Meet KayIN

Mechanical engineer, writer, teacher, illustrator, creator, mom, wife, and so much more. Kayin A. Talton Davis is nothing short of being superwoman.  I sat with Portland, OR native Kayin to gather inspiration about her children's book Flying Lessons. I ended up getting so much more from her. As a mechanical engineer myself, I can relate to Kayin on many levels.

Transition

Kayin's professional journey started as a mechanical engineer. After earning her degree she worked at various engineering companies as a design engineer. One thing that remained common throughout her engineering career was that it didn't quite feed her passion. "I just knew I didn't want to be in front of a computer screen looking at parts for the rest of my life." She found herself over complicating projects as an engineer to make them seem interesting and many of the engineering design projects were just plain BORING! Being a corporate engineer lacked creativity for Kayin. Instead of letting her passion die, Kayin used her creativity and problem solving skills to create a children's book and various other creations.

"The reason I went into engineering in the first place is that I wanted to be a bio-mechanical engineer and make prosthetics for low income kids."

Passion

As someone who wishes to own my own business someday, my big question for Kayin was how did you get the courage to follow your heart. I always read stories about how people quit their day time jobs to pursue their dreams, but they rarely ever go into details about the fear they face before doing so. " It wasn't easy, I began writing and illustrating cards while still in school." Kayin started creating cards and other works of art while still in college. The decision to leave engineering to pursue her other passion was a no brainer. She ended up writing flying lessons a few years after graduating college. Some of the challenges Kayin faced while transitioning from corporate engineer to entrepreneur is the fact that she has to be the designer, manufacturer and sales person all at once. Things can get quiet hectic but she's learned a lot through the process of writing Flying Lessons.

Portland and change

"Northeast Portland use to be predominantly black until the Emanual Medical Facility pushed a large amount of the black population out in the 1900's." The Emanual Medical Facility purchased over 100 homes, forcing the black community out in efforts to expand the medical center...the campus never expanded. Today there is still nothing there. Kayin learned about this through interviewing someone while participating in the Williams Street Art Exhibit. I asked Kayin how much has Portland changed in the last 5 years. "The shear change and shift in culture in population have changed in just the last 5 years."  Kayin and her husband are owners of a shop that sold Flying Lessons and other artistic products. A few years ago they began to rent out the business. It was then that Kayin and her husband began to feel as though the shop was out of place. The reasoning behind it is that gentrification began to take place. The significant changes to the neighborhood made the store become less noticeable. "People would walk in and ask how much it was to rent the place." Not to mention vandalization was starting to become a common occurrence in the area. Today the shop is being rented out but Kayin's products can still be found and purchased online at Soapbox Theory.

What's next...

Since creating Flying Lessons, Kayin continues to promote her products and inspire children all around the country through her art. Flying Lessons is dedicated to Kayin's two oldest kids since then she has had a 3rd child and wishes to write a book dedicated to them. Kayin is pure black girl magic. Keep inspiring us all!