Sandra Smith designs and crafts handmade bags and inspirational decor with a speciality in pillows and desk bins with personalized uplifting messages. And during the COID-19 pandemic, she has added face masks to her repertoire.
The Queens resident loves creativity and entrepreneurship, but she also has a socially conscious focus.
Her Flushing-based business, Sandra Smith LLC, helps women, like her, who have endured and escaped hostile intimate partners. The company recently donated 2 percent of every sale to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
“Gifting a much-needed mask to a fellow survivor is our personal way of letting them know that they are not alone. This reminder is especially important in these harrowing times,” Smith said. “Though I was able to escape long-term abuse while remaining in my residence with my children, some survivors of abuse are not so lucky. To escape further harm, they have little choice but to relocate and find refuge in a shelter, relying on limited resources and the goodwill of others to regain their footing.”
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith designed reusable and washable 100 percent cotton face masks that come in a variety of colors and sizes.
Similar to her other products, Smith and her team personalized the face masks with images, patterns and phrases such as “This too shall pass” and “Queens strong.”
Prices for the face masks run from $12 to $20 with free shipping for purchases greater than 50.
Smith recently donated 50 handmade face masks to a Queens shelter run by Womankind, a nonprofit that provides a wide array of services to survivors of intimate-partner violence. The entrepreneur plans to donate more soon.
“Protecting themselves and their children from COVID-19 has become yet another thing to worry about on survivors’ journey to safety and peace. We want our donation of face masks to ease their burden, even if by just a little,” Smith said.
