Interview: Jennifer Jacob, shopper and costume maker/designer

 

Personal Protective Millinery pattern!

Nurse's cap layout pic courtesy of Jennifer Jacob

Today's interview is with Jennifer Jacob, an alumna of our graduate program at UNC-Chapel Hill, albeit someone whose study preceded my hiring as the crafts artisanship professor so she was never my student. We're friends, though, and I've worked with her on the Broadway Bares strip show fundraiser. I'm so glad she took the time to do this interview with me!

What is your  profession in non-pandemic times? 

Shopper and costume maker at the Metropolitan Opera in NYC, also Associate Costume Designer on Rock of Ages. 

What sorts of projects would you be working on, were we living in normal times?
 
Normally we would have just opened our last production of the season at the opera and would be in pre-production for next season, including fitting the chorus and making sure we had all of the supplies we needed for principal artists. At Rock of Ages, I would be dealing with replacements as needed.
 
What spurred you to start sewing masks?
 

I started making PPE when a co-worker at the Met asked in mid-March for masks for the staff at her son's daycare. The daycare is run by a nurse and stayed open for the children of essential workers. The nurse then asked if I could make masks and caps for her and her colleagues. So far I've done about four dozen masks for her and am working on an order of 24 caps and 12 masks. 

I'm sewing to their specifications, and they are purchasing from me directly to guarantee their supply chain. I've also done one set of 50 N95 covers through the Skilled Laborer's Brigade.

If you are accepting donations or selling masks online, how can people donate or buy?

I'm not specifically making masks for the general public, but if I have more than the nurses need made, I've sent them to friends. 

  

I've gotten donations of fabric, and I've asked that friends make donations to either Broadway Cares or a food charity if I've sent them masks. I'm not taking orders because this whole thing has shown me that I don't really like to sew. I'm using my skills as needed, but it's my job, not my hobby, and it's not fun for me to sew. Especially the same thing over and over. I sew to tell stories, so when the story is basically the same tweet over and over, it's not my thing.

Boy, do i ever hear you on that. I've been trying to keep it a bit interesting by switching between a couple of different styles, but I need to amend my statement that I enjoy multiples: only in small batches. 

Twelve wolf masks for Julius Caesar? Yassss. 

500 basic surgical masks? Getting boring.


If you are a professional who's making PPE after losing your clients/work/market/gigs/etc to the pandemic and would like to be part of this profile series, comment on this post or drop me a DM on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.