Jessica West and her crocheted coffee sleeves are making a statement. Photo by Mike Salmon.
The word had gotten out that Jess Judkins, a self-proclaimed “Crochet encourager,” was going to be at the Kingstowne Starbucks on Saturday
morning last week, handing out her crochet coffee sleeves to cheer up the local coffee crowd. All they had to do in return was to pass on the positivity. She showed up with her children Judah and Magnolia, and their handmade sleeves, and the store was full of positivity that flowed into the surrounding community.
This “pay it forward,” activity started when they were in line getting coffee one time and her child Judah started handing out flowers to cheer people up. It’s not uncommon to be wearing a numb expression in the morning while waiting for coffee, but the flowers did the trick that morning. The flowers turned into handmade coffee sleeves that they handed out at other Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts in the Burke and Fairfax area and one spot in Washington, D.C. to cheer people up. “So far my kids, Judah, Magnolia and I have handed out over 1,085 sleeves to encourage strangers,” Judkins said.
She mostly uses social media to spread the word of upcoming giveaways, and the recipients from the Kingstowne event responded. Sarah Michelle wrote, “You are the sweetest, thank you so much for what you do. We love our sleeves God bless.” April Devan wrote “today was fun thank you for coming out.” The comments were splattered with emojis of hearts and smiley faces, and good feelings.
Creativity with the Crochet Needle
It’s not just an average coffee sleeve either. Each has a design on them that’s reflective of today’s icons. “So far I’ve designed Harry Potter, Bob Ross, Frida Kahlo, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Ironman, unicorns, Mr Rogers, Baby Yoda, Cow, Dogs, Cats, other animals, floral sleeves, Anna, Elsa, Olaf, Minnie and Mickey, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, R2D2, Ewok, Stormtrooper, Lisa Simpson, The Washington Nationals, Pokémon, Minions, Monsters Inc., Mario, Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, TARDIS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, rainbows, donuts and dinosaurs,” she said. It seems she can do anything on a coffee sleeve.
“Our sole purpose is to encourage people unconditionally in hopes that they would go out and show kindness to others,” she said. For the Judkins, it’s a fun way to improve people’s outlooks and turn those frowns into smiles.