Local business makes protective masks

With seemingly every industry affected by COVID-19, one marine upholstery shop on the Coast has temporarily shifted gears to provide protection to those helping others during this time.

With protective equipment at a premium during this Coronavirus outbreak, one Harrison County business is providing the public and medical professionals with equipment to keep themselves safe.

For Salty Seam Marine Upholstery Owner Chelsey Noble, regular business had to be put on hold after suppliers suspended shipments on supplies. “Our suppliers are out of New York and California so we’re at a standstill right now. So, I’m just trying to help in other aspects that I can.”

Over the span of nearly a week, Noble has traded tools and transformed the Salty Seam workshop into a place where double-layered tightly woven masks are being made at a rapid pace with family and friends lending a helping hand to keep up with demand. “I have family members in the medical field that told me about the need for masks. So, I immediately just started coming up with a pattern and within three days we had orders of over a thousand and that was all from social media and word of mouth.”

Nurse Practitioner Elizabeth Seal stopped by to pick up an order on Saturday and says with other masks in short supply, having any type of protection is a relief. “It’s very, very admirable. You don’t find people who want to help the community and I think it’s a great thing.”

As more orders continue to stream in, Noble says that in these challenging times it’s still all about helping one another. “I feel like we’re doing what we need to do right now and we’re just going to try to push out as many masks as we can to help as many people as we can.”

For more information on ordering masks visit Salty Seam’s Facebook page.