Friendly faces at the Ugly Mug

Story and photo by Briena Sash
The Portland Upside
November 2009

Since the Ugly Mug opened in Sellwood seven years ago, co-owner Kim Newdel’s coffeehouse has become a community of loyal employees and customers.

The old wooden door creaks as I pull it open to enter the Ugly Mug Coffeehouse. Coming off the busy street is like stepping into another realm.

The dimly lit shop is painted in warm yellows and oranges, cement floors stained and cracked. Heavy wooden countertops help create the cozy rustic atmosphere. Louis Armstrong serenades patrons sitting on the church pew and at scattered tables, reading books and papers and staring meditatively at laptop screens. Others chat and sip their lattes, chai teas and coffees from ceramic mugs.

A shelf lining the ceiling displays all sorts of mugs donated by Ugly Mug fans. Some have faces, others are molded into funny shapes, and many have been made by the customers themselves.

Freshly-ground beans and French-pressed coffee fills the air with a delicious aroma as the barista greets regulars by name. She knows most of the people approaching the counter, as well as their favorite drinks. Pam likes a mocha with whip in her own cup, Jay an Americano, Lloyd and Pauline favor medium skinny lattes.

The Ugly Mug Coffeehouse certainly holds its own in Portland’s epic coffee scene with its rich espresso and quirky atmosphere. But if you know a bit more about this locally owned neighborhood shop, you discover it is anything but typical.

Seven years ago when a young couple, Kim and Nigel, moved to Sellwood, they noticed a problem that needed fixing: there was no neighborhood coffee shop.

“I walked up and down the street,” Kim tells me, “stopping people and asking if they’d like to have a neighborhood coffeehouse.”

She received such an overwhelmingly positive response that they opened the Ugly Mug.

This is a true mom and pop shop. Nigel did most of the remodeling and woodwork, while Kim made everything from the curtains to the ceramic mugs from which customers enjoy their drinks.

“That’s why it’s called the Ugly Mug,” explains Kim with a laugh as she holds up one of her handcrafted mugs. It’s big and white with a green swirl and a few chips. It is certainly well loved.

“At the time there were no coffee shops around at all, not even Starbucks,” Kim says. “The first day we opened, there was a line out the door. We’ve never had a slow period here.”

Now Sellwood is full of coffee shops, but The Mug continues to have a big following of loyal patrons, many of whom have been coming since the doors first opened.

Why are people so loyal to the Ugly Mug?

When I started working at the Mug as a barista in June, I realized there is so much more to this coffeehouse than just, well… coffee.

Not only is it a cozy, comfortable place with delicious drinks, free Wi-Fi, famed Stumptown Coffee and scrumptious pastries. Nor is it simply the well-trained baristas impressing customers with their perfectly-pulled shots and whimsical latte art.

The Ugly Mug’s success has to do with Kim and her consciousness as a business owner. She cares about her customers, about quality and most importantly, about the community.

Kim supports her community by investing in the best local products she can find, including hormone-free Sunshine Dairy products, Kettleman’s Bagels, and delicious Voodoo Donuts. Where she can, she buys from businesses local to the Sellwood neighborhood.

“Most of our pastries come from Lilli, which is on 17th. Our chocolate, Holy Kacow, is even made in Sellwood,” she notes.

Kim is concerned not only about quality and local products, but also their environmental impact as well. She recently tested new biodegradable straws and she currently offers a ten-cent discount when you bring your own cup.

“Now I’m trying to figure out a way to encourage people to bring their own to-go mugs,” she explains.

Perhaps the best reflection of Kim’s approach to business is how she treats her employees.

“Most of our baristas stay with us for a long time. We all love each other. Until recently, our newest employee has been with us for over a year,” says Kim.

Indeed, their longest-term barista, Jen, has been at the Ugly Mug since the doors opened seven years ago! She is young and charismatic, with an infectious smile and a healthy dose of spice. Not only is it apparent that Jen loves her job, it’s very clear that people love Jen as their barista.

“She works magic,” a fellow barista told me. “She’s an awesome barista and has so much love for everyone. Not to mention everyone loves her!”

Loyal patrons and employees had a chance to express their affection when about two months ago a terrible accident landed Jen in the hospital and out of work.

“I was washing the sun tea pitcher when it shattered, cutting open my wrist. Luckily Maggie [an Ugly Mug regular and RN] was there. The paramedic told me that with this kind of cut it would have taken about two minutes to bleed to death. Maggie saved my life,” Jen professes.

“It was amazing to see the Ugly Mug community respond to Jen’s absence and misfortune. Not only were people asking about her, deeply concerned every day,” an Ugly Mug barista explains, “people were bringing in dozens of get-well cards.”

