I spent the better part of September with the cursed Covid virus. And when I surfaced from it, to my utter amazement, a Café had opened in our neighborhood. Now, there aren’t that many local cafés in eastern Helsinki, so that there came a café of any kind in itself was already a miracle. That it was nice and served good tea seems already too good to be true. There aren’t that many cafés I find nice in the whole city, and in most of those the tea they serve is… Yes, well. Let’s not go there. They are in the center anyway, so far away from where I live.

The important thing is that my neighborhood now has a beautiful Café that is everything I have ever wanted of a cafeteria.

The owners are Vietnamese. And we, me and my fiancé, thought to offer them help, in case they needed to translate something (English-Finnish, neither of us speaks any Vietnamese). We exchanged instagrams as a form of contact.

And then something happened that I wasn’t prepared for.

One of the owners asked if I wanted to give a workshop there. I was a bit astonished, since I have never given a workshop before and I really didn’t know what to do with this idea. I kind of secretly hoped they would just forget about it.

They did not. And when the topic came up the third time, I realized I would actually need to give a workshop there. Of something.

Now, contrary to the common belief, I am actually not that good with pencils. I have also absolutely dozed off all art lessons and color theory lectures I have ever attended. I have in my life given many private lessons of math, languages, and technological survival. Yet I still very much doubted I had in me the raw material of an art teacher.

However, to my great luck, Christmas was coming. And I am a Christmas-person. I love making Christmas cards and running around the city with little presents. So, in the form of crafting Christmas cards, I could bring holiday mood to the table, if nothing else.

As I had never given a workshop, though, I understood that this was a trial. My main goal, I decided, was to share the proper holiday mood. I didn’t buy anything for the event, but went through my closets to see what I had that could be used, and built on that. Consequently, I didn’t ask for an entrance fee, nor did I put up big advertisements. I hoped people would come to the Café and discover something a bit special. This was my little Christmas present for the neighborhood.

Many questioned this approach. But on the 3rd of December when I opened up the crafting station and the day unfolded, it became obvious I had made all the right choices.

People loved the templates I had made, the instructions were clear enough, and I even sold out of the Christmas cards I had brought there to try and make a little bit of pocket money. And most importantly, I really felt the fun people had. There were many customers that just wandered in and got really enthusiastic about the workshop and the possibility to do their own cards.

I admit though I had totally missed the target group. I had thought middle aged or elderly Finnish ladies would be my main audience. They were not. Though they did buy most of the cards.

But instead young international people and teenagers got the most out of it. I had to translate all the instructions into English on the spot and hand write them by the sides of the Finnish guidelines.

Of course, some of the people I knew showed up, and I am proud of them, since I forced all of them to try the paints. They did a great job. And I am happy and grateful they came to support me.

But I am not sure they were the ones that got something special out of the experience.

My magical memories remain with the people that happened to wander in:

The Italian doctorate student with whom I talked at the very beginning.

The silent teenager with whom I am not sure I exchanged any words at all. But who started even shading their own creation. Head bent over the little painting.

The group of friends that stayed, even after I went home. I left them some paints and brushes to finish up. I think they spent hours there and did own designs as well. They thanked me when I was about to disappear back into the darkness waiting outside. It was a very earnest thanks.

It was a very heartwarming experience. I went home feeling fulfilled.

I am very grateful to Yesterday Café for insisting. And now I do have plans for a second workshop. Whether it will be quite as successful as this first one, only time will tell. At least now I have the courage to try, of my own initiative.