As this pandemic spread worldwide and here in Maryland, we found out how quickly supplies run out.
That means we have to use a little ingenuity and imagination to restock what we need.
Heidi Griebel has a jewelry and clothing store in Cambridge and found a way to get more masks.
She started up Sunnyside 15 years ago. This is not the first time she's had business problems, like most of us she remembers the bank crisis of 2008.
"It was horrible. I should of quit but, I bought the building instead," she said.
So now Griebel is the landlord and the business owner and with that pressure her business slowly built back up and then COVID-19 happened.
One day business is riding high and the next? Nothing. Heidi wanted to help out but making jewelry wouldn't do anything to combat the virus but, what about something to cover our mouth and nose?
"Everybody’s looking for something in the face mask arena," she said.
She looked into face masks and she found out like we all did that they are all on back order, weeks or months away. So she took head bands and repurposed them.
Heidi is used to making jewelry, that’s how she got started in this business. These masks have a lot more to do for her than just fashion, they’re personal to her.
She has a friend who fell sick with respiratory problems and was in bad shape.
"Finally got tested and found out that’s what she had and she was getting better," she said.
So with that relief off her shoulders, Heidi started ordering head bans and other items to use as face masks. Several customers need to go to the hospital for cancer treatments and other reasons and need some sort of protection.
Griebel knows these aren’t hospital rated masks but, she’s happy it’s making a difference.
