For several months now, I have been working on the concept of an online shop linked to my sewing blog coutureconseil.

The concept is growing, evolving, changing... with a clear goal in mind: September 2020.

The name is already chosen, it will be: c'est du Joly!

Joly is my last name, and the expression "c'est du joli" conveys a sense of playfulness dear to my heart.

We are preparing, thinking, refining the concept... how will I announce this? Who will be my partners? What will be the key products to highlight?...

And then, suddenly, everything accelerates... the COVID-19 crisis arrives at the end of February.

The hospital must prepare to receive patients. We are uncertain: how many, what condition will they be in, how will we ensure staff safety?...

At the beginning of March, I myself fall ill and to be useful, I look for information on the effectiveness of masks because we know we risk a shortage of protective equipment. I look for fabric donations for our institution so that our team of occupational therapists can make handmade face masks, which they did and are still doing as I write this.

On this occasion, I wrote an article on my blog which has now been read more than 50,000 times.

Requests for face masks come from colleagues, family. I sew them, I give them away...

Then, the shortage of supplies and related questions arise... how to replace elastics, cotton or polyester, 2 or 3 layers, where to find materials...

In short, I can’t continue like this... I need to find materials that meet quality standards (AFNOR).

It is in this altruistic approach that the idea of opening the shop earlier than planned came about, to allow everyone (even those who don’t know how to sew) to have access to a suitable protective mask.

So I order these supplies and tell myself that I must be able to provide masks to all who need them:

• at a fair price,
• meeting standards and recommendations,
• easily accessible.

Some might be critical of this approach because it is true that it is possible to get masks for free in some places, at certain times. I myself participated in this wave of generosity by giving masks away for free. However, my budget, like that of other seamstresses, is limited and I cannot afford to order materials without asking for financial contribution.

Therefore, the masks are offered at reasonable prices (based on the cost of raw materials and sewing time) for those who cannot get free masks or cannot make them themselves.