CUMMING, Ga. — Masks have become an unlikely fashion trend, as people everywhere continue to battle the novel coronavirus. Some people wear masks to contain the sickness and keep it from spreading.
Others wear one as a preventative measure. Either way, masks are being worn by millions of people right now, and a local lady is offering a way to make them a little more comfortable.
Jackie McMillon of Cumming has been using her Glowforge 3D laser printer to create acrylic S-hooks that can be placed on the back of masks, not only providing better coverage of the face but also taking some pressure off the back of the ears. Before anyone knew anything about COVID-19, she said used the machine for her small business.
“I make signs and personalized gifts and things like that,” McMillon said. “So I had the tool before, I just never used it for that specific purpose until it became a need.
She said the idea for the hooks came about after seeing a Facebook post.
“I'm part of a group for Glowforge, and there are members across the whole United States, and everybody just really shares project ideas,” McMillon said. “Somebody posted that their neighbor happened to work in a hospital and was complaining about the soreness on the ears after wearing the mask for 12 hours. You can imagine the elastic just being an irritant. So they designed it and they created it for them, and apparently the people loved it. She just posted on the group ‘hey, this is what I made, and this is why I made it. If you like it, I will give you the design for free.’”
McMillon, who also happens to live next to a hospital worker, said she decided to try it out.
3D laser printer used to secure surgical masks
“My neighbor actually works at Emory Johns Creek,” she said. “So I sent her a picture of it and said ‘hey, is this something that you think you would like?’ And she wrote me back and said ‘absolutely, things are a little crazy right now. We could use anything that will help with a little bit of comfort.’ And so I printed her out 50 of them that night, and I brought them and set them on her porch. She took them in, and the next day and she sent me a picture of a bunch of doctors and nurses together wearing their clips and saying how amazing they were. As soon as I saw that, I was like ‘well I can't stop there. I need to get this out to anybody who needs it, because if it offers any support, then I need to put it out there.’”
She said she started printing as many as she could (roughly 6 dozen per sheet), then bagged them up for people in need.
“It really doesn't stop at healthcare workers,” McMillon said. “I really would like to offer them to any necessary workers. I’ve had some people from Kroger reach out and say ‘hey, I've got to go into my shift. Do you mind if I have a clip too?’ I'm like ‘sure, I would love to give them to everybody.’”
She said she’s already given out 1,000 of them, and there’s still a demand. McMillon said she’s been using acrylic purchased from Glowforge. Each 12 x 20 in. sheet costs about $18, she said, but she refuses to take payment for the hooks.
“I just don't see a need to profit off something that people need, especially at this time,” McMillon said. “These are workers who are out there doing stuff so that I can be at home and I can be healthy.”
She said she recently reached out to Home Depot and Lowe’s, asking if either company would consider loaning her supplies. One of the companies – she didn’t specify which – said yes, but told her she would have to come pick it up.
“The problem is, we have a family member who is compromised, and so we want to make sure that we don't bring anything into the household,” McMillon said. “So after thinking about it, I made the decision not to go, because there are so many people there, and I don't want to run the risk of getting somebody who is important to us sick. Right now, I just order online and have it delivered to my porch, and that's what we're going to go with until we can't. I really just want to do as much as we can for as long as we can. And once we hit that road, that's when we'll be creative and we'll find another way.”
If you’d like to support her efforts or place an order for the custom printed hooks, send her a message on Facebook.
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