Culture. Connection. Change.
We help organizations turn their stories into experiences, content, and strategies that build trust, engage communities, and drive real connection.
Culture.
What is The Sip Collective?
A new model for how storytelling, journalism, and community engagement work together to build connection, trust, and impact
The Sip Collective brings together journalism, design, and community-centered storytelling to show what’s possible when stories put people first.
Powered by LF Voices Collective, we are building and testing a model that helps organizations use storytelling not just to inform, but to engage, connect, and strengthen the communities they serve. Through our work, we demonstrate how storytelling can build trust, preserve memory, and create meaningful experiences across Mississippi and beyond.
Amplify The Sip
Our flagship digital publication.
Amplify The Sip explores the people, places, and culture shaping Mississippi and the South through storytelling designed to create connection.
Each issue combines essays, multimedia features, playlists, and experiences that help people see themselves—and each other—more clearly.
It also serves as a living example of our storytelling model in action, demonstrating how journalism can move beyond information to build engagement and trust.
The ‘Sip Archive
A living archive of Mississippi stories and culture
The ’Sip Archive preserves stories first told in The ’Sip Magazine (2014–2018), creating a digital home for voices, art, and everyday history.
More than an archive, it is a growing resource that captures cultural memory and ensures these stories remain accessible for future generations.
It also provides a foundation for new storytelling work, research, and community engagement.
Full digital archive coming soon.
Work With Us
Partner with us to bring your stories to life
We work with museums, foundations, universities, and community organizations to turn stories into experiences that connect with people and communities.
Our work includes:
- Oral history and story collection
- Exhibits and storytelling experiences
- Digital and multimedia storytelling
- Narrative strategy and audience engagement
Each project is designed to help organizations build trust, deepen connection, and create lasting impact through story.
How we tell stories differently:
We use storytelling to help people see themselves, connect with each other, and engage more deeply with the communities they’re part of.
The Latest: From The Legacy Issue
Read stories from our latest Amplify The Sip issue.
From Blueprints to Beauty: How Sirobè Carstafhnur built her own skincare legacy
In Vicksburg, Mississippi, everyone owned something, at least in Sirobè Carstafhnur’s family. Her great-grandpa had a snowball truck. Her grandparents and her Uncle Earl owned their own stores, too. Even though entrepreneurship runs in her blood, Carstafhnur, an...
How Madam C.J. Walker turned hardship into economic independence for Black women
The first time A’Lelia Bundles visited the hamlet of Delta, Louisiana, in 1980, there were no signs welcoming her to the birthplace of her great-great grandmother, Sarah Breedlove. Neither was there any mention of Madam C.J. Walker, the name Breedlove took after...
The legacy we’re living
I’ve been thinking about legacy in two tenses: past and present. In the past tense, legacy is what we leave behind. It’s the spirit and memory of who we were after we’re gone. The stories people tell. The imprint we made. But the present tense feels more urgent....
About Us:
Stories are more than information — they’re culture, memory, and connection.
We believe stories should help us feel, remember, and connect. That’s why we:
• Put people first
• Share context and heart
• Honor place
• Lift every voice
• Make space for meaning
• Work together, not in competition
Why It Matters:
Stories can do more. They can connect us, carry memory forward, and help us see the beauty and complexity of place.
The Sip Collective was built on a storytelling framework that’s simple, repeatable, and rooted in people and culture.
Behind the scenes, we’re powered by LF Voices Collective, the creative engine that brings our stories to life.
Stories connect us — and connection creates change.
From the Front Porch:
A column by Lauchlin Fields
The legacy we’re living
A column on living legacy, leadership, Madam C.J. Walker and building impact that lasts beyond titles.
From the Front Porch: Remembering Katrina
On August 29, 2005, I was off from work. I’d covered the weekend shift at The Vicksburg Post, so that Monday I found myself at home, sitting in my living room watching what I called “Hurricane TV.” Meteorologists clung to poles on The Weather...
Join Sip Circle
If you believe stories can build belonging, this is your place.
Sip Circle is our community of readers, supporters, and neighbors who make The Sip Collective possible. Together, members help publish people-first stories, preserve Mississippi’s archives, and create new ways for communities to connect through storytelling
As a member, you'll get:
✔ Early access to each new Amplify The Sip issue
✔ Receive behind-the-scenes updates and playlists from our storytellers
✔ Be invited to gatherings, workshops, and porch-style conversations that celebrate Southern culture and connection
Your support sustains the storytellers and stories that matter most
Every contribution — monthly or annual — helps keep this storytelling movement growing
