It seems cloth masks are going to be a part of our lives for a bit. You can make your own at home, but if you want to support a small local business in these tricky times, here are some Vancouver companies that have temporarily retooled for mask production.

Blackwood Apparel | A great group of people that normally produces aprons, chef jackets and kitchen staff uniforms for our restaurant community. Right now they’re changed gears to make very simple washable and reusable fabric face masks and selling them for $5.50 per.

 

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A post shared by Search And Rescue Denim (@searchandrescuedenim) on Apr 2, 2020 at 6:01pm PDT

Search and Rescue Denim | In normal times, this group of hard-working locals produces high quality aprons for bartenders, chefs, salon workers and basically anyone who’d prefer to look good when practicing their craft. They quickly sold out of their first run of masks but have already begun production on the next batch. Bonus: for every $24 mask sold (available in three sizes) they donate another to Coastal Health.

 

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A post shared by g l a s n o s t (@glasnostworkshop) on Apr 6, 2020 at 4:41pm PDT

Glasnost | Stephanie Schneider was a restaurant industry worker before she started this small garment company (I love the look of her waterproof jackets). She’s taken one of her machines home from her workshop to make her masks in four sizes for $15 each. Bonus: for every sale she will be donating a mask to a front line worker on the DTES and $1 to the Vancouver Food Bank.

 

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A post shared by AW by Andrea Wong (@awbyandreawong) on Apr 7, 2020 at 9:30am PDT

AW by Andrea Wong | This local designer normally makes beautiful handbags but has temporarily shifted to focus on fabric masks, which are now being made to order in Chinatown. Each mask has a linen liner pocket for removable filters, plus adjustable straps. Cost is on a sliding scale with buyers paying what they can.

Abel Wear | With support and fabric from local super-business-women Michelle Rizzardo (One of a Few) and Sunja Link (Sunja Link’s Body Shoppe), plus the North Shore Alliance Church, the local women’s clothing brand is currently hard at work creating hundreds of masks for vulnerable people in Vancouver and North Vancouver, but will also be selling individual masks to the public (available on a sliding scale of $10-15 each, DM @abelwear for more info). Abel Wear is a women-run business employing a small team of women living with barriers – shout out to all the amazing ladies!