I lost my job in March 2020 as a design director and like the rest of the world, told myself I’ll bounce back in a month. A week later, a friend working as a nurse asked me to help make masks as they were going to have a shortage at the hospital. I quickly brought out my sewing machine, made a pattern, and made masks.

I began producing masks for friends & family and donating a mask to a nurse/hospital per purchase. COVID-19 gave me a business and community. For the past 15 years, I have been designing for the masses under corporations and the pandemic brought me an opportunity to chat, connect, and meet my community. As a local maker, I used all my Los Angeles resources to produce in Los Angeles, for Los Angeles. The mask demand slowed down once overseas production was in stores and I pivoted to create comfortable loungewear. Los Angeles has had a special place in my heart as a place of opportunity and I’m lucky enough to share my initials with the city.