Indianapolis-area resident Brooke Goldstein sewed roughly 1500 face masks this spring.
A healthcare worker who performs cardiac ultrasounds, Goldstein had to make the choice to stay home for roughly six weeks. As someone who takes medication for Multiple sclerosis, she could not risk exposure to Covid-19.
Although she had to make the difficult decision to stay home, that did not stop Goldstein from doing her part in keeping people safe during this pandemic. She started sewing face masks for friends and family to wear in public. Her sewing company, Posh Penguin Designs, was only six months old when the pandemic forced her to self-isolate at home. Potential clients found her by word-of-mouth and made requests for various home-sewn goods such as makeup bags, dog bandanas and waterproof bags.
In late March, Goldstein received a request from her friend Ginnie Pellisier, a pediatric speech therapist at St. Vincent in Indianapolis. Pellisier had already ordered face masks for her family members from Goldstein. Now she was seeking face masks with clear panels so that she could properly communicate with her speech therapy patients. Within one hour of contacting Goldstein to ask for “hard-of-hearing masks,” Pellisier received back a picture of a prototype paneled mask.
“I’ve been in the healthcare field for 20 years, so to actually leave and stay home was a hard decision because my job is to take care of people,” Goldstein said. “... So this is kind of a blessing for me, because it still lets me help and take care of people in a different way.”
Pellisier said it’s difficult to be a healthcare worker right now.
“But it’s people like Brooke who keep us going.”
After posting online about her products, Goldstein started receiving requests for masks from across the country. And in the six weeks she stayed at home, the requests never stopped. She sewed masks for 10 to 12 hours daily, seven days a week. The regular masks take around 15 minutes to make, while the masks with clear windows take at least half an hour.
“I’ve always been a hard worker,” Goldstein said. “I really do want to help people.”
She has options for sizes, catering to adults and children.
“I really just want to make sure that everyone has something that fits,” she said. “I just want something to protect them, I will do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”
She listens to nineties country music when she sews. Sometimes she puts on a Netflix show for background noise. Her husband and children also join the efforts.
Goldstein returned to her job providing cardiac ultrasounds in mid-May. When she arrives home from work, she returns to her sewing machine to fill new orders.
“Her heart is so big, so big,” Pellisier said, ‘For as long as I’ve known her, she just wants to help people. She’s such a positive person, and she’s always going out of her way to help others.”
“As long as I get orders I’ll keep working,” Goldstein said.
To check out Goldstein’s company, please visit her Facebook page Posh Penguin Designs.
“I think we are all trying to do the best that we can, together,” Pellisier said. “More than anything it’s people like Brooke who make a difference for others. They show us we really are in this together.”