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5/21/2020 Exciting new changes!News 5/19 Masks of Love is growing! We at Masks of Love started this endeavor in order to get as many face masks into WNC as we could in a short time. We did that with the community’s help! We did it with donations of time, money, materials, and skills. Thank you! Those initial efforts put over 6000 masks into our community. Now we looking to the future. Lot’s of us could use a new way to earn money and it looks like we will be needing masks for quite a while. We decided to continue these community efforts in a more sustainable way. … (Drum roll please)… Masks of Love is now offering a “Buy One, Give One” model. For every citizen mask you buy, we will give away a mask to an essential worker or someone in need in WNC. Some of our first Masks in this model will go to the: Buncombe County Schools Migrant Education Program  Masks of Love has also hired a few administrative /logistics people and are currently hiring home sewers. If you are interested in making some extra income sewing from home, here are the basics:
- we are paying $3 per finished Citizen 2 mask - we need commitments of 50 finished masks per week for 4 weeks - we care about quality If this opportunity interests you, send us a message at Masksoflovewnc@gmail.com We hope you will think of us when shopping for masks for your loved ones. We aim to serve WNC and beyond with a high-quality product. We love feedback, feel free to drop us a line! We also will put all proceeds from Mindy the Maskmaker logo sales (coupon code: WNC) towards our mask giveaway program or you can donate directly to that effort. Thanks again for caring about others and the health of WNC! 4/14/2020 Jen's Sewing NotesAre you sewing Citizen Mask 1, the curvy, fitted one? Some of these are coming in very small, and I think I figured out why. When you print the pattern, you need set your printer to the landscape orientation, not portrait. Double check the size of your pattern pieces. The bottom edge of A should be 5.25" and the bottom edge of B should be 4.25". The too-small masks will go to pediatric centers and won't go to waste, but please sew the masks at the correct size.
We have plenty of supply bundles at Flora, ready if you are running low. I love to see your kind faces through the glass door! We now have 100 mask bundles as well, for team-sewers and the super-fast! Today at Flora (still our mask drop off and supply location), we got two bins of beautiful fabric donations and even some elastic! About that clear elastic: With elastic in short supply, we’ve had to find a way to make the 1000’s of yards of the clear elastic we have work better. We're sorry if it's been annoying to work with! We have doubled and lengthened it. See the new instructions at the bottom of the Sewers' page. This applies to either Citizen mask design. 4/14/2020 Supply and DemandHello marvelous sewers and other supporters! First, I want to thank Donna and Greg of Ambrose West, an event and music venue in West Asheville. Ambrose West has opened up their space for our filter-cutting operation, and we will soon use their courtyard as a pick-up location for outgoing masks. It’s heartwarming how local businesses have stepped up to help.
The demand for masks has far outstripped our supply and, as a result, we have had to temporarily halt online orders for Citizen masks. As soon as we catch up on the 6000+ masks now in the queue, we will turn that back on.
We have also made the decision to raise the price on the Frontline masks, to $9.00 each, in packs of 20. This allows us to pay our commercial sewers, providing jobs in our community, as we recapture our overhead and materials costs. The purchase of a Frontline masks helps us provide both Frontline and Citizen-style masks to those in need, without the ability to pay.
Filter questions?Each of our masks comes with filters for the end-user. After research and testing, we've now started to make them out of sterilization fabric, a material used in the sterilization of surgical instruments. Made out of a type of polypropylene, this fabric is affordable, readily available, and has an impressive ability to block virus particles.
When you receive a Masks of Love mask, insert the filter into the pocket between the layers, center it, and open it up flat. You can reuse the sterilization fabric filter by first disinfecting it with heat: remove it from the mask; put the filter only in a low temperature oven, at 165 degrees; and let it "cook" for 30 minutes. Lay it flat while cooling. Sewers do not need to provide filters for the masks they make. We add filters to orders when we ship. For now, filters are not available separately in our online mask store. We have supply bundles a Masks of Love HQ if you need them: Flora, 428 Haywood Road; Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. 4/6/2020 Care & Use + Online Store UpdateNow that you’re a mask-sewing expert, you probably have people asking you questions about how to wear them. We just wrote a Care & Use insert to go into our outgoing mask packages. The info is posted on the website as well. Experts stress a good fit and correct use of a mask in helping to contain the spread of the virus. Every day brings an onslaught of frantic changes and fine-tuning of glitches at Masks of Love. Today, we’re focused on creating a regular online store for ordering masks. We’re ready to go live with that as soon as we get our payment link working. We hope to have it going by the end of the day at this link We are looking for an industrial walking foot sewing machine and/or an industrial serger to purchase. If you can help, send us an email. We’ve finally added a page that lists the Masks of Love WNC team members: click here. It also has a handful of the businesses and organizations that have helped in this project. Because of the chaotic nature of this emergency effort, the business section isn’t fully up-to-date, but we hope to complete it soon.
