Good Stuff

by Sydney Johnson

Embrace the Rainbow

Artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer in Crystal City Embrace the Rainbow

Need a dose of color therapy to brighten the dreariest days of winter? A new public mural at the Crystal City Metro stop will do you good. Stretching 115 feet long and 20 feet high, “Harmonize” is the work of D.C. artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer, who in October was unanimously selected by the National Landing Business Improvement District (out of more than 30 submitting artists) to create the vibrant street art that now greets commuters and passersby at the top of the escalators. A feminist activist and member of the LGBTQ community whose aesthetic centers on messages of strength and hope, Thalhammer, aka “The Rainbow Dragon,” is known for similar works such as the rainbow-hued “LOVE” mural in D.C.’s Blagden Alley. “I like watching a place come alive with joy and wonderment,” she says. The Crystal City installation is designed to exude “a pleasing, meditative energy that embraces commuters in a hug of color. My murals turn overlooked spaces into portals of positivity.” lisamariestudio.com

Jake's Ice Cream employees Meghan (left) and Leanna

Get the Scoop

Robin Rinearson was preparing to close her optometry practice in Bailey’s Crossroads and retire at the end of 2020, but the shutdown derailed her plans of working less and traveling more. It also left her concerned for her nephew, Jake, 29, who has cerebral palsy and, amid the pandemic, was laid off from his job at E-Tron Systems, a Northern Virginia nonprofitthat offers a work environment for people with disabilities.

With travel on hold, Rinearson decided to celebrate the sweet life in a different way. She scaled back her practice hours, acquired a food license and, in August of 2021, opened an ice cream parlor in Falls Church.

Tucked into a strip mall off Columbia Pike, Jake’s Ice Cream now trains and employs some two dozen adults with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to autism spectrum disorder and Down syndrome.

There are no job descriptions. Instead, employees of the scoop shop work with on-site job coaches from the nonprofitServiceSource to learn new skills and progressively master specifi tasks. “We want to meet people where they’re at,” Rinearson says. Store managers and parents of some employees also pitch in to help with training.

Jake, for one, loves his new gig. He likes being active, having a job and making new friends. The last part is something he does easily.

“He’s chatty,” Rinearson says. “He’s never met a stranger.”

With the arrival of colder weather, the shop has expanded its menu with a few confections to stave off the seasonal chill. In addition to ice cream in flavors such as blackberry, maple, cookie dough and vanilla-salted-caramel (plus a few nondairy vegan options), the menu includes hot cocoa bombs and cake pops. Need ice cream for a local event? They do small catering jobs, too. sweetjakesicecream.com