These wooden coins spread joy through compliments

BURLINGTON, Vt. (InvestigateTV) - Kindness is free, but a colorfully carved coin from Vermont just might buy you a bit of connection.

Small gestures can make a big difference. Nobody knows that like Kristin McCole, the creator of Compliment Coins.

McCole makes the tiny wooden tokens as a way for people to authentically connect with each other.

The artist, who spent years working in nonprofits and has no background in art or business, found her inspiration watching a mom struggling with fussy kids in a long customs line.

“And I remember thinking, man, it would be really nice to have something that I could hand her as we walk past each other that’s like, ‘You’re awesome. You’re doing a great job,’ because I really felt for her in that moment,” McCole said.

That moment sparked an idea to make tiny wooden tokens as a way to spread joy and connection.

After some trial and error, she landed on wooden coins with designs burned into them by hand.

“And then I thought, Oh, maybe I’ll make another one. And then maybe I’ll make another one,” McCole recalled.

Her handmade creations made their way into Thirty-odd, a Burlington gift shop right next door to McCole’s studio space. Soon enough, people started buying them.

“I couldn’t believe it because I’d never considered myself an artist and I never considered myself a business person,” explained McCole. “But I was just really compelled to make this thing that helped connect people.”

Six years later, Compliment Coins are still going strong.

McCole has since learned how to laser engrave the coins, which has helped her make thousands that are now all around the world.

“So, now I can make my original designs on the front and back and then laser engrave them. And then I sand them and paint them,” McCole said.

While they’re a sweet compliment for some, they’re a lifelong motif for others. McCole recalled one couple’s story.

“They bought a coin from me years ago that said that had a sloth on one side. And it said, ‘I like you’ on the other side. And they liked just sort of giving it back and forth to each other throughout their day or whatever, hiding it for each other,” McCole said. “And eventually, they took a hike and he wound up putting an engagement ring in the pouch with the Compliment Coin in it and proposing to her with it.” McCole said.

McCole also runs a “Finders Keepers” project, hiding coins around Burlington for people to discover for free. It’s all part of her mission to make compliments easier to give and receive.

“I mean, compliments can be really difficult. They can be really hard to give and very hard to receive. So it’s a way to like make that, to remind somebody that they can give a compliment, but also to make receiving compliment a little easier,” McCole said.