Halifax company's tartan mask featured in new COVID-19 exhibit at Royal Ontario Museum
CBC
The owner of a Nova Scotia business that pivoted to making face masks when the COVID-19 pandemic hit says she's shocked and honoured her tartan mask is featured in a new exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
"I didn't think a museum would ever want something I made," said Sherrie Kearney, the owner of Halifax-based Maritime Tartan Company.
The exhibit brings together around 100 masks from more than 20 countries. "Unmasking the Pandemic: From Personal Protection to Personal Expression" looks at how the masks "convey stories of resilience, cultural identity, and our collective humanity in the face of a global crisis," according to a press release.
Resilience is an appropriate word for the Maritime Tartan Company. Prior to the pandemic, the business made scarves, blankets and other tartan items.
After seeing masks advertised online for prices like $25, Kearney started selling masks on a pay-what-you-can basis to help ensure they got in the hands of people who needed them.
"I wasn't really thinking about my business," said Kearney. "I was thinking about the people who needed masks and the inability of people to get masks that were suitable and not so expensive."
The Kearneys also heard from people who said they had lost their jobs and couldn't afford masks, so they sent them masks free of charge.
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