In response to Jen’s lack of income, Kim also printed out a meal plan where people could sign up for a day to bring Jen dinner. It filled up almost instantly as customers brought in wholesome home-cooked meals to offer her.

Kirsten, a fellow barista, came up with yet another plan to help out. She decorated a jar and called it “Jen’s ‘heart’ fund”, where people could donate money and kind words to help Jen recover.

“I came in to pick it up and found a piece of paper folded like an envelope,” Jen tells me, tears welling in her eyes. When she opened it up she found five hundred dollars cash, donated anonymously.

“I can feel so much love from everyone,” Jen says. “I know it’s helping me to heal faster”.

The Ugly Mug shines above the average coffee shop in most ways according to employee Kirsten Brady. Kirsten is not only an Ugly Mug barista, but also a talented artist.

This year, she and the Ugly Mug are hosting the second annual art-for-charity project, actively involving community volunteers who use their creativity to raise money for a designated local nonprofit. Last year’s art-for-charity project raised over two thousand dollars.

This year’s project, called ‘Think Inside the Box’, has over 70 participants signed-up to make dioramas out of cigar boxes. Participants are encouraged to be as creative and unique as they want. The diorama artwork will be on display and up for auction at the Ugly Mug through December. This year’s beneficiary will be Sanctity of Hope, a Portland nonprofit supporting the city’s homeless community through alternative means.

The difference, I discovered, while working at this Portland coffeehouse, is that it’s not just about coffee. It’s about community.

_____


The Ugly Mug Coffeehouse is located at 8017 SE 13th Avenue. Visit their website at
www.uglymugpdx.com or call them at 503.230.2010.

Briena Sash is an Ugly Mug barista, travel photographer, photojournalist, and longtime community volunteer. Read her blog at www.streetquotes.wordpress.com

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Homeless man uses creativity for cash

Story and photo by Briena Sash
The Portland Upside
September 2009

Melvin McAffe uses his origami skills to help support himself on the streets of Portland.

Melvin has lived on the streets of Portland for ten years. For many, the mention of a homeless man might stir up images of a street-corner panhandler, perhaps an alcoholic, a can-collector, or maybe a person holding a cardboard sign, the message Hungry, Vietnam Vet, or God Bless, etched in black Sharpie ink. There are many stereotypes, but Melvin fits none of them.

Melvin does not panhandle, he doesn’t drink, and he has never held a cardboard sign. Melvin makes origami.

I meet him recently at Coffee Time on Northwest 21st. He greets me outside, pulling up on a bike decorated with stickers, a flag and a toy truck zip-tied to the frame. He locks my bike to his and directs me inside to a dim private booth decorated with murals resembling stained glass windows.

“This is my spot,” Melvin tells me. “I call it my office.”

Mel’s origami workshop certainly looks like an office, with piles of bright paper scattered about, a laptop and an almost-full coffee cup sitting on the table.

Melvin is now fifty-three. Growing up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, he joined the Marines as a teenager. Shortly thereafter, he found himself in a hospital in Okinawa, Japan, with a broken leg hoisted in a sling.

“A little Okinawa woman came in to care for me,” he explains. “She was so little, she couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds. She was so sweet. She thought I was rather cute looking… about nineteen with my blond hair and my blue eyes,” Melvin recalls fondly.

During his eight weeks in the hospital, the woman brought scratch paper pre-cut into squares with which to teach Melvin origami. He shipped his origami creations back home to his grandparents, kindling a life-long passion for folding paper.

After returning to the States and suffering a series of unfortunate consequences, including the loss of his job and the death of his wife, Melvin found himself in and out of homelessness. But throughout trying times he continued to focus his energy on his paper-folding hobby. While living in Berkeley, California, he even earned the nickname “Origami.”

“I’d get paper out of a recycle bin at a paper store,” he recalls, “I was calling it ‘recycled origami.’”

Eventually, unsatisfied with his life in Berkeley, Melvin joined a friend on a bicycle trip up north. He rode a Gary Fisher mountain bike to Washington, turned around, and in Astoria decided to follow the US-30 sign to Portland.

“I liked it here. People are nice; a lot better than California,” he explains. Melvin has lived in Portland ever since.

On a typical day, Melvin wakes up and brews himself a cup of coffee on his white gas camp stove, then meticulously packs his camping gear into his bike trailer.

“Everything goes a certain way,” he explains.

He then sets out to find some breakfast.

“I usually go to Freddie’s and get a pint of milk and something sweet,” he says, “I don’t go to places that serve breakfast [to the homeless]. I usually get sick because of my medicine.” Melvin suffers from serious illnesses, including cancer.

