We are thrilled to launch our brand new Sunny Dundee Face Coverings, supported by Halley Stevensons and Dundee City Council.
We have worked with partners and colleagues across Dundee and Tayside to help destigmatize wearing a face covering and break down the social and economic barriers impacting this. The Sunny Dundee city-wide campaign started off as sunglasses initiated by Dundee – One City, Many Discoveries. These were a huge hit both locally and internationally, where colleagues in our UNESCO Creative Cities Network asked for pairs to take home!
The conversation of developing these Sunny Dundee face coverings was initiated by Tamara Richardson, Public Engagement Officer at DJCAD through virtual meetings with Dundee Partnership’s Cultural Agencies Network during the UK’s lockdown period. Cultural organisations from across Dundee have been meeting online on a regular basis throughout this global pandemic to share how they have been adapting to the digital world and discussing how we, as a city, can help each other and our communities through the impact that COVID-19 has had on our people and our businesses.
Tamara and her colleagues at DJCAD, University of Dundee, had been working with NHS Tayside, Halley Stevensons, professional industry professionals and community volunteers to provide scrubs and masks for NHS staff which you can read more about here. DJCAD had set up a Scrub Hub; a small scale manufacturing unit held in the main University of Dundee library which students, graduates and a wide community of makers safely took part in to produce hundreds of sets of scrubs to help protect the NHS frontline staff during the COVID-19 outbreak.
We have worked with their expertise and skill sets, including sharing face mask patterns which has been crucial for the production of our Sunny Dundee face coverings. We then met with Halley Stevensons; world leading waxed cotton fabric innovators, manufacturers and suppliers who are based in Dundee and were heavily involved in the Scrub Hub initiative. They had developed cotton fabric specifically made for face coverings and had opened up their factory for the production of scrubs and masks. At this point, we partnered up the team at Halley Stevensons which without their support, this project could not have happened. They have sourced and provided the fabric used, as well as organising the printing of the design by Dundee based illustrator and printmaker, Pamela Scott.
Pamela creates unique lino prints from her home studio and provided a range of initial concepts for these masks, before we settled on the final featured design. With the selected design in place, fabric provided by Halley Stevensons and support backed by Dundee City Council, we then sought a team of makers who would commit to sewing our first batch of Sunny Dundee masks!
Lucy Fairbrother who works in theatre and costume design is one of the makers we are working with who has undertaken the role of coordinating the team of makers. Working alongside her are: Robert Gear, Iona Eterman, Natalie Offer and Beth Griersonliving who have all been working extremely hard on sewing our new Sunny Dundee face masks.
Set at £6 per mask, this ensures we can pay our team of makers the current Living Wage in what has been a frightening financial time for local makers; many of whom have lost income due to the global pandemic. Not only do these face masks support some of our local makers, but it also helps communities across the city who can’t afford or access a mask, which is now mandatory in all shops and methods of public transport in Scotland. Each purchase will help towards the making of another mask which we will distribute for free to groups who need them the most.
These Sunny Dundee face coverings have been made to the highest standard with two layers of quality cotton that should be washed regularly at a high temperature. It is important to note they are not approved or regulated PPE and have been designed for public use to slow the transmission of Covid-19 from an asymptomatic person. Guidelines should be followed for removing face coverings, ensuring to wash hands before and after handling them.
Importantly, we hope that these Sunny Dundee face masks will help encourage everyone to wear a mask in enclosed spaces; particularly in mandatory areas such as shops and public transport, to keep staying safe and protecting those around us. Knowing that when you purchase one, you are helping to support our local makers, businesses and those who cannot afford a face covering of their own.
Pick up one for yourself before they are gone! You can currently buy them from Birchwood Café & Emporium, Dock Street Studios, Kist, Maisie & Mac and Quirky Coo. Keep up to date via our social media where we will share store opening times.
#SunnyDundee
