Burton Clarke is NOMA’s Visitor Experience Team Coordinator. Joining legions of volunteers who have risen to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, he has spent time off-duty  alleviating the shortage of personal protective equipment.  

I started out just making two face masks for myself and my partner using some leftover cotton fabric that I had. Then I made 10 more masks to send to my family members out of state who had asked for them.

When construction at NOMA necessitated a gallery attendant work during the museum’s closure, I wanted to provide a face mask for them to wear. So I made 19 more cotton masks for each member of the Visitor Experience Team to wear when they return to work.

Then I got a text message from the ready.nola.gov notification service asking for home sewers to make and donate face masks for local essential workers. Of course I had to help. I went through the rest of my cotton fabric and realized I had enough to make 20 more face masks. I started an assembly line to cut and stitch them in the most efficient way possible. I don’t have much space for sewing in my apartment, so I set up in front of my front door since we barely leave the house anymore.

After sourcing materials online, I was able to order enough fabric and elastic to make 250 more face masks, all of which will go to essential workers. Any day now I should receive the supplies and I’ll be able to get right back to work on my assembly line!

To date, sewdatnola.com has coordinated the donation of over 7,000 face coverings to essential workers in New Orleans.