Thank you Toby Maurer and The Branding House Asheville for making this awesome Mindy the Maskmaker T-shirts and other goodies available for purchase HERE. Proceeds from the sales of these items will go directly to help fund our mask-making venture.  4/5/2020 Update: Masks flying in AND outRead the latest news here. And if you would like to get this in your inbox, go to our Volunteer/update form. 600 Masks on their way!Yesterday, we got the first finished masks and filters out the door and on the way to people who need them! We shipped 110 and delivered another 50, including some to Asheville Poverty Initiative's 12 Baskets Cafe. Other exciting numbers to share:
As you can see, demand is exceeding supply. Keep sewing like the wind! Recent articles of interest: A Sewing Army (NYT 3/25) Some Fabrics Work Better than Others (NBC 4/3) See Dr. Carly in the Mt Xpress' latest Covid-19 update.
3/30/2020 Keep them Coming!Bags and masks have started to come in. I've put a counter on the new Bags page so you can see how far we need to go: 17 down, 283 to go! You will find the updated instructions for the bag sewing on that page as well. Remember - we need the 24" x 24" ones first.
Please excuse the frequent updates on the patterns. We are inventing this project as we go. Thanks to Cindy and Sabra for their help troubleshooting the Citizen Mask designs. Thanks to Steve and Sherri for bringing us the FIRST batch of bags today.
At French Broad Sewing and Upholstery, they are fine tuning the nose pieces for the Frontline Masks. Lucas Waller designed a special jig to wrap several dozen at once. James Burns and Elizabeth Eve from Ortho Dog Shop have also stepped up big time in aiding the commercial production, with their die cut machine and speedy sewing team. So many generous and creative people are making this happen as fast as we possibly can. 3/26/2020 Start Your Machines!The Citizen Mask patterns are ready for download. There are now TWO patterns: the original face conforming style (Mask 1) and a new rectangular pleated style (Mask 2). We also improved the Mask 1 pattern by putting a grid under it for more accuracy. Please read the sewers info page first then GO… or keep reading and help us with our bag drive. In yesterday’s newsletter we requested cloth bags for use in transport and laundering. Sewers, we have a BIG need to acquire three hundred 24" x 24" bags from you as soon as possible. To help, follow these steps:
We are working on an FAQ for all your questions, We have yet figure out the answers to some of them! This is a fluid process, thank you for your patience. Masks of Love is grateful to Dogwood Health Trust for their partnership. Without hesitation, they jumped in with seed money to get this effort off the ground. Funds donated will go towards the purchase of materials, including the HEPA filters and other essential needs to support this community effort. THANK YOU On behalf of the medical community and the organizers of Masks of Love WNC, thank you SO MUCH for your help in this effort to save lives. Every stitch counts! If you are interested in being a driver, a wire wrapper, a filter cutter, or a bag packer, please send us an email and put VOLUNTEER in the subject line. Thank you! DROP OFF INFO
Bring your finished bags to Flora Botanicals, 428 B Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806. Hours are Monday - Wednesday - Friday 12-2PM Questions? Email us at masksoflovewnc@gmail.com 3/22/2020 Two kinds of masksStuff is happening fast, and it needs to. We are now making 2 types of masks: 1. Professionally sewn masks for higher risk medical workers. We have several wonderful local companies working on this, die cutters, upholstery and apparel shops. 2. Citizen Masks - This type is where the community sewers come in. These will be used for asymptomatic patients in medical offices, nursing homes, non-front line health care positions, as well as grocery stores, pharmacies etc. We have completed our Citizen Mask pattern and you can find it HERE. For more info on the masks, go HERE. We have also compiled a list of other community mask sewing projects around the US and the world. If you are not in Western NC but want to help, check that out. Our Gofundme is up to 6917.00 in 2 days! Masks of Love is grateful to Dogwood Health Trust for their partnership. Without hesitation, they jumped in with seed money to get this effort off the ground. Funds donated will go towards the purchase of materials and other essential needs to support this community effort. The power of community is really the silver lining in this crazy time. 3/21/2020 Solidarity and communityWelcome! The process for supplying, making and distributing masks is still developing. We are glad you want to be a part of it. Sewers and other volunteers sign up here.
Medical workers who need masks, please email us here. We have pulled this together in less than 24 hours. The Gofundme raised over $3000. We are in dialogue with a major donor. We have so many caring humans wanting to volunteer. Sit tight as we figure out the logistics. Follow us on FB where the latest updates are shared. |
Masks of Love WNCWe are individuals living in Western North Carolina and wanting to help in a time of crisis. We are medical workers, sewing professionals, artists and others trying to fill a need and keep our community safe. Archives
May 2020
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