Quarantine Couture: Face the Future With a Creative Mask

Monday, April 20, 2020 at 5:41 a.m.

Michelle Baldwin "That's my friend and fellow sewist, Ann Flynn-Terrel," explains Michelle Baldwin, who is both selling and donating masks through her philanthropic drinking group, LUPEC. "We started a mask-making project about a month ago in conjunction with our friend Cha Cha Romero, who is a nurse at St Joseph's, and now I have a team of about fifteen sewing or prepping the fabric." 1/34

Shinesty The culturally appropriate Joe Exotic mask from Shinesty. 2/34

Shinesty "We had two goals in mind with this project: first, to help bring a little levity to people's daily lives and remind people that it feels good to laugh," says Chris White, CEO of Shinesty. "Second, to encourage normal people to stop wearing medical-grade masks that are desperately needed by front-line workers." 3/34

Michelle Baldwin "I had friends who saw that I was making masks reach out and ask if they could purchase some, so last week I started making some to buy, and I've made almost ninety and have orders for more," says Michelle Baldwin. "I was resistant at first, because I wanted to concentrate on the donated masks, but I have no money coming in right now since all large events are called off and the government still hasn't figured out the process of getting 1099 employees like myself unemployment benefits. So it's been a nice little source of income to help with bills." 4/34

Jill Valentich "My company, Valentich Goods, recently pivoted our production from aprons and knife rolls to masks and scrub caps," says founder Jill Valentich. "We've been overwhelmed by the response, and have been busy sewing up masks and caps for the last two weeks." Valentich offers a buy-one, donate-one option, and is donating masks to local hospitals and prisons. "So far we have 100 donations, but we'd love 100 more," she says. "We are just a two-person operation, my husband and I, making everything out of our home studio." 5/34

Jenell Pickering "One of our doctors made a plethora of masks for the staff on our unit, and they are reversible with a slit to put a flannel insert," says nurse Jenell Pickering, who wears her mask to the store and park when she takes her four-month-old on a mommy-baby workout. "One of our nurses also made some and gave them to my parents." 6/34

Stacey Kleinman This sugar mask was whipped together by chef Ian Kleinman of the Inventing Room. He made it with a custom flexible mold into which he poured cooked sugar, then used a torch to warm and shape it. "He wore it around the house all proud for a few hours," says Stacey Kleinman, the chef's wife and business partner. "He will probably get bored and eat it in the next few days. It's completely edible." 7/34

Niki Knaub "I have the kids wear these on their morning bike ride while I jog around Sloan's Lake," says children's book author Niki Knaub. "Early morning, there are not very many people at Sloan's, but I have them wear them anyway, and they don't mind. We call them the bike bandits." 8/34

Jennifer Satori This homemade leather mask by Jennifer Satori uses a shoe polish can for the filter. She decided to add a wig with kaleidoscope goggles. "You can’t see, but you’ll be the most attractive and shining person in the room," adds Satori. 9/34

Nick Touch Nick Touch and his wife, Shauna Anderson-Touch, sport masks as they close on a house in Arvada. Their masks were made by Melissa Gallic, who owns Union Stitch. "She makes lots of aprons for restaurants around town and shifted to masks," says Touch. 10/34

Thach Tran Ace Eat Serve chef Thach Tran made his with "a folded bandanna that's held together with a sheet clip and has stretchy bands, whatever they are called." He uses it when going out to stores, gas stations and the dog park. 11/34

Delanie Holton-Fessler Delanie Holton-Fessler, founder of The Craftsman & Apprentice, and organizer of the Facebook group Colorado Mask Project, with her family sporting both homemade and bandanna masks. 12/34

Brandi Shigley "For my mask, I took a lid from a pan and tucked it into the hood of my windbreaker," says Brandi Shigley, CEO of Fashion Denver. "I saw this on my friend's Facebook and had to try, as it made me chuckle. The only thing about this mask is that it's hard to breathe and it gets steamy." 13/34

Paul Reilly "I'm wearing the Breckenridge Ski School ski gaiter my kids got at a lesson in 2018," says chef Paul Reilly of Beast + Bottle, Coperta and Pizzeria Coperta. "I don’t wear it in the car or when I'm exercising outside, but if I'm shopping or at the market, it’s on." 14/34

Todd Oliver What better way to stay germ-free and keep your sneezes to yourself than by wearing a full-on gas mask? 15/34

Kyle-Anne Hoyer Veteran and retired postal worker Ernest Covington going to the post office in his handmade mask created by his wife, Kyle-Anne. 16/34

Teresa Woodhull "It's nothing fancy. I found an awesome pattern for a shaped face mask and I had some extra fabric from my college alma mater, Florida State University. So I decided if I’m going to make a mask, at least I can support my school with it," says photographer Teresa Woodhull. 17/34

Sarah Abell "I love me a neck scarf and am rarely without one, so adapting to a mask has been surprisingly easy," says public relations maven Sarah Abell. "The pink bandanna has been a constant for me since the shutdown. It works as a breezy mask, and it was gifted to me by a dear friend." The mask's design is called Sailor's Grave. It was made by Bandits Bandannas; sales benefit the Alzheimer's Association, an organization close to her heart, since she lost her dad to dementia. "They play double duty as a neck scarf when not being used as a face mask," she says. 18/34

