Jenn Scott, a senior health policy analyst for the state of Washington, has worked in healthcare administration for three decades, but she also delights in making crafts. “They always say, if you want to find out what you want to do in life, think about what you enjoyed doing as a kid,” says the psychology major. When she was growing up, she loved making things, including puppets and beads. In elementary school, she organized little craft fairs for the neighborhood kids.
In 2021, during the pandemic, Scott spotted a pompom wreath kit at a supermarket and brought it out at Thanksgiving. “We all got into it—my mother, my sister, my niece,” she recalls. “I realized I hadn’t been that happy in years.” During the next year and a half, Scott, who is married and has a 21-year-old son, made pompom wreaths for everyone in the family. Her sideline, Heart of Pom, took off.
Because she makes every pompom, it can take about 80 hours to create one wreath. Her designs range from the solar system to a tribute to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and a Dartmouth wreath. Some are as wide as 2 feet. She also branched into earrings, making beaded designs, hair ornaments, and garlands—all from pompoms.
Friend Jane Varner Malhotra ’90, who works in communications at Georgetown University, remembers the first time Scott gave her a pair of pompom earrings. “I thought, wow, these are bold, but I’m going to wear them. I got a lot of compliments.” She has since ordered about a half-dozen more pairs for herself—one pair glows in the dark—and more for friends. “The world is heavy right now, but these pompom earrings are not,” Malhotra says. “They are joyful. I wear them frequently. They make the people of D.C. smile.”
