Coonabarabran business owner, Julie Shinton, has worked on a wide range of projects during the past 20 years at Broadfields Rugs, from canopy covers to horse rugs, but now she has turned her attention to face masks to helpreduce the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Julie, the idea to create quality, affordable face masks for local people was a no brainer.

“I had been listening to the radio a lot about the benefits of face masks and had family from Melbourne who were finding it difficult to source face masks,particularly for children,” Julie said.

“So I googled a pattern for face masks and started sewing.”

While Julie joked that this may have been the silliest decision she had ever made, in the past month she has produced more than 200 face masks, and some days has whipped up 35 finished products for sale.

She has refined the fitted pattern, which features three layers of protection, including the essential absorbent layer, as well as an adjustable wire nose pad.

There are three sizes available - men’s, women’s and teenagers, and children’s, with a variety of beautiful and plain fabrics available in the reversible and washable design.

However, what Julie didn’t anticipate when she commenced the project was the problems she would encounter when sourcing materials.

“You simply cannot buy elastic and there is no plain black or navy blue cotton or polyester cotton fabric available anywhere at the moment,” she said.

“There must be a lot of people out there who are making face masks because you can’t get these items anywhere.

Julie urged everyone to heed the advice and directives being handed down by health and government officials.

“COVID-19 is not going to go away overnight, so let’s all do the right thing to stop the spread.

“I personally think everyone should have a mask, carry it in your bag and wear it when you should.”

Julie’s face masks are available to purchase from the Coonabarabran Bakery and the Coonabarabran Golf Club.