Tommy Dorfman On Creating Club Curran – A Space That Celebrates The Queer Experience

“So much of what I was reading in mainstream spaces was rooted in trauma or reacting to political hate. I wanted a space for storytellers to speak about what actually excites them in their day to day.” Actor and director Tommy Dorfman is discussing her motivation to launch Club Curran, her lifestyle brand and platform, on a video call from her Brooklyn home. “There are really amazing queer and trans journalists doing important reporting, but I want Curran to be a space that is leaning more into queer futures, queer joy, queer aspirations, queer fantasy…” 

Dorfman – perhaps best known for her roles in 13 Reasons Why and Jane The Virgin, and has since appeared in a string of cult films, including Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick – is the beating heart of Club Curran, which began life as a musing during the pandemic. She was transitioning at the time and reading a lot online. Dorfman wanted to create the space she did not see, or rather the opposite of what she did. She finally launched the platform – which operates as a cross between a magazine, shop and social media community – in 2023. And it lives up to her brief.  

Back in 2020, Dorfman imagined Club Curran as a drawing of an actual house, with her ideas contained in different rooms. These ‘rooms’ have become sections on the site, such as ‘Armour’ (fiction and articles discussing beauty and fashion) and ‘Culture’ (a warm and witty dissection of the arts). People can ‘stroll’ through these rooms and explore writings from trans artists such as Michael Love Michael or read a conversation between Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont and the real-life subject of his 2018 film about trans ballerina Nora Monsecour. 

Dorfman achieved all this largely with her own funds and a skeleton crew of trusted friends and hires, though she is conscious of ensuring the financial sustainability of the enterprise. “The goal is to bring in as much money as we can, so we can allocate those resources to other queer and trans artists,” she says, sharing that she is currently seeking out brand partnerships that “authentically align with our values”. These are honouring individuality, authenticity, and embracing diversity across race, ability, socioeconomics, age and cultures.  

During the festive season, she created an online store featuring beauty, skincare, accessories and home goods from queer artisans. “The holidays can be really challenging for queer people, which is why we not only wanted to stock queer and trans designers, but we shot the campaign all about chosen family,” she says. She looks behind her and smiles: “We actually shot it in my living room.” The online festive space was replete with everything that defines the lifestyle brand: joy and community.  

So, what’s next for Club Curran? It goes back to Dorfman’s sketch of a house. “Someday soon, I want to make Curran a physical reality: a community space for queer and trans people to work, thrive and produce,” she says. “That would be my ultimate dream.” 

Marie-Claire Chappet is a London-based arts and culture journalist and contributing editor at Harper’s Bazaar