Denver Central Market The Vero and Tammen's crew members inside Denver Central Market wear masks while working. Eli Citron got his from wish.com; Shelby Shumaker made a mask from an old T-shirt and wears it everywhere; Javi Ramos's came from the same shirt Shumaker used; and Tyler Gallup got his as a gift last year from one of his students from the Philippines. "It was used as a summer handkerchief that all of the students usually carried with them," says Gallup. "I never imagined actually needing to use it in this capacity." 19/34

Patrick McMichael This is a no-sew mask made by Brandi Shigley, CEO of Fashion Denver. She created it out of a clean old T-shirt. "With just a slit on each side to run two ties through, we were able to create this mask in five minutes," says Shigley, who made it for Patrick McMichael (pictured), architect and founder of Track Architecture. She learned to make these masks by watching an Instagram story by The Craftsman & Apprentice, a local Denver company. 20/34

Good Buy Gear "My neighbor made our whole family masks," says Megan Citarella, marketing director of Good Buy Gear. "We pass them on trail walks, and they thought we could use them." 21/34

Bobby Stuckey "I'm wearing a Wines of Germany bandanna that I received at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen in 2019," says Bobby Stuckey, co-founder of Frasca Hospitality Group. "I wear a bandanna mask when I run, when I go grocery shopping, when I stop in to one of the restaurants. Really, I wear one any time I'm out and about." 22/34

Linnea Covington Picking up veggies at Black Cat Organic Farm in Boulder was the perfect time for the kids to try out the masks made by their Minnesota grandma. 23/34

Aurum Breckenridge "These masks were purchased from a Steamboat local who has been sewing them from home," says chef Brian Duncan of Aurum Breckenridge. "Ironically, we only learned of their availability through an encounter with a local car dealer when we noticed how nice his mask was. His wife was making them from home, so the Destination Hospitality teams purchased them for the staff at each restaurant: Aurum Breckenridge, Aurum Steamboat Springs, Table 79 and The Periodic Table." 24/34

Andrea Frizzi Il Posto chef and owner Andrea Frizzi is wearing his Hugo Boss scarf, a birthday gift from his friend Seth last year. It's his favorite scarf. 25/34

Mile High Fungi "This is reality on our farm with or without corona," says Liz Nail, co-owner of Mile High Fungi. "Outside the farm, we use cloth face masks like bandannas." 26/34

Liz Nail Masks used in the fruiting room at Mile High Fungi. The ones the owners wear outside the farm to help protect against the virus are just bandannas. 27/34

Eric Chiappetta "My girlfriend's aunt made it out of a new handkerchief for me, which is a feat that should not go unnoticed, because she's incredibly visually impaired," says Eric Chiappetta, host of the Chef or Death podcast. "I also didn't think she had a high opinion of me, so when she presented it to me, I was very moved. We haven't been out too much, other than the grocery store and delivering my now-world-famous giardiniera." 28/34

High Point Creamery Theresa wearing one of the masks that owner Erika Thomas's mother-in-law, Connie, made for the staff at High Point Creamery. 29/34

Aurum Breckenridge The talented culinary team at Aurum Breckenridge wearing their masks. 30/34

David Grossman "My wife works with Secret Sauce [Steuben's, Ace Eat Serve, Vesta] and got these for me," says David Grossman, general manager of Tavernetta. "I'm sporting a Steuben's face mask and an Ace Eat Serve bandanna to keep my hair in check. I wear a mask running, I wear it on errands, I even wear it to take out the trash in our building." 31/34

Linnea Covington Writer Linnea Covington sporting a simple hanky mask held on with hair ties. 32/34

Sarah Abell This mask was made by Brandi Shigley, says Sarah Abell. "It's the no-sew version, and has been a great augmentation to the bandanna," she says. "It's super-sturdy, and I wear one of these masks for just about every activity, walkies with my dogs in the park, grocery and liquor store runs, and jaunts to pick up my weekly Boulder County Farmers' Market boxes." 33/34

Lori Midson "Not sure how unique this is, but it’s become a part of my everyday existence, and it speaks volumes," says Lori Midson. "I wear it just about everywhere, except at home." 34/34

Quarantine Couture: Face the Future With a Creative Mask

Fashion today consists primarily of yoga pants, T-shirts and a face mask — so you might as well show some flair with that mask, whether it's a homemade cotton mask or a vintage gas mask. Home sewers and local businesses alike have mobilized to create masks for family, friends, health workers and the local market.

Union Stitch & Design, for example, has shifted from making aprons for chefs and restaurant workers to making useful masks. And Shinesty, a whimsical clothing brand based in Boulder, is now producing pop-culture masks for $20 each, with all the profits used to purchase medical-grade personal protective equipment for grassroots funding group GetUsPPE.

So now you have no excuse for not wearing a mask — and upping your quarantine couture at the same time. Here are thirty examples of how people are putting their best face forward...what are you wearing?

_{Up Next:}