Hometown Junket profile of RVA Coffee Stain

Dour Orleski moved to RVA in 2012 and sees the city better than many life long residents.

March 24, 2014; 9:01 AM • by Richard Hayes

The fact that I only have one RVA Coffee Stain print is nothing short of amazing because I’m a big fan of his unique view of life in Richmond. I’m not alone in my fanboy admiration, he’s a regular in Style Weekly, local craft shows, and Orange in Carytown. If that’s not enough Coffee Stain for you, follow him on Tumblr or his website.

Hometown Junket recently sat down with Doug Orleski to talk about RVA Coffee Stain and his family.

“I started going to different places in the city,” he says. “I was super excited about being here. I started cartooning places that I liked going to, or places that we went to for dinner and stuff like that. It was a way to celebrate these places and it worked out that by cartooning these places, a lot of times they would see it and share it.”

Regardless of the source, his sketches depicting the John Marshall Hotel sign in flight, Edgar Allan Eating Pho, and Stonewall Michael Jackson resonated in a city that often celebrates itself — and a little bit of quirk.

“I never sold a print before I lived in Richmond,” Doug says. “It was pretty crazy for the first one. When I sold it, I was like, really? Are you sure you want to buy it? For this much? I never thought that I’d sell more than like one, or to people other than family members.”