The Coronavirus Wiped Out a Local Artist’s Main Source of Income. So She Pivoted to Coffee—and Dirty Jokes.

Before COVID-19, Ryan McAbery was a full-time artist traveling the country to various festivals and selling her typography-style photographs.

Now, she writes coffee porn.

But the idea for Hard On Coffee, McAbery's collaboration with Beaverton's Thornton Family Coffee Roasters, occurred to her long before she was pushed into doing it. It only really existed in her head, but she did have a tagline: "It Gets You Up in the Morning."

"I have an aesthetic as a creative person," she says, "but I will make an inappropriate joke often at the wrong time."

Reality nudged McAbery, 46, to turn that joke into an actual business. By mid-March, it was clear she couldn't make money with art shows across the country canceled indefinitely. She threw the idea out to a friend, who encouraged her to go forward with it.

She took a week to develop the website and branding for Hard On, relying on a private Facebook group—which included her middle-school teacher—to run "flicking the bean" jokes by before the launch. The rooster logo is an insinuation in itself.

McAbery then partnered with Thornton to create three blends, each with their own dick-joke flair: Once You Go Dark Roast, Morning Wood, First Crack. Though it's only been a month since Hard On sent out its first package—on April Fools' Day—McAbery's seen interest in the brand peak on social media, largely thanks to the adult wordplay.

McAbery knows it will take some time before she sees a profit, but she's having fun building a business and enjoying the much-needed distraction.

"If the coffee takes off and I can make a living off it, I have no complaints," she said. "I can still be an artist on Sunday."

BUY IT: See hardoncoffee.com for ordering information.