After breakfast Melvin parks at Coffee Time to get to work folding origami. When he has enough pieces completed, he bikes a couple of blocks to Trader Joe’s where he offers passers-by his original paper artwork neatly displayed on a Tupperware lid. He usually sells at least one a day, sometimes two or three.

Melvin’s favorite design, which he calls an ornament, is a crane sitting atop a ball of blooming flowers, inside which another tiny crane dangles from a thread. It takes Melvin one hour to make and sells for ten dollars.

“Sometimes people bring me a sandwich and juice and I give them a few dollars off,” he says.

He also creates designs based on individual requests. A patron once commissioned him to make an origami cross. City Bikes also displays an origami bicycle made by Melvin.

“If you can make a drawing or describe a shape, we can figure out something to make for you,” his web page suggests.

A friend, William Price, built a page for him and hosts Melvin on his site under his “friends” section. The page, simply entitled “Melvin McAffe,” greets visitors with a picture of Melvin that winks.

“To make it through the winter,” it reads, “I am saving up for a good 4 season tent… I try not to beg or ask for money because I repair bicycles and make cool origami.”

Two years ago, a man from Holland ordered six pieces of origami from the web page. The man paid fifteen dollars each instead of the ten dollars Melvin was asking and in addition, sent him a one hundred dollar check after receiving the paper creations.

“They were ornaments,” Melvin explains. “Each one was in a different Christmas color.”

Although origami is Melvin’s main source of income, it’s not the only one. Having grown up in his grandpa’s machine shop, he’s also an incredible mechanic, often fixing a stalled car or broken bike to make a little extra cash. Recently a man with a stalled truck was referred to Melvin, who fixed the vehicle after discovering the spark plugs were replaced in improper sequence.

“I got ten bucks and a cup of coffee,” Melvin tells me excitedly.

He admits it’s not enough to sustain himself, but when asked why he doesn’t panhandle, Melvin replies sternly, “I don’t like it. I like to have something to give back.”

Although Melvin won’t ask for money, he receives plentiful good tidings from caring individuals. Not only does he receive occasional meals and coffee, but also origami paper, an occasional gift card to an art store, and even a mini paper cutter.

“This thing comes in so handy.” He holds up the orange hand tool, a big smile spread across his face.

According to Melvin, people even salvage old wrapping paper for him to use.

“It has to be a good gauge,” he explains. “It tears too easily if it’s too thin.”

I watch Melvin work as we talk. With a bottle of Elmer’s, a pair of scissors and a couple of worn and weathered hands, he carefully folds, bends and creases ordinary paper into beautiful works of art. Various people stop to comment and several friends greet him warmly. I offer him a coffee, but he refuses.

“Thanks,” he tells me, “I already bought one. This is the hard part.”

His hands are shaking as he prepares his needle and thread to attach a dangling crane to the center of his masterpiece.

Melvin completes a beautiful ornament with ornate flowers blooming in blues and greens with matching foil centers.

“People like the paper with patterns and bright colors,” he tells me.

Holding up his finished piece for me to see, Melvin’s face displays a look of true satisfaction, the look of a man proud of his work. This truly creative man has invented his own way of survival. He places the beautiful ornament in the Tupperware container with the others, mounts his bike, and heads for Trader Joe’s.

_____

Email Melvin at melorigami@gmail.com or visit him online at waptek.white.prohosting.com/melvin.htm

Briena Sash is a longtime community volunteer, travel photographer and photojournalist intimately involved in photographing, chronicling, and befriending the Portland homeless community. Read her blog at www.streetquotes.wordpress.com

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Can you spare a token?

Sanctity of Hope offers new way for you to help the homeless

By Briena Sash
The Portland Upside
August 2009

Sanctity of Hope raises awareness of its token program with their weekly barbecue for the homeless. (Photo by Travis Van /Staaveren

Portland-based, nonprofit Sanctity of Hope is unique. It isn’t just about helping the homeless; it’s about “helping you help the homeless.”

Oregon native Travis Van Staaveren created Sanctity of Hope as a solution to a problem. He knew that people want to help those less fortunate; he also knew, however, that many people are hesitant to hand out cash and, therefore, may not give at all. How could he help people, who don’t want to give cash, give to the homeless? How about a token system?

“I wanted to get the community more involved helping each other. I wanted to remove fear of ‘ultimate use’ and make it easier to give,” says Travis.

In order to facilitate giving, Travis has devised a plan: he has minted silver dollar-sized brass tokens which can be bought by the public and given to the homeless instead of cash. The homeless redeem the tokens at participating establishments to purchase necessary items such as food and emergency goods. Sanctity of Hope then purchases the tokens back from the partners and sells them back to the public.

