Meet Michael Davis

 

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Michael Davis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Michael, thank you so much for agreeing to open up about a sensitive and personal topic like being fired or laid-off. Unfortunately, there has been a rise in layoffs recently and so your insight and experience with overcoming being let go is relevant to so many in the community.

Those who know me or my family, know that the “work” we do (in public and in private) is intended to represent a commitment to the life, love and liberation of everyday Black people and communities made vulnerable by systems of inequity. After spending 15 years expressing this commitment in academic institutions, government agencies, and corporations (😮‍💨 that last one…), I’d forgotten that… I, too, am “everyday Black people” in need of (what my favorite writer, Kiese Laymon, articulates as) “access to good love, healthy choices, and second chances”. (These three things, I believe, are the fruits of a commitment to liberation work in just about any industry context.)

I spent the first 4 months scrambling for a job, driven by fear and anxiety. But I also knew I needed to do a lot of healing work. In the midst of a panic about my future, a friend asked me, “What could it look like to be creative with business?” I thought about the things that bring me joy, that have been a source of solace for me throughout my professional life. I remembered how much roasting, brewing and sharing coffee with those who love me helped me to resist the grind of corporate. I thought how many people out there, like me, want to rest but can’t. In a society in which we associate coffee with fuel, how many people have never experienced coffee as a restorative ritual. I joined a cohort of entrepreneurs who needed a similar kind of emotional support to make the pivot from corporate with whom I learned how be creative again, discovered work that is joyful and restorative.

After 6 months of exploring my friend’s question, I founded Tinycup Coffee through which I made the single-most important deposit in overcoming my layoff… I invested my own self-liberation (and hopefully made some small contribution to those who’ve become “customers” and followers of my journey. Why the quotes? Tinycup does make really, really good coffee. But I think the real “product” people come for is the sense affirmation that they are worthy of rest; they deserve rest. This is my affirmation everyday, dictating how I protect my time and my energy, helping me to course-correcting when I veer off.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an award-winning designer, creative director and coffee roaster from Northern Virginia. My professional work has been grounded in a commitment to the life, love, and liberation of everyday Black people and communities that have been made vulnerable by systems of inequity. I founded Tinycup Coffee in 2023 after 15 years in corporate America as a designer and DEI practitioner.

I fell in love with coffee while sharing quiet moments with my mother, reliving cherished memories she has of her father. Connection to family, heritage and the ritual of a restful tiny cup is what I want to share with the world.

The best part of my job is watching people experience Tinycup Coffee for the first time. They know something is different, something they can’t quite put their thumb on. It’s something deeper, warmer, bolder and richer than they’ve experienced before…a kind of “hug” from a grandmother they haven’t seen in a long time, except in a cup. They’re beginning to relate to coffee differently. They’re redefining rest for themselves and designing a new ritual of care around coffee.

We have sample packs of our coffee on our website for those who want experience it for themselves.(https://tinycup.coffee/pages/sample-pack)

As of recent, I’ve been most excited for people to finally have our “You Deserve Rest” poster; we’re about to make an announcement but it’s available now for those who want to be first to have it! I designed it to serve as a personal reminder to carve out a moment of self-care and to empower people to resist grind culture with every glimpse at it. It turned out beautifully, designed on premium museum-grade archival matte paper. (https://tinycup.coffee/pages/you-deserve-rest-poster).

We’ve also recently partnered with George Mason University, and we’re excited to launch a co-branded, custom coffee roast that we’ve designed and developed for everyone in the George Mason Patriots community. It will launch in October 2024 and pre-orders will begin soon.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resist grind culture by build an ethic of rest.
Practice self-care by remembering and honoring your inherit self-worth.
Redefine your work to make room for rest and joy. We all deserve that.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?

Two people in my life have been critical to helping me bloom this year.

My wife, friend and partner. I don’t have the words to illustrate the ways she has held me up and loved on me and gave me permission to do the same for her. I feel valued and loved and have been allowed to value and love her. Our friendship confirms our humanity and that’s the greatest way to be seen by anyone.

My friend, mentor and coach, Vivianne Castillo. She challenges me in the most care-driven ways and is partly the reason Tinycup Coffee exists today. But more importantly, she taught me how to try again, how to take chance on myself, reminded me of my worth and helped me show up in the world a little more healed.

Contact Info:

 

Image Credits

Michael Davis. I certify that I own the rights to the images.

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