By Allison Perrine
MONMOUTH COUNTY – The start of the pandemic brought the country “back to basics” as many turned to bread making from scratch, painting by hand and journaling their feelings using pen and paper during an uncertain and unprecedented time in their lives.
And that hasn’t changed for many, including individuals in the Two River area. As the holidays approached, some natural-born crafters got to thinking: with more time in the house and cold weather outdoors, it’s a great time to hunker down and create products to give their loved ones for the holidays.
Take Joan Laurie of Designs of Venezia, for example, who has brought a taste of Venice, Italy to New Jersey for 25 years by beading Murano glass jewelry. She had been traveling to Venice every year for over 40 years with a good friend who introduced her to the beadwork.
But when the pandemic began, she thought up a new unique item to adorn – face masks.
“I make a chain of them (Murano glass beads) so you can clip it on each side of the mask. Then when you take the mask off, you don’t leave it in the car, you don’t leave it in the house, you just have it hanging around your neck,” said Laurie. “It’s kind of like a piece of jewelry then around your neck.”
These beaded lanyards come in many colors and designs, and have been popular over the past few months. Recently, Laurie was called to a local law office and designed lanyards for several of its employees.
“They said they’re great stocking stuffers,” said Laurie. “I made some really Christmassy… they’re really pretty; I wear my Christmas one because I love it.”
Middletown resident Bethany Miranda has always had a passion for crafting and has considered herself to be artistic ever since childhood. But this year she decided to expand her capabilities.
“In school, I always enjoyed projects that needed a physical model and would find any way I could to incorporate my creativity since that is where I excelled. Crafting is an outlet for me and is something I thoroughly enjoy,” she said. “Now mid-20s, I work in an elementary school which has been exceptionally good for exercising my creativity. I do craft as a side hustle and some extra cash, but it truly is just for the fun of it.”
This year, Miranda found herself in a local Dollar Tree in November and found foam rings. “Mentally and physically,” she put the pieces together and realized she could create wreaths for her own home. After posting it to social media, “it blew up,” she said. “Homemade crafts make the perfect gifts.”
“I had friends and family members, even strangers, contacting me for custom wreaths,” said Miranda. She also designs polymer clay earrings, many of which have been holiday and winter-themed in the past few weeks, as well as customized-name posters.
“I am able to create any kind of design that you are looking for, and although I have only holiday wreaths so far, I am planning on expanding to make wreaths for all occasions,” she said.
Anyone looking to find her work can visit her Instagram account, @bmcraftcorner, and Facebook page, Bethanymcrafts.
Middletown resident Phyllis Porter said that while she and her family were in quarantine, they had plenty of time on their hands and decided to launch a family crafting business, Elegant Creations. Porter and her two daughters had been crafting for family parties for years and decided it was the perfect time to take the next step.
“We immediately got feedbackfromfriendsand family saying that it was about time we turned this hobby into a business,” said Por ter. “Elegant Creations has been a dream of ours for many years. My daughters, Stephanie and Jessica, and I started working from home simply giving advice and creating decorations for our family and friends for their events. We found that we had a passion and a talent for creating unique, trendy and we had fun doing it.”
When fall rolled around, the Porters created several festive designs such as rustic white pumpkin card holders. Now that it’s nearing the holidays, they have been selling wine glasses that read “Drink up Grinches” with painted Grinch hands and ornaments on them. They also made a custom Christmas village and placed it on boards on a ladder, stacked five levels high and lit with warm white lights.
“We posted some of the creations on social media and within a few months we booked a bridal shower, an anniversary party and a wedding. Since then we have received emails for upcoming events in the spring that we are extremely excited for,” said Porter.
David Halbout and his wife Nathalie d’Idris, co-founders of French Fix LLC in Red Bank, found themselves wanting to create the highest quality yet comfortable mask for people of all abilities during the pandemic.
“People were dying and health care workers didn’t have enough PPE because nobody was prepared,” said Halbout, originally from Normandy, France and now a New Jersey resident.
As artisans, he and his wife put their talents together and made fabric face masks with ties and elastic around the head rather than the ears. This makes them more comfortable for individuals wearing the coverings for long periods of time, such as doctors, nurses, grocery store employees, etc. They donated hundreds to health care workers before offering them up for sale to the general public.
The masks also have multiple layers and filter pockets to allow the customer to insert higher-quality filters if they have them. Halbout created the nose piece himself to ensure the material did not hurt but held well and did not allow for gaps. They had many satisfied customers, but realized they were missing a feature for some who are hearing impaired.
The two discovered many of their customers used hearing aids and said the elastic around the head could be tweaked in a way that would allow the user to put it on without impacting or tangling their hearing aids. The solution? Long, adjustable straps.
“It was not only a safety device, but a device that was making people’s life easier to pull it, to tighten it,” said Halbout. The masks come in a variety of colors, including holiday-themed designs. Some are plaid, some are white and gold – some even have dogs on them dressed as Santa Claus. The two even design toddler’s masks with loops around the head and children’s masks with built-in lanyards so that when they run around, their masks won’t fall off or get lost.
More information about French Fix designs and masks are available at the website frenchfixllc.com.
This article was originally published in the Dec. 24-31 edition of The Two River Times.
