.
HOMETOWN HERO
Two Teams. One City. One Story.
For many of us, sports are inherited.
A team can remind us of a neighborhood, a family member, a season, a championship, or simply where we came from.
Hometown Hero explores that relationship by bringing the visual identities of teams representing the same place together through a single garment.
Each piece is designed as a celebration of hometown identity where rivalry, nostalgia, design and culture meet.