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Langley graphic designer looking to help by making handmade face masks

Teresa Beere Johnson crafts reusable fabric masks for sale and giving back to health care workers
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One of Teresa Beere Johnson’s students makes a mask for “Flatten the Curve Handmade Masks”. (Teresa Beere Johnson/Special to the Langley Advance Times)

As the COVID-19 situation escalated these past few weeks, Langley resident Teresa Beere Johnson was checking in with her niece – an RN at Kamloops Hospice – to see how she was doing.

She, like many other health care workers everywhere, was becoming concerned about the dwindling stock of supplies, particularly face masks.

“I had started noticing more and more people wearing disposable masks and know that they are near impossible to obtain,” Beere Johnson said. “After I created my first batch of masks, I posted them on my Facebook. It turns out that a lot of people were very interested in them and requested that I make some for them.”

Beere Johnson said the best masks to wear for protection are the N95 disposable type masks and it is of utmost importance that health care providers have access to these products.

“I decided to help out and make simple cotton face masks to help out my RN niece who works at Kamloops Hospice. The consensus is something is better than nothing, even if it doesn’t offer full protection,” she added.

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To fulfill requests from people wanting masks and the need for those in health care, Beere Johnson created a small store in which people can purchase her creations.

She has since hired several students to help keep up with the demand, crafting multicoloured Olson-style masks.

Proceeds of these sales will go toward the cost of the materials, labour, and towards masks beere Johnson is donating to FTC Handmade Masks - a charity organization who is distributing face masks to high risk members of society.

People can find out more about her startup Eco-Masks, and purchase masks at https://eco-masks.ca.

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Email: ryan.uytdewilligen@langleyadvancetimes.com

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