When Inga Gruzdys, owner of Inga Fine Tailoring in Windsor, created a few cloth masks for friends and family, she had no idea that she would soon find herself with more orders than materials.
The masks are made out of three layers of knit cotton fabric and are machine washable and reusable. “They’re sturdy with an elastic band sewn in and they fit every face due to the piping,” said Kristi Kelly, friend and customer of Gruzdys. “My kids and I love them because they’re reversible, so you have two different colors or patterns to choose from with each mask.”
Kelly, who is also the owner of Aspen Speech Therapy, posted a Facebook Live video about the masks on her Facebook page and within hours both Kelly and Gruzdys had hundreds of orders for masks.
“We’re selling the masks for 20 dollars each and we will donate 10% from all sales to the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado’s Northern Colorado COVID-19 Response Fund. Additionally, Aspen Speech Therapy has stepped up to match the donation in full,” said Gruzdys. “We really want to encourage people to refrain from purchasing medical-grade protective equipment. These masks provide the protection recommended by Governor Polis for the general public and won’t interfere with the needs of our frontline workers.”
The problem now is that with all of the fabric stores being closed due to the stay-at-home order, Gruzdys doesn’t have enough cotton material to continue filling orders. “We’re hoping that through our outreach, we can figure out a way to get access to more materials so that we can serve more people.”
Gruzdys, who normally only provides upscale tailoring services to her customers, has a master’s degree in design and technology and has been sewing professionally for more than 30 years.
Order masks online at https://tinyurl.com/t7bcp46