What inspired Travis to become so heavily involved with such an issue?

“I’m a problem solver,” Travis admits,” I saw a problem and there didn’t seem to be a good enough solution—so I came up with one.”

Many may assume Travis to be much more than a problem solver… humanitarian, perhaps? Travis has strong objections to these accusations. Truth be told, Travis is a surprising and seemingly unlikely candidate to start such an organization in response to this sort of social problem. Web Master by trade, Travis has no background with nonprofit work. When speaking of the events and circumstances leading up to the organization’s birth, Travis does not mention things like Social Justice, Liberation Theology, duty or rights. Nor does he speak of any sort of calling or mission. He simply describes himself as someone doing what he thought needed to be done.

“It’s a travesty: people who want to help, but can’t, and people who need their help but don’t receive it. I wanted to get rid of the barriers to giving and show everyone just how generous we are,” Travis continues, “That is what Sanctity of Hope is all about, giving people the opportunity to give.”

Pizza Schmizza is among the local establishments accepting tokens, where 2-3 tokens can buy a hot slice of pizza and soda at two of the popular pizza chain’s downtown locations.

“Since Sanctity of Hope buys the tokens back from businesses, no business needs to take a loss by accepting tokens,” says Travis.

In fact, businesses determine each token’s value in their own stores. They can decide whether to participate for charity or for profit. It’s a win-win.

“So far the tokens have had a great response,” according to Travis, “People feel comfortable handing them out, and the homeless love them.”

However, it is not always easy getting establishments to accept tokens. Travis realizes that while some businesses are happy accepting them, many still view them as a hassle. Because of this, Travis is taking Sanctity of Hope, and giving to the homeless, in a new direction: token-only vending machines.

Travis’s newest project is to set up vending machines that solely accept Sanctity of Hope tokens. Sanctity of Hope’s first vending machine, installed in January of this year, is located in the Job Resource Center at the Goodwill on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in SE Portland. The location has already seen such great response that Goodwill has encouraged placing several more at their other Job Resource locations.

Socks, sewing kits, granola bars, personal hygiene products, flashlights, and emergency items were among the items recommended by the homeless themselves and initially available in Sanctity of Hope’s vending machine. That is, until Travis recognized an imbalance in item purchases. Surprisingly, the vast majority of tokens were being exchanged for Subway gift cards. Stocking Sanctity of Hope vending machines with gift cards offers a broader selection and lets the homeless decide what they want or need.

“I was purchasing many of the items in the vending machine at the same stores now represented by gift cards, so the selection has actually grown,” says Travis.

He also believes it will better promote feelings of dignity.

“I want to integrate the homeless back into society, to make them feel like they are part of the community instead of outsiders. With gift cards in hand, the homeless are no different than any other customer.”

So far, Travis has collected gift cards and gift certificates from barber shops, restaurants, outdoor/survival stores, pet shops, dollar stores, bicycle shops, coffee shops, and many more. In the near future he hopes to include a laundromat and a place for bathing.

When asked about the response of the homeless community to Sanctity of Hope, Travis explained, “In the beginning our only concern was that the homeless community would not be receptive to the token system—preferring to receive cash. This has certainly not been the case. We’ve heard so many of the homeless say, ‘thank you, the last thing I need in my pocket is money.’”

With a fist-full of tokens the homeless can get a meal at a number of restaurants, a haircut, some food for their dog, a bicycle tire, a blanket, some socks, or just a cup of coffee.
Local businesses, foundations and individuals alike have shown Sanctity of Hope astounding support.

“We’ve had youth groups, men’s groups, churches, and a number of volunteers take on Sanctity of Hope as a project. They’re purchasing and distributing tokens, raising money at work, handing out care packages at our weekly barbecue, and even baking cookies and knitting scarves and hats to hand out to people to raise awareness,” says Travis.

Token minting and vending machine purchases are supported 100 percent by sponsors and token sales. Tokens are minted in batches of 1,000 and most tokens include the sponsor’s name imprinted on the back side of the token. Vending Machines can be similarly sponsored. Sanctity of Hope plans to install 10 more vending machines in Multnomah County in the next 24 months, and eventually expand nationwide.

“What we need now is to familiarize the public with Sanctity of Hope,” says Travis. “To let them know they can give freely, without hesitation, and truly feel good.”
_____

For more information about Sanctity of Hope, to purchase tokens, or to sponsor a set of tokens or a vending machine, visit www.SanctityOfHope.org or email Travis at info@sanctityofhope.org

Briena Sash is a longtime community volunteer, travel photographer and photojournalist intimately involved photographing, chronicling, and befriending the Portland homeless community. www.streetquotes.wordpress.com

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