Lockdown 2020

I thought it was about time I wrote about my lockdown story because it has actually helped to steer my business to where it is now. At the end of 2019 I decided to think about rebranding my business to focus on Interior sewing rather than fashion. This, as with many big decisions was terrifying, and I was putting it off.

Cue Covid-19 and The Great Lockdown of 2020 and EVERYTHING changed. For the first couple of weeks I was utterly lost. I was so used to constantly having work to do that to suddenly have nothing was a big shock. I decided to throw myself into rebranding my business into what it is today, Cushions & Creations. With the help of Lynne at Big Idea Brand Marketing, we began the journey. At the same time, I was looking for things to do, and found all sorts of help groups popping up on Facebook and realised I might be able to do something after all. (I’m a Helper by nature and despite feeling somewhat lost, shifting the focus to helping in some way was comforting)

I remembered that my Godmother Anna and her daughter Maria are both nurses, so I sent them a message asking if there’s anything I can do to help. Scrubs, food, anything. A few days later Anna asked if I can make her some fabric face masks for the Maternity department where she works at Whipps Cross. They needed to be 3 layers and washable. So I began researching what fabrics and requirements would make the best handmade masks. Between the CDC and WHO requirements, I worked out the best types of cottons, the best types of fabrics to use as a filter layer and which fabrics to avoid.

I made some samples and sent them off, wondering if they were good enough. They were. So I bought some lovely patterned fabrics and made my first batch of 20 masks and posted them off. They were so happy. As was I. To finally have a sense of purpose felt great. They send me some photos, which TOTALLY MADE MY DAY!

Upon further research, I learnt that masks, particularly if they needed to be worn all day had to be changed regularly, and the 20 masks were actually not enough. Not even close. So I made more. By this point my friends were asking if I could make them a mask or two. So I thought, OK, even if I sell 10 at £6 each, that will more than enough cover all the fabric components and postage to send another batch to Whipps Cross.

Well, famous last words as they say… I could barely keep up with the DMs, texts, emails and calls. Word had spread, I can’t even remember how. I realised that if this was going to continue I needed to set up a proper web shop to manage orders in a trustworthy way because word had spread beyond immediate friends, and I had strangers asking as well. So quite literally overnight at the dining table, I set up an online shop.

I was only offering women’s masks at first, but the demand was slowly growing for men and kids. From the 10 fabric options in 1 size that I began with, it grew into the 80 designs and 7 sizes there are now.

The dining table became the Shipping Department, with my partner Stuart helping get the orders packed and shipped, with daily 3am drives to the parcel drop off lockers!

I was sewing 12-14 hour days 6-7 days a week throughout lockdown, learning and adapting to each piece of feedback and request. There were days where I’d feel so overwhelmed at the sheer volume of sewing I needed to get through, Id burst into tears, but remembering what it was all for made it worth it. In between orders I was sewing extra masks to keep donating.

At this point I was contacted by a friend who asked me about my lockdown story and whether she could interview me for an article. Of course, I said. Not really thinking much of it at the time.

When the online article was published several weeks later, it actually felt like months later because I’d been so busy sewing I forgot about it! It was the first article written about me, ever! It was actually a bit of a shock (they called me an Entrepreneur!). For the first time I actually took a moment to stop and take in what I had been doing all these months, because when you are head-down and working non stop, its easy to forget what you are actually doing. It was a very WOW moment! You can read the article via BDAILY NEWS here. It was later republished via Business Mondays and ran again!

There came a time when the Maternity Department at Whipps Cross said they had enough masks and even sent me the biggest thank you gift/s I’ve ever received! I must have read the card a dozen times, sobbing. I didn’t really realise just how much of an impact I had made until I read the card and saw just how many people make up the department and how much it helped them to have been sent masks. It’s a very heart warming feeling and one I will never forget. I’m so grateful I was able to help.

I decided to use the momentum in sales to support other charities and groups, donating a % of the profits of a particular design to the nominated recipient. Partly to help and partly because these groups and charities were either working through lockdown in some way as well or their work was helping to support or enrich those isolating at home. I chose Lurcher Link Rescue (I have a whippet called Zelda, so somewhat biased towards sighthounds!!), Cavell Nurses Trust, Ealing Wildlife Group and Friends of Horsenden Hill. I am still supporting these charities and will continue to do so because it has been so successful, raising well over £1000 to date. If you’d like to support them by buying a mask, you can do so here.

All the charities and groups have a special meaning to me, whether its my love for animals or nature. It was a way of giving something back as a thank you to all those who were supporting my work through lockdown by buying masks because believe me when I say, I am so unbelievably grateful and thankful to each and every customer, every email, message, text, phone call, a letter and even a lovely hamper of goodies I received throughout lockdown. I cried many (many, many) times when being told how happy someone was because they finally felt safe to go out for a walk or because they found a mask that fit or simply because I was helping, where they couldn’t and they were happy to see the result of their support via my work. I saw so much kindness, gratitude and spirit from complete strangers and this is something you don’t see every day.

So without having planned it, I managed to pivot my business to not only survive lockdown, but to also help where I could.

I am back to sewing my usual cushions, dog coats and everything in between, and with help from Mum The (Couture) Seamstress, I am still sewing and sending out masks as well. I am planning to expand on the web shop, selling other products currently being developed and tested and have spent many an all-nighter working on my website. (it’s still a work in progress, but certainly a world away from what it was in January!) This is all thanks to the strangest and most unusual adventure that was Lockdown! (I don’t quite know if I can call it an adventure actually, but it was certainly a very strange time).

To date, I have sewn over 6000+ masks and fulfilled nearly 1000 orders, supplied GP Surgeries and various local businesses and even have some bespoke designs stocked in a small independent shop, as well as the Saturday morning shop at Horsenden Farm in Perivale who worked very hard over lockdown baking and hand delivering bread to locals every week. (They get 50% profits from those sold at the farm shop).

I made sure (and still do) to support other small businesses like myself when buying fabrics and components and even donate the fabric scraps to children’s play groups. The larger fabric scraps go to a lovely local lady called Margaret who makes all sorts of wonderful things to sell at various events to raise money for Cancer Charities, which saves dozens of bags of fabric from landfill.

I have learnt a hell of a lot in this time and forged some amazing friendships along the way too. So while it has been a very weird and unusual time, its also been rather wonderful.

If you have made it this far, thank you. Thank you for your support and encouragement. For the comments and likes. The thank yous and the shares. I would not have made it where I am today without you.