6 MAY 21, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Beatriz Vargas, 60, is a seamstress in middle village who’s creating face masks for the community. Photo courtesy of Sol Nielsen
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Middle Village resident
Beatriz Vargas is keeping
busy by creating quality
face masks in her at-home tailoring
shop.
The seamstress took on the new
project after she lost her job at
a family-run tailor shop located
in Jackson Heights in March, as
the COVID-19 pandemic began to
reach its peak. She worked at the
small business for 15 years, which
is as long as she’s lived in Queens
after immigrating from Bogotá,
Colombia.
“While I was at home, I was thinking,
WE ARE NOW OFFERING TELEMEDICINE SERVICES
Monday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
Tuesday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
Wednesday 7:30 am - 9:00 pm
Thursday 7:30 am - 8:00 pm
‘Dios mío my God, what should
I do in this quarantine, what do I do
about the rent, the bills,'” she said
in Spanish.
Then it dawned on her, “Ah, I have
a little sewing machine that I stored
away for about seven years.”
Vargas, who is 60 years old, had to
get used to working with the sewing
machine since she preferred working
with the industrial equipment at
her previous job. After her husband
— who still works as a handyman for
an apartment building, but only part
time — found some furniture that
would do the trick, she felt ready.
From there, she found videos
about how to make face masks videos
on YouTube. She initially only
made them for family, until one of
her two daughters, Sol Neilsen, suggested
she post about it on Facebook
to start selling them to people in the
community.
Vargas and Neilsen live together
— Vargas is in the basement with her
husband, and Neilsen is upstairs
with her husband and 18-year-old
daughter.
Prior to COVID-19, Neilsen had a
pet service businesses in Manhattan,
but that’s put on hold indefinitely
due to the health crisis. Luckily, her
husband is working from home and
has been able to take on the bulk of
their bills.
She figured even a few sales from
Facebook would help bring in some
much needed funds for her mother.
“I did not think that it would have
so much impact,” Neilsen said, noting
EXTENDED HOURS*:
they delivered 39 masks last
Friday.
Vargas welcomes the rush, saying
she prefers to find ways to be productive
during this time.
“It keeps my mind busy,” she said.
“I don’t want to worry about what
some people say — ‘we’re going to
die,’ ‘when is this coronavirus going
to end,’ ‘when we are going to
leave.’ I get up every morning and
I have things to do, and no time left
to waste. My husband arrives at 1 in
the afternoon for lunch on the weekdays.
I continue doing my chores, I
read, I do many things.”
Indeed, they’ve all settled into a
routine.
On the weekdays, Vargas works
on the masks — assembling, sewing,
and ironing each customized piece
— from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
She then switches it over to
Neilsen, who’s in charge of talking to
customers, preparing the packages
— complete with a note that reads
“Thank you for your purchase, take
care” — and guiding her mother’s
husband to deliver the masks around
the Ridgewood area.
Once they’re done making deliveries
around 6 p.m., Neilsen gives her
mother a new list of orders for the
following day. Vargas then preps
for the morning assembly by cutting
pieces of fabric into rectangles with
the help of her granddaughter.
And the routine begins again the
next morning.
Vargas and her family are now
on Day 22 of creating their doublesided
face masks. They’ve delivered
almost 200 in total, each worth $10.
For the fabric, they’ve used some
that Vargas had stored as well as
others her former employer gave
her. They’ve received donations, and
even stumbled upon a fabric store in
Astoria where they could purchase
more. They give customers the
option to pick the colors and design
for each side when they place an
order.
“Most of our orders come from
regular customers, who start with
two and then they’re asking for 10
more,” Neilsen said.
Neilsen, who’s lived in the country
for three years, was mainly
worried about keeping her mother
safe. While she’s doing her grocery
shopping and getting her medicine
from the pharmacy, her younger
sister, a gardening teacher who resides
in Brooklyn, helps by sending
money.
But Neilsen said she and Vargas
finally received their federal stimulus
checks on Saturday after losing
faith it’d get to them.
“The check has helped us a lot,
there’s no denying it,” Neilsen said.
“We pay taxes … so, in a way, at least
you see reflected what you pay year
to year in that benefit.”
Vargas and Neilsen are grateful for
the support, and hope the pandemic
makes us better neighbors and more
mindful of our environment.
“God is great and He always has a
purpose, and the coronavirus will
leave us with enseñanzas lessons,”
Vargas said. “You have to bring out
the talents you may have, which at
times, because of dedicating yourself
to other things or a lack of time
or need, aren’t brought out.”
Middle Village seamstress
finds new work creating
face masks for community
residents
We here at Doc Care wish everyone well.
During this COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency, DocCare Primary
Care Specialists are available extended evening hours 7 days a week.
Please call us at 718-497-1919 for info or schedule your appointment.
66-86 Fresh Pond Road,
Ridgewood, NY 11385
(718) 497 - 1919
Friday 7:30 am - 8:00 pm
Saturday 9 am - 7:00 pm
Sunday 9 am - 4:00 pm
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
