Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jessica Lewis. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jessica, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I always like to talk about how Play Play started because it was an idea with multiple influences – my career, and my mom to name a few. The idea was to gift my community with a different type of experience that focused on building community and making friends. I met so many people who talked about how hard it is to find community and true friends. Especially queer adults who are looking for a community within safe spaces. Sometimes spaces meant for us are centered around nightlife, bars, and drinking. I wanted to offer something fresh, fueled with purpose, and something that was intentionally centered around community.
My passion for play began as an early childhood educator in pre-k classrooms, and I’m now in my fifth year of teaching kindergarten. Over time I’ve developed an appreciation for play and play-based learning in the classroom. It has really contributed to the skills I use to execute an authentic experience at Play Play. The classroom has taught me so many things about human behavior, and development, and it has shown me a lot about myself and my own development, the needs of others, and my own needs.
People want to be in a community and people want to make friends and I knew I had a solution that was simple and wasn’t going to be hard to execute. I had friends who believed in my vision and a school that was supportive of extending their resources. So, I thought that was enough at the time. I had people pushing me to start from scratch and just do it.
I texted some friends about coming out to play basketball, created an Instagram handle separate from my personal one, made a flyer, and locked down a familiar venue (my school). Seven people showed up, including myself. Six of those people were my friends, and one person I didn’t know. That one person I didn’t know is still a good friend of mine today. We had the best time, the seven of us. Seeing the joy on my friends’ faces and the bellows of laughter that filled the atmosphere, I knew our community needed to experience this type of joy, together.
The very first Instagram post was a Pop-Up Field Trip to the trampoline house, Sky Zone. Still, only my friends and maybe four other people, at that time, showed up. Our popular event ‘Recess’ was the initial brainchild that did not happen because of quarantine. So, we started a book club and met on Zoom until we could play outside again. Now, we still have a book club, ‘Recess’ is still the favorite, and we engage in Pop-Up Field Trips, Gym Jams, Skate Dates, Happy Hours, and Skip Days – which might be my new favorite event. I am most excited about all the ideas we haven’t even experienced yet.
Jessica, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I started by helping a friend of mine co-host her monthly happy hour events for the former queer-social giant ‘LezLink’. That is where I learned some of the basic skills of a successful event and how to host them. That is also the place where I met a lot of people who were self-proclaimed introverts, looking for friends and a community that was going to help them meet people effortlessly.
In the classroom, I am a relentless advocate for social and emotional learning, and a facilitator in creating classroom culture, community, friendship building, and repairing friendships among five to six-year-olds. Now, I use those same skills, in a slightly different way, to help adults find their tribe, meet new people, stay active, and heal childhood wounds – through play.
The results of play in my classroom inspired me to create a big play party for the children at my previous school. We invited the parents of our students and were able to share with them the benefits and purpose of play and how important it was to engage in play with their child. It was after that party that I mentioned to the founder of LezLink how I wanted to throw those same types of play parties for adults.
On a more personal note, my relationship with my mother, and her relationship with clinical depression has also influenced who I am today and some of the things I’m passionate about. When her health declined I saw how her community made a huge difference in her healing and recovery. When that community dwindled, so did her joy. It makes the quote I read that much more real, “Healing happens in community.” – ‘What Happened To You’
I am proud to be giving back in a way that means so much to me personally and I get to also help others in return. Play Play originated here in my hometown of Washington, DC – a place where I feel free to be my queer self, curate safe spaces, and a place where I’ve met so many people and had so many experiences that have influenced me greatly. I am proud of the way we have built this community, and how vulnerable they are in showing up and reaching out.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I’m building a social media presence because I started from scratch, even when I was most anxious about it. Most of us are afraid to start from scratch because we want fast results. Trust your ideas enough to put them out there and find creative ways to attract people.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
‘Play’ by Dr. Stuart Brown is a book I revisit sometimes. ‘What Happened to You’ by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey and ‘The Gift of Play’ have been influential in my thinking when it comes to curating events. Last but not least, I charge any person who brings people together to read ‘The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters’ by Priya Parker.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.playplaydc.com
- Instagram: playplaydc
- Facebook: Play Play DC
Image Credits
M. Hinton Photography J. Leigh Lewis