Made in Starbucks: kicking off a celebration of creativity in the UK
Every great idea has something in common – it has to start somewhere. Just ask illustrator and Lass Paints founder, Ellie Stephens. “I’m constantly collecting ideas without even realising it,” she explains. “The things I spot in nature, funny conversations, colour combinations or tiny details that most people would walk straight past.”
She’s not alone. Made in Starbucks, a UK campaign launched in June, was created in response to a clear tension: creativity remains hugely valued in the UK, but the spaces where people can come together, create and collaborate feel harder to find. Research commissioned as part of the campaign found that nearly eight in ten (79%) UK adults say creativity helps them express themselves.* The campaign celebrates Starbucks coffeehouses as spaces people can share ideas, start side hustles and connect over creative passions, from the first spark of inspiration to something bigger.
“One of my favourite things about spending time in our coffeehouses is seeing how many different ideas are taking shape around me.”
“One of my favourite things about spending time in our coffeehouses is seeing how many different ideas are taking shape around me,” says Vic Robertson, marketing director, Starbucks UK. “You might have someone sketching designs in the corner, another person preparing for a pitch meeting and a group of friends discussing a new idea for a side-hustle.”
Windows to creativity
For years, Starbucks has supported creative communities by providing them with a welcoming ‘third place’ to connect, share ideas and enjoy a great coffee. But as part of Made in Starbucks, we went a step further. Seven local sign-makers and artists around the UK were given the opportunity to transform their local Starbucks coffeehouse windows for the summer. Their brief was simple: create a design around the slogan ‘ideas that come from nowhere have to start somewhere’.
In Manchester, Ellie transformed the windows of Starbucks Mount Street coffeehouse into a mural inspired by the everyday moments that spark her creativity. It portrayed a daydreaming coffee cup caricature surrounded by colourful characters and illustrations bursting into the world around it.
Meanwhile in Liverpool, Victoria Turner set out to capture the city’s rich musical heritage. During lockdown, she began creating artwork to brighten her local community – a personal passion project that’s now grown into a successful illustration and sign-making business. Victoria’s mural on the Starbucks Ranelagh Street coffeehouse featured musical notes in honour of Liverpool’s most famous musicians, The Beatles, alongside leaves and berries inspired by the coffee plant.
“For me, creativity is everywhere,” she says. “It can come from the places you visit, the people you meet or even a conversation over coffee. It’s been really special to create something for Starbucks that celebrates that.”
Creativity in your hand
The creativity didn’t stop at coffeehouse windows. In August, The Starbucks Illustration Club offered another canvas – this time, one you could hold in your hand. People across the UK were invited to pick up a Starbucks cup and make it their own, with illustrations created in pens, pencils, paint and anything else that sparked their imagination.
They could then submit their creation to a panel of four judges that included Yinka Ilori MBE, an artist and designer renowned for finding creative possibilities in everyday things, and professional artist and illustrator Rob Draper, whose own creative journey started fittingly close to home.
“I used to spend time sketching on cups while sitting in Starbucks coffeehouses, never imagining those early drawings would help shape my career as an illustrator,” Rob reveals. “The Starbucks Illustration Club shows that creativity doesn’t always begin in a studio, sometimes it starts with a pen, a coffee and an everyday moment.”
The Starbucks Illustration Club’s winning entry came from 36-year-old Manii Basran from Ealing, West London. Her design brought Mehndi, the traditional henna art form she has practised for almost 20 years, onto the Starbucks cup. Inspired by the circular shape of the Starbucks siren logo, she created a mandala motif, a design she regularly uses when adorning brides with henna as part of their pre-wedding rituals celebrating creativity, heritage and culture.
Commenting on the winning submission, artist, designer and Illustration Club judge Yinka Ilori MBE said: “Design is for everyone, and art is for everyone. This artwork beautifully celebrates the beauty of art as a global language. Taking henna, a very traditional technique, and applying it to a Starbucks cup is genius.”
“I’ve been a huge Starbucks fan for years, so when I saw the Illustration Club competition announced, I knew straight away that I wanted to enter”
Along with receiving one-to-one creative mentoring from Yinka, Manii will now see her artwork brought to life as part of a nationwide billboard campaign. Nine runners-up will also have their designs appear across advertising billboard sites nationwide.
Speaking about her submission, Manii Basran, Starbucks Illustration Club winner, said:
“I’ve been a huge Starbucks fan for years, so when I saw the Illustration Club competition announcement, I knew straight away that I wanted to enter. I work across the road from my local Starbucks, so I popped over, picked up a cup, took it back to the office and just started creating.
My first thought was ‘cone to cup’ and when I looked at the circular Starbucks logo, a mandala felt like the perfect fit. It’s a design I’ve used on brides for years, so it felt like a natural way to bring my two passions together. Growing up in Ealing, West London, Mehndi has always been part of the celebrations and traditions around me. It’s an art form with such a rich history, so it feels incredibly special to bring something so meaningful to me into a new, modern and unexpected space.”
The good news for UK creative communities is that Made In Starbucks is just getting started. Having kicked off with a specially created film featuring musicians, illustrators, writers, producers and poets in our coffeehouses up and down the country, the campaign will continue to support and celebrate creativity in all its forms.
And if there’s one thing every artist involved so far has shown, it’s that you don’t always have to know exactly where an idea is going. From windows to coffee cups and anything in between, you just need somewhere to start.
*Research conducted by Censuswide. Fieldwork was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults in June 2026.
