Hi Friends,

I decided to start a blog! I can’t say that I am much of a writer, but I hope that it will be a great way for me to reflect on my business each month. (We’ll see how this first one goes!) Plus, it will create opportunities to share more about myself and my journey with you! 

We are currently a week into May already (WHAT?!) but I will focus on the month of April. Like many, I became unemployed mid-March due to a variety of circumstances, including COVID-19. My small business has become the only source of income I have. I’m not sharing this to gain pity points but because I want to be open and honest about what’s been going on in my life. All of the spring craft shows I had lined up were cancelled, like so many artists. I no longer had a way to make more ceramics which had been my main focus up until this point. For the first couple weeks I did not make a whole lot of changes aside from allowing myself to play and create for fun while brainstorming ideas for how to make some income while also giving back to the community. (There were also days of wallowing a little bit and all day couch days mixed in of course.) 

Anyway, these changes are what brought me to sewing face masks. I had seen a lot of people on Instagram and Etsy beginning to offer masks and I thought I could try to make a few. (Actually, I thought my mom, Julie, could do this because she is an incredible seamstress and sewing can actually be quite stressful to me. I usually get super hot and sweaty due to the high number of needles and pins required for projects.) After my mom got started, I asked her to find a pattern that I could easily follow along so I could entertain the idea of selling masks. We decided to use fabric we already had at home from previous sewing projects which I liked because we were upcycling and not buying new fabric. From there it kind of just snowballed. My mom offered to make some for me to sell and this helped me gain confidence in my sewing abilities to seriously follow through with making some of my own. 

I “launched” the face masks on my website April 17th and sold out of the first batch within 24 hours! I had never had so many orders through my website, so this was even more exciting to me! As of today, we have donated and gifted a total of 75 masks. Sometimes this feels like a lot and other days I feel like I could be donating even more. It is hard to find a balance between doing what I need for myself while also feeding my need to give to others. My sister, Ellese, has also got in on the action and added to these stats. We have made a total of 225 face masks for both kids and adults that have gone to individuals and families in 10 different states. What keeps me going back to make more masks is the fact that we are giving them away and that the product itself, even if it is bought, is still helping people protect themselves and others during this crazy time. 

So what’s next? I am in the process of making a new batch of masks. My mom and I ran out of all the fabric we had at home and we had to buy new fabric. We decided that if we couldn’t upcycle, then we would support small local businesses. We’ve sourced material from Harts Designer Fabric in Santa Cruz and Sewing Arts Santa Monica in Los Angeles. Additionally, I decided to find a new way to give. Through the City of Santa Monica’s website, I found the Venice Family Clinic. I’ve chosen to focus my efforts on the Venice Family Clinic because they are a nonprofit community health center that specifically “provide[s] high quality comprehensive health care to families and individuals who might otherwise go without the care they need.” I come from a family of health care providers and am so grateful to all the health care heroes keeping us safe right now.

I will be launching a way for others to donate masks to the Venice Family Clinic through my website sometime next week. You will be able to “buy for a friend” and choose a style of mask that will then be donated to the Venice Family Clinic. The money that is used to purchase these donated masks will go directly towards the cost of materials and thread needed to make the masks. This is a great way for us to help others together and helps to keep me motivated to sew masks. Los Angeles is quite strict right now about wearing face masks in public places and I feel like everyone should be able to protect themselves and their loved ones. 

Lastly, I had to share some other cool things that happened this month! I was one of the makers highlighted in the Dear Handmade Life Blog. I was supposed to attend their Craftcation Conference and since it has been postponed, they have been finding ways to support their attendees.. The UCSB Alumni Association quoted me in one of their stories. I received a LA Young Creatives Fund Grant from the Mission Asset Fund. (Shout out to Casey at Art Bar LA for posting this resource on their Instagram stories for me to find!)

Huge shout out to my mom and Ellese for helping me make the face masks! I could not have made as many without them. Thank you to Andrew, my boyfriend, my dad, Bill, and brother-in-law, Will for putting up with our individual crazy craft messes and being 100% supportive of my creative endeavors. Finally, thank you all for supporting my work, especially if you’ve read this far!! Whether it was words of encouragement, buying from my website, or leaving a review, I am truly grateful for you all. Stay safe, be well, and take care of one another!

Love,

Michelle

May 8

UPDATE!!

Almost immediately after I posted this Julie, from the Sewing Arts Center in Santa Monica, reached out to me and asked if she could donate some fabric for me to make masks. And by fabric, I mean 35 pounds of it! I am overwhelmed and filled with gratitude. I am not sure what I will put up next week as far as how to donate or help as I have material to last for days. I will need thread in the future but for now I will be set up to make a ton of masks! If you want to help out and have an idea please feel free to reach out!