MASKerade: The stories behind the masks • By RIVKAH LAMBERT ADLER

The stories behind the masks

The Magazine asked people of all stripes to share photos of their homemade masks and the stories behind them. We were overwhelmed with stories of innovation and the altruism of people helping other people stay safe.

Avigayil and Meir Bunder

I made these from a tablecloth we used every year for Yom Ha’Atzmaut. We always have a big celebration in our backyard and invite all our friends and neighbors. Every year, I take a photo of all my grandchildren together wearing matching blue and white t-shirts. This year we will have matching masks! And no friends over to celebrate.

Noa Helinger

I design wedding dresses in my studio in Givatayim with color and embroidery and, because of the situation, I thought to make a sale – buy a dress and get a mask in the same style as the dress for free. You don’t have to be a bride to buy one. Everyone will need to go out with masks, so I thought, why not make it cheerful and not depressing, just wearing a blue hospital mask? This makes it fun.

Lisa Cain

The photo is my daughter and my grandchildren. When it became clear that we ought to be wearing masks, I alternately sewed masks for the entire family and cleaned for Pesach. I did have to do some experimenting until I found the simplest and best-fitting pattern, a hybrid of some that were posted on the Internet. While I sewed, I listened to all sorts of podcasts as everyone was so confused and frightened. The kids posed for me with their masks on, made from scraps – with a pocket for all the coffee filters I found while cleaning for the holiday. They’re finally finding some use! The end of facial recognition.

Kim Bash

I live in the Old City. This was in the beginning of corona outbreak when we were on lockdown, could not really leave the Old City and nobody was selling them. Now all the local makolets sell them. I cut up an old apron and the ties are from old tights, which worked well, as they are stretchy! I did not have a sewing machine or cotton and thread so I used a stapler.

Rini Gonsher

I made one out of a paper towel and then I bought them from the pharmacy. Here I am in a United Airlines sleepshade!

Tova Cern

At my company SiMedic Trauma (simedic.co.il), I develop learning materials and medical simulation tools for emergency response teams. In our studio, I create realistic wearable wounds and effects to help the teams practice emergency care in a realistic setting. Since I moved the studio to my home, I have access to, shall we say, unusual props and materials. The call to “make masks from things you have lying around the house” inspired these, literally made from scraps in about 15 minutes.

Sarah Jordan

I am a new immigrant who lives alone, and I wasn’t sure where I could get a mask, but I knew I needed one in order to leave the house to buy groceries. I handsewed this mask in a couple of hours with what I had lying around. The outside was from a skirt that I had originally hand-sewn out of a donated dress, and the inside lining was left over from some cushion covers I had hand-sewn a year ago. The ribbons were leftover from a Pesach gift I received. Everything was a little recycled and loved, but made something functional and beautiful.

Judi Granit

At the beginning of the crisis, I made masks for myself, my family – and most importantly, for my book club friends. Haifa has the longest running English-speaking book club in the country and some of the members are quite elderly, so for them, having masks is very important.

Since then, friends have all asked for masks, so now I am making them to order and letting them choose their fabric, I also deliver. I sell them, which has been fantastic for us, as my husband, a self-employed Alexander Technique teacher, has had no work and no income since the crisis began. It really helps to have this little income and it’s a win-win situation, as I love to sew and people like my masks.

Hannah Beiner

I made this in the early days of the lockdown and already there was a shortage of protective gear. I made two, both reversible with a filter sewn in. Also, why not be fun as well?

Elana Langer

I hand-beaded this before Passover. It is a dove of inner peace beaded in the Annishenabek/Ojibway/ Métis indigenous style of beading that I learned during my time on Lake Superior.

Marilyn Broder

The rabbi of the religious council called me more than a month ago to inform me that I needed to be quarantined. Five nights earlier, a woman came to the mikva and had now just received confirmation that she tested positive for COVID-19. Since I was on duty that night, I needed to separate from the rest of my family, including my 95-year old mother, who lives in an apartment 20 feet away from us. I was told that had I been wearing a mask at that time, I would not have needed to be in quarantine.

After spending 10 days in my “sealed room” and watching all those videos about corona, especially the one with the woman from the Czech

Republic telling the world how effective the masks are, I decided to sew a bunch of masks on my last day of being in quarantine.

I decided that since I would be going back to work and I did not want this situation to happen again,

I would be wearing a mask whenever I went out, even before it was mandatory to wear a mask in public.

There was quite a high outbreak of corona in our yishuv.

I can match my masks to my outfits, my hat, etc. – a real fashion statement for our times!

(Photos: Courtesy)