More Masks

I must admit that as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the world, there were some things that surprised me. Masks were one of those surprises.

At first, I didn’t like them. Masks fogged my glasses. They made it hard for strangers to see my winning smile. And going to the local bank branch wearing a mask made me feel like a bank robber...who might get handcuffed.

But masks have a silver lining. With some people, the less we see of their faces, the better. For some faces, masks are a vast improvement. 

Good

GOOD. Reduce the risk of infection and conceal that mouth.

Better

BETTER. Fight the spread of microbes and enhance the environment.

Best

BEST. Minimize infections and simultaneously improve urban aesthetics.

 ********

Why doesn’t Don make masks? 

That’s a question I have heard often in the last three months. Answer? It takes me so long to design a product that months would pass before I could have a mask ready. By the time I develop a design I like, find a supplier I trust, refine production specifications, and approve prototypes, the pandemic will have burned out and few of us will be able to remember there was a time when we had to stay home. (I hope.)

I wear a BADbandana when I go out. It has worked great so far. 

BB6

If, I am wrong and mask-wearing becomes a permanent social convention, I might change my mind and start designing ridiculous masks in 2021. 

While we are on the topic of things Don is NOT working on...you’ll be glad to know that I am not currently working on a vaccine or serum.

********

Stay healthy. Stay safe. No epidemics last forever.

Don—Pittsburgh, June 5, 2020

64 Responses

The Giant Robot

October 09, 2020

@Phyllis Aron, we are all mask-wearing folk here at Calamityware. Our desire to not get into the mask business has nothing to do with whether or not we are in support of wearing them or not. We are in total support. But trying to introduce a new product during a global pandemic is not easy, and not something we want to spend our time on. You can purchase a mask with a Calamityware design via www.spoonflower.com.

Phyllis Aron

October 09, 2020

While I admire your creative process and your obvious talent and wear my tee shirt as often as possible to remind me that yes things could be worse, your attitude toward the viability of masks is marked only by it’s similarity to the thoughts and actions of he who is purported to be the leader of this country and finds covid 19 a “blessing from G-d”.
Please reconsider and offer a face mask. If you listen to the scientists who know best, masks will still be a hot item four months from now. Listen to those of us who love your work and give us our mask!

Melody McNay

September 20, 2020

Don, your products are so fun! Thank you so much for sharing! Getting your prints on fabric and selling by the yard would make you a mint. Please consider it.

Tom Underhill

September 16, 2020

Last February my wife gifted me a huge lot of your bandannas. At the time I was thinking “Thanks but what do I need so many for?”. Then came March and Covid-19, I was well prepared and strangely appropriate for the times. Thanks

Kathy Kelley

August 14, 2020

Don, your Calamitywear prints are perfect for our current pandemic. If we have to cover our faces, at least let our masks show how we feel. Please consider selling your prints by the yard. We’ll take it from there. Thanks.

Nicole Elkins-Barkley

August 08, 2020

Hello, If you ever make the blue and white Calamityware print in fabric or covid masks please email me. I would buy a bunch of masks and give them out for the holiday to friends. I recently purchased 4 mugs and can’t wait for them to arrive. A true collectors item perfect for 2020. I’m certain 302 is giving you a surge of creativity for future runs to include murder hornets and zombie insects! Thanks.

Janis L Lowry

July 25, 2020

I’d like to suggest masks printed with a colourful image of the Corona Virus so really no thinking or drawing involved!

Sally

July 23, 2020

A mask depicting demons or snakes flying out of my mouth would be perfect. My children would certainly agree.

Linda Oistad

July 21, 2020

Don, I bought some lovely textiles with your designs printed on them. I had planned to make them into masks. But my husband and I have found that we really enjoy the neck gaiter type of face covering better than surgical masks. We used them before to protect our faces from the sun when sailing or working outdoors. Now we wear them all the time and use them like scarves. They are just long stretchy tubes of fabric with patterns printed on them. We like the manufacturers Hoo-Rag and YesWeVibe. To make them more effective filters we fold the top edges double. Would love some Calamity designs on them. You could collaborate…

Chris

July 11, 2020

Sorry to say, I think that masks are here to stay. If you made them, they’d sell out in a minute. If you made clear-panel masks for lipreading, you’d be a hero!

Chris

July 03, 2020

Please consider making some masks sooner than later. Lord knows we need humor to get us thru this! For me personally the graphics on my coffee cup would be perfect (the sweary one 😊).
And not to be so selfish, would you consider reprinting the note cards with the sea creatures on them? Please? I’m not a fan of flowery smarmy notecards and they are perfect!
Stay safe and be easily amused
CZA

Mary Freeman

July 01, 2020

Any chance ‘murder hornets’ might find a spot? (The only calamity of 2020 that seems to have some humorous effect…)

Anna

June 24, 2020

Please design colorful masks <3 they look and feel great. Masks are great for introverts like me and I will wear them always now.

Lisa

June 12, 2020

Hi, guys! We’ve got the Robot Uprising bandanas and adore them! I also just saw that there had been Space Worm ones too. Oh, please bring those back! I must have them! I didn’t know about Calamityware when they came out. I started with the full tea set and now have ordered the Skedaddlesaurus tote bag on Kickstarter. Can’t wait! But please remember the Space Worms! They just tickle me! 😊

Terri Colburn

June 07, 2020

I love all of the designs. Got the TCBW mugs, and they are terrific. You KNOW I would buy masks. I would lovingly suggest the zombie poodle design.

Elene Gusch

June 07, 2020

I second Susan on the Skedaddleasaurus design! I don’t need travel bags either at this point but it would be great to have the fabric.

I am liking masks because now I don’t have to struggle with makeup to hide the dark circles under my eyes!

Sandstorm

June 07, 2020

More T shirts in more colors! Yes to yardage fabric! Masks yes! I’m starting to think about Christmas gifting…

Norma H

June 07, 2020

I don’t like masks either. I want to see people smile again.

Giuliana Nakashima

June 07, 2020

There were so many good and funny comments I wasn’t going to leave one but in the spirit of rioting I got caught up. So here’s mine. I would buy a mask even though I’ve made over 200 for people During this apocalypse. But in supporting your artwork I would love to see a version of the dog chasing death on a bicycle as one print across the mask area. I may have to retrofit some thing if that does not happen. Do not take that as a dangerous threat only that I love that print so much

Jane Boswell

June 07, 2020

Don, did you design the graphic that Roku uses as it’s background? It certainly looks like it came right out of you imagination. :)

Audrey

June 07, 2020

There are a lot of needs for masks not just during this pandemic. My husband had stage lV lymphoma 5 years ago and had to wear a mask when outside because of his compromised immune system. As if that were not bad enough I am terminally ill and cannot risk getting the flu or covid..that would be a death sentence (I am on the transplant list which would allow me to live a normal life) so a mask for me is a must. But wait..there is more…after year 5 and being declared officially cancer free, my husband had a major stroke, hence, masks all the time. I guess my point after a long tangent is I have been in many hospitals and a lot of medical offices before and during the pandemic and masks are needed all the time. Whew…that was a long one. On that note..love your artwork…you are incredibly talented and creative and bring a smile to my face as well as many others!

Darya

June 07, 2020

I agree. Anytime you put out a mask, or fabric for masks, you will sell out. So please design one. We will wait. Your designs are worth wearing, Pandemic or no Pandemic.

Susan

June 07, 2020

I bought the tea towels and made 8 masks for me, my husband and my offspring and their spouses. Worked great and looks fantastic(al)! My kids love them/you have some new fans!

Valerie

June 07, 2020

Yes please masks sooner than later! I would be the envy of my hospital if I had a “what’s next” mask 😷I love your humor and your products and would proudly represent Calamityware here in Salt Lake City.
Stay healthy,
Valerie

Virginia

June 07, 2020

As someone who has sewn her whole life, I will agree with many here who asked that you produce yardage from some of your wonderful designs. You can let US make the masks. And just think of the blog you could write with pictures of what your customers made with your yardage!

Tom

June 07, 2020

Masks do prevent the spread of a disease, if you have it. To think otherwise means you’re underinformed. Or a twit.
Make masks, they’ve been a thing all over the world for a long time… Most Americans are just too obsessed with personal “freedom” to do anything that is good for the strangers around them but Is just inconvenient and annoying for them selves. Make us some funny fancy ones. Intelligent and non-selfish people will be wearing them for the foreseeable future, and probably beyond.

Virginia Kelly

June 07, 2020

Diana (above) is right…
…good God, Man…just ONE mask…for the people, for America, for THE WORLD! Make it…and we will buy! You might even be considered for a Nobel Prize or some other Proclaimation…for your World-Wide efforts in the assistance to HUMANITY!!!
PLUS…I wanna be the CooL Chick wearing the Don Moyer Calamity anti-anythingbad mask…I’ve always wanted to be cool…! Love your stuff Don Moyer/Calