From Service Project to Small Business

Maeve Smarick, Vice President of the Linganore Fashion Club talks about her mask business on our first Small Business Saturday feature!

As COVID began to shut everything down, I was short of service hours for my impending confirmation. I watched a YouTube video on making masks for health care workers, asked my mom to order me fabric and I went to work.

I have been sewing since the 5th grade. I attended a camp at the store, Patches in Mount Airy. I learned many things at the camp that has not only helped me with mask production but have helped me with other projects. I have made various articles of clothing for myself such as dresses, skirts, and shirts. I have altered many of my older clothes to update them to more of my style.

The demand for masks was shocking. I probably made about 100 masks for my family and friends. My mom asked me to make masks for one of her co-workers in their company colors. After she sent a picture to her work group chat, her entire team wanted them, and I made them for everyone. After a while, people started offering to pay for them. I launched a Facebook post and asked people to share it. It has resulted in masks being purchased from Maryland to California. I continue to see and find new fabrics to put together.

I have had quite a few learnings in the beginning. Postage, the order process, and the process of making masks to order all were things I had to reconsider. The first few days when my post went up, I realized that I wasn't receiving notification. I ended up scrolling through multiple Facebook posts and their comments hoping I wouldn’t miss and order. I realized that was very difficult and decided to make a Google Form and it made everything so much easier.

Now I have a great system and the post office workers know me very well. I am excited to write this post because this has been an amazing experience for me and I have learned so much. From sending email confirmations to packaging up all my orders this has been a wonderful experience and I hope to sell more masks.

About my Masks-

I carry three sizes. One adult and two kids sizes. I found kids masks are harder to find so I worked on creating smaller measurements for the kids. The pricing for adult masks is 1 mask for $8 or 2 for $15. The kid’s masks are $6 each. They are fully customizable and can have two different fabrics because I make them reversible. If you need something bigger or smaller I can do it. I do special orders too. I made masks for my cousin’s confirmation that turned out amazing for the occasion!

With this post, I am also releasing a new Linganore Mask Pack! This pack includes two reversible masks. The first mask is light gray on one side and this black, red, and white polka dot pattern. The second is red with a black pattern on the other side. This pack can be made in any size (both masks will be the same size). It will be sold for $16. You can order the pack and any additional masks Here.

Here are the fabrics I am currently offering!

Author: Maeve Smarick

Date: July 25, 2020