Hey, Katie! What’s the deal with the gnomes?
Pip, the little rascal who started it all.
I’m so glad you asked!
We were early into the Pandemic and folks were discovering all sort of new hobbies that they now had time for. I spent those long at-home days embroidering and needle felting and had amassed a veritable army of tiny gnomes. Who needs that many gnomes?
Our town, like so many these days, had its own Facebook page: Ask Midland. One Saturday afternoon I read a post from a single mom of two small boys who had discovered a love for jigsaw puzzles. They had completed all the puzzles in their home several times over and she was asking if anyone had puzzles they’d be willing to part with. Now, at the beginning of the pandemic, we thought we were going to be a Puzzle Family ™ but had soon learned we were more of a Cards Against Humanity family.
I messaged the mom,
packed up a huge bag with what I hoped would be days and days of fun for her little sweethearts, and drove over to leave them on her porch. As I arrived, I realized I had a tiny felted gnome in the car, so I gave him a name and a job and left the following note:
“Hi! This is Pip, the Puzzle Gnome. He loves helping with puzzles but be careful- he’s a trickster and loves to hide puzzle pieces sometimes. If you’re missing a piece, ask Pip if he has it. Have fun!”
I was giddy on the drive home,
and even more so the next morning when I received a voice note from the little ones: “Tanks for da puzzoes!” The mom added that her youngest was taking Pip’s role very seriously and required her to sit and not take her eyes off Pip, lest he steal away with some treasured pieces. “I can’t get anything done because I have to guard Pip. He also asked if Pip is magic.” It was delightful.
I began leaving tiny pals all over town…
little free libraries and playgrounds, with notes telling the finder that they’re doing a great job at being human and that the world is better and brighter because they’re here. Each time I would giggle all the way home, thinking what fun it would be to feel that giddiness every day. Wait a minute.
I COULD feel that giddiness every day.
Undercover Kindness Gnomes was officially launched on February 21, 2021
and as of today we have sent 524 little buddies out to strangers in over half of the United States and four different countries. We became a real, honest-to-goodness non-profit in January 2025, and we are (dare I say it again?) giddy about the future.
We’d love to hear from you if you have questions or comments or pictures of your dogs. Our email is undercoverkindnessgnomes@gmail.com.
I’m so glad you’re here.