Hero of the Day: Brooklyn upholsterer makes coronavirus masks for hospitals
A crafty Brooklyn upholsterer is using her needles and thread to combat the coronavirus crisis — by making hundreds of face masks for hospitals in dire need of the protective gear.
Ella Hall, who is turning pillowcases into CDC-compliant masks for hospitals across the country, is not only donating her own materials and time, she has organized an army of fellow volunteer sewers to do the same.
“It’s such a crisis that hospitals have contacted me and told me that they are down to nothing,” said Hall, whose project is called “Face Masks for our Front Lines.”
“Upon receiving a shipment of masks, a doctor at a hospital in [Manhattan] said to me, ‘Our whole team is in tears. You don’t know how bad this situation is,’” said Hall, whose upholstery business has slowed since the crisis, giving her extra time to help.
Since Saturday, Hall also has recruited around 250 volunteers to join her in her mission, and they’ve already delivered about 9,000 of the reusable surgical masks to 30 hospitals across the Midwest, as well as Oregon, Seattle and the Big Apple.
Medical centers in the five boroughs are at the top of their list.
“Hospitals don’t know when they are going to get more supplies, and they have to find alternative resources on their own,” Hall said.
“I wanted to make an impact, but I didn’t think it would go so far. There’s so much power in numbers. It takes tons of small makers to fill the need of masks companies.”
Dozens of New Yorkers have joined Hall’s initiative — with many finding out about the project on social media.
Volunteers willing to register with Hall’s shop, Stitchroom, receive free CDC-compliant patterns, a material list, an instructional video and a packet of other information. They commit to the number of masks they will make, set a deadline and only get reimbursed for the cost of shipping by Hall. The volunteers sanitize the masks before shipping, but the hospital sanitizes them again upon receipt.
Hall can churn out 100 masks per day, at a rate of two minutes per mask. She says beginners might need to spend as much as 10 minutes making a mask.
“I am committed to making them until I’m told to stop,” said Diane Deane, a 28-year-old bridal-shop owner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who completed 30 masks this week while binge-watching “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”
“Not only do I want to help, I feel that because I have the resources — fabric, machine, able little hands — it’s sort of my duty to help especially given that my business has come to a complete halt.”
Layana Aguilar Hordijk, a fashion designer in Tribeca in Manhattan, and her seamstress, Laura Oscam, have made more than 200 masks from home while her studio and fashion school for children are closed.
“My assistant and I sat on our machines for four hours straight. Our backs were hurting, we were hungry, but we couldn’t stop,” said Hordijk, 35, who passed the time by singing along to hits like “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”
“We knew that our feelings of little pain and little hunger were nothing compared to the amazing professionals who were in the hospitals on their feet for many more hours, risking their lives to help those in need. We just had to get it done.”
While the strict CDC guidelines only allow the use of double layer cotton in only four different patterns, volunteers still express themselves with heart prints, bright floral designs and even Mickey Mouse face masks.
“I have been using any 100 percent-cotton scraps I have, so most of the masks I have made are very bright and colorful,” said Elena Mercado, a business administrator working from home in upstate Schenectady.
“Hopefully it will bring a smile to peoples’ faces.”
Additional reporting by Gabrielle Fonrouge
Do you have a nominee for The Post’s Hero of the Day? Email [email protected].