Laura Langevin and Vicky Gerke, founders of Echoes in the Attic, have been fielding a number of inquiries lately.
They produce hand-made vegan leather handbags, pillows, totes and fashion accessories from ‘upcycled’ upholstery fabrics, diverting tonnes of fabric from landfill to make their chic line of bags.
Recently, they’ve been asked why they don’t switch from making bags to making face masks, to meet the rising need during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
For one thing, says Langevin, “Our fabrics don’t lend themselves to this kind of use.”
Vegan leathers and upholstery fabrics are too heavy, she notes, and “none of our fabrics are breathable… We just can’t.”
Besides, she is very well aware that hand-made face masks, while ideal for ordinary citizens who are practicing social distancing, and may be going out only for brief forays to the grocery store or pharmacy, are in no way suitable for health care providers.
Health care workers, who may be in close proximity to COVID-19 infected patients on a daily basis, need equipment that is made to standard, and face masks that provide more filtering than a simple cloth mask.
That said, Langevin says, "It's been so humbling to sit here and watch what's going on."
She and Gerke have been working hard for the past three months on their new spring line of upcycled bags and accessories. Their planned April 3 Spring Launch has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Originally, the launch was going to take place at fashion shows and new store openings around the province; because of the pandemic, all of that has been put on hold.
Instead, the company will be launching online only, this Friday – a decision that Langevin calls “inevitable.”
There could be no thought of cancelling. “We have spent the last three months with no pay and all this hard work,” she explains. “We’re just making and making. I’ve been busy every day.”
Echoes in the Attic is luckier than some - “Online being such a big part of our business” even before the pandemic, Langevin says.
Not every small business is as well-positioned. Many friends engaged in enterprises “are not going to make it,” she fears. Without a strong web presence, without tech or social media savvy, “they’re just going to wither on the vine.”
While Echoes in the Attic doesn’t have the right fabrics to start making face masks, Langevin and Gerke do encourage others to consider going into production – again, not for health care workers who need specific personal protective equipment, but for everyday citizens who might be looking for additional protection.
Langevin herself is interested. She is working from home, but has been going out to the post office every day to ship orders, “with a scarf over my face!”
She encourages quilters to think about making masks that residents could purchase in the community, rather than competing with the health system for commercial face masks.
“Quilting cotton is very breathable,” Langevin notes - unlike vegan leather.
Echoes in the Attic plans to continue to divert new, excess designer fabrics from landfill – to date, the eco-business has ‘upcycled’ over 120 tonnes of material – and encourage the community to come together, online, while practicing social distancing.
The spring launch and sale at Echoes in the Attic starts at 4 p.m. on April 3. Click here for information.
