Cloth face masks courtesy Weddingstar

By Chantal Wagner

Business pivots

Weddingstar in Dunmore design & launch cloth face masks

May 8, 2020 | 3:18 PM

DUNMORE, AB – Weddingstar in Dunmore was one of many businesses hit hard with the global pandemic.

Being an international leader in the wedding market, the company says its sales had an 85-90 percent drop in mid-March.

CEO Rick Brink says the company needed to adjust to what’s going on in the market and extended its products to offer cloth face masks.

He says design began in March, and it was a very busy four weeks for their staff to create and launch a completely new category.

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The masks are designed for adults and children and come in a variety of colours and fun designs for kids. 50 different designs are available with more being launched in the next week.

“So we’re trying to add some fun to the mask for the kids then it’s going to be even more enjoyable for them to wear when you want to go to the grocery store.”

Brink says the masks are washable, comfortable, and have a bendable wire at the nose to keep a tight fit.

And they have adjustable straps, a pocket for the carbon filter, as well as mask extenders, and a washable mask travel bag.

The masks were designed in-house as well as with external help and high-quality material from their manufacturing plants.

Brink says one way to keep the spread of the virus down is with the use of face masks.

“Masks are going to be a common thing for everybody in the next year to year and a half. And I think that it’s a small price to pay to get stores open, to get people out of their houses, and get the economy going. It’s not a big ask for people to be wearing masks in those areas where they can’t social distance.”

Weddingstar is taking mask pre-orders and offering a Medicine Hat and area a discount of 40% with code WSMASK40 as they launch pre-sales. Customer purchases allow Weddingstar to donate face masks to non-profits in need.

Brink says the first shipment arrives as early as Friday, May 8.

Meantime, over 60 employees were given temporary lay-off notices due to the pandemic. But this expansion outside of the wedding industry has helped Weddingstar start re-hiring employees.

According to Brink in a release, “The day when I had to make that announcement was one of the hardest days in the 40-year history of our company because I knew that our decision not only affected our team but their families as well.”

Brink adds staff will also wear masks while maintaining physical distancing at their worksite.