In March of 2020 there was a moment of widespread panic – it wasn’t just about public health, it was also economic. Would our economy survive a prolonged pandemic? A few years in the answer is clear – it did survive and it was able to because of the spirit and the resolve of our people. Hard working mom and pops working overtime to implement new revenue streams for the businesses, artists and creators finding new ways to collaborate and share their art with their fans and folks from every neighborhood in the country finding ways to adapt and carry on. We wanted to honor those stories by creating a space to share those stories and you’ll find some of the below.

Destiny Brewton

Due to COVID-19, supply companies that I used to obtain materials from have closed or are operating at a smaller capacity limiting my access to available goods to complete projects and orders. This has impacted our ability to accept new orders to continue my main stream of income and it has reduced the number of orders I can take due to limited supply. The reduction has caused us to have a tight cash flow affecting our ability to maintain lease costs and overhead to continually run successfully.  Read more>>

Sarah Key

Working as a travel advisor and in the travel industry throughout covid really opened my eyes, specifically to my value. The business model my company ran on pre-covid was not a sustainable business model. I didn’t charge a planning or service fee and so I was solely a commission-based worker. This means that during covid, I had worked hard to plan all these trips, and then worked harder to cancel/reschedule trips and ultimately never got paid. I am a professional and offer incredible service to my clients. Read more>>

Anne Morrow

Covid made me learn to pivot my business to the needs and wants of our customers. Luckily being a small business owner and 25+ years in retail I could recognize the changes that our small boutique needed to make in order to be successful. I always had a menagerie of goods – clothing, furniture paints and home decor. As Covid hit and more people stayed home, many turned to a new hobby: Furniture Painting. I saw the need to increase the variety of paints and tools for our clients to be successful. To say furniture paint was the best thing since sliced bread is an understatement. Read more>>