This pandemic thing is starting to get REAL.
Well folks, it’s been a crazy few weeks. How’s everyone holding up? How was your holiday weekend? My twins turned 13 on Easter Sunday so we tried to make it special for them, although the gathering was very small, family only, no hugs, etc. We were able to forget for a couple of hours that things are still really strange.
Know what I mean? Major changes are happening so quickly not only in our households, but throughout the nation, and the whole world. Every day we all wake up and can’t believe this is our new reality.
SCHOOL CLOSINGS & HOARDING
As soon as Portland Public Schools announced schools would close, everything got crazy. Sounds like that was the case pretty much everywhere.
People started stockpiling groceries and hoarding all paper and sanitizing products. I went to Trader Joe’s around that time and there was literally NOTHING left on the shelves. I was in shock. Like I couldn’t remember my pin number, shock. And all I could find was a couple of sad red peppers and a bin of cookies. Soon after, people started cooking comfort food and baking like crazy; and next thing, there’s no flour or baking supplies to be found. WHAAAAT?
MORE CLOSURES
Over the weeks, as we learn more about this disease and the daily losses gain momentum, we are all growing more and more cautious, concerned and let’s admit it, afraid. The whole social distancing thing, lines to get into stores, business closures, anxiety around those particularly vulnerable, the economic fallout of all this; it’s a lot to absorb.
ONLINE COURSES & ECOMMERCE
Thank God the schools are starting to deliver online education. The kids have one subject in the morning, and one subject in the afternoon each day, as they rotate through the days with different teachers. That’s a lot easier than trying to navigate 6 lessons a day. This new reality will require a few hours minimum on my part, to keep them on track. And then there are the additional meals, snacks, dishes.
STRUCTURE
I have been growing concerned about my kids having too much idle time. They are finding online chat groups, FaceTime and group games, but spending a lot of time in their rooms, and on their devices more than I care to admit. I overheard one of their friends saying she felt it was easier to be in school then it was to stay home, and they all agreed. When they do return, I think they will have a new appreciation for what school provides. People are having to think outside the box, adapt to the new rules. We will all be changed by this for sure.
The craft and sewing community has been asked by many different medical entities and companies to start making fabric masks. PROVIDENCE alone is requesting 100 million homemade masks and I know Governor Andrew Cuomo of NYC is offering up all kinds of financial incentives for the fashion industry to start producing supplies for medical professionals, as they anticipate an increasing demand for quite some time.
I started to make a few masks last week and posted some images on Instagram. Since then, I have been asked to make masks by several friends, family, and neighbors.
Last week Etsy Admin put out a request for anyone who was capable, to start making masks, due to the unprecedented demand. As soon as I started to list them on Etsy, they would sell. I couldn’t keep up. Almost overnight, I along with 20,000 other artisans, were selling masks online. ETSY CEO , Steve Silverman, told NBC,” Our sellers are able to produce hundreds of thousands of masks a day.”
And, all of a sudden there was no elastic to be found in any local stores that were open as people scrambled to make masks. So I’ve been waiting with bated breath for my mailman everyday since ordering elastic online…
I started to make ties instead of using elastic and those are selling rapidly, too. Who knew my daughter had such a knack for styling mannequins and wigs. She even talked me into ordering more!
The CDC and many states are now recommending that you wear a homemade mask as an extra precaution when you go outside in public. Every time I go to the store I see more and more people wearing masks.
I have recruited my daughter and son to help me cut out prototypes and press them. We have turned our dining room into a temporary sewing factory.
We’ve been having fun coming up with various fabric combos. Any broadcloth, pretty tightly woven fabric works: light weight Pendleton wool, cotton, linen, and flannel fabric masks are available. Everything is pre-washed so that it can be rewashed and reused.
People are scrambling to find elastic everywhere; pulling it from their clothes, fitted sheets, dismantling bungee cords or using alternatives like hairbands, rubber bands, and cutup pieces of T-shirts, etc.
I’m trying to select broadcloth fabric for my two layered tasks. There has to be a balance between getting enough coverage to feel protected without feeling like you’re suffocating. You need enough of a gap in the mask in front of your mouth that you feel comfortable.
If you would like to try your hand at your own mask, I have several links to tutorials on my Pinterest board.
WILL MASKS BECOME JUST ANOTHER ACCESSORY LIKE A SCARF OR PIN?
According to a recent article in THE GUARDIAN:
Masks have long been a regular feature of daily life in east Asia, for fashion and for health purposes, and are sometimes considered a sign of the wearer’s social responsibility.
“Whether it will take off as a fashion trend here in the US depends on whether stigma around wearing a mask can be changed,” says Christine Wu, a fashion anthropologist and former lecturer at the Parsons School of Design.
According to a recent article in the LA TIMES:
Major fashion brands are stepping in to help gather or make these much-needed supplies. LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton announced Saturday that it would obtain 40 million medical-grade face masks from a Chinese industrial supplier to distribute to French health authorities. Italian brand Prada shared Monday that it’s producing a run of 80,000 overalls and 110,000 face masks at one of its factories for Italian medical personnel.
I have to believe that some good will come out of all this. We are being catapulted into the future with all our video conferences and zoom meetings. And being forced to radically change and rethink our lifestyles. This situation has forced almost everyone to slow down, spend time with their families, plan out meals, take a look around at their homes, and contemplate what is most important. How lucky those of us are that are healthy, have a place to live and can keep food on the table.
GET OUTSIDE
Our family went to MT TABOR, a nearby city park, the previous Sunday, and it felt almost normal to have others all around, hanging out, and enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. It was so important for us to get out, throw a frisbee around, laugh, and forget about this crisis for a little while.
Wishing everyone the strength and good fortune as we navigate through this unknown, difficult time. I truly am so sorry for the people who are ill, or know someone who is suffering. Or for those who have lost their jobs or livelihood. I’m concerned for the doctors, nurses, therapists, various medical specialists, all the people sanitizing, cleaning, doing security, etc.on the front lines fighting this thing, as well as all the employees of grocery stores, pet stores, nurseries, drug stores, etc. There’s tension in the air, but there is also great compassion and kindness on display everywhere.
#BE SAFE
Hang tight everyone. Wash your hands, wear your masks, care for yourself and your loved ones. This will end, we will get through this, as other generations have gotten through various hardships: wars, famine, plagues. Who knows, this “slowing down” just might save our planet. Until then, stay home, stay safe, hold onto what’s dear, and BREATHE.
#WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER
Sending out love and warm wishes to everyone.
