Growing together, instead of presenting a final product . . .

So, I have been working on a little thing . . . well, actually for me, it is a very big thing. I have wanted to start a coffee shop for most of my life. I have always wanted to have a space where I could share so many of the things that bring me joy: design, coffee, art, music, kindness, inspiration, conversation, love, friendship, poetry, open-mics, flowers, baked goods, words, furniture, quotes, sounds, smells, and sights.

I have been waiting and waiting until I could present a final product to the world. Waiting to be able to afford the roaster that I want, waiting for the right location, waiting to design the space, waiting til I had all of the right artwork, and all of the right roasts, and felt comfortable enough to play music in front of people, and on and on and on.

This time of staying home has led to so much inspiration, and introspection, and joy, and I am not willing to wait anymore. So I am starting a virtual coffee shop where I can share many of the same things now, and stop waiting already. I don’t have the roaster that I want, so coffee is very limited, but I do have some time and would love to have a cup of coffee with you. Any of you. I am going to start very slow and just have an occasional meetup scheduled, and it will be very informal at first, but I hope to add open-mic nights, presentations, poetry readings, and more.

I am also hoping to feature some local artists, share some of my own art, and just have a place of positivity where maybe you wanna stop by every once in awhile. I will keep up with some positive blog posts, and you can find them on the inspiration page.

I know it is a crazy concept, and I am not even sure how it will all work out, but I have always been someone who loves giving final products to people (even not letting Dara help me to make dinner because I want to present it to her). Then I realize that some of the best times of my life have been when we did things together: planned, fumbled, got lost, wandered, were unscripted, random, and exciting. So here goes. The virtual coffee shop that is absolutely a major work in progress and I am almost embarrassed to let you in before it is perfect (even though my kids tell me everyday, “there is no such thing as perfect, daddy”).

I am going to begin by hosting some meetings on Zoom, so check out the “Coffee Dates” page for info. I will try to post them across facebook as well, so be sure to like the page. Bear with me, I want to make something great, and I want to talk with you all, so please join if you would like.

I am not selling anything quite yet, but I do hope to have some things available in the very near future, and if you feel like supporting the shop and helping it to become a reality, feel free to Venmo me [Paul-Stavovy] the cost of a cup of coffee when you join in. Or not. It is totally up to you, and I want to be on this journey with you no matter what. But I know I would sure like to support some of you with your ideas, so I am leaving it up there just in case you are interested.

So I present to you . . . shine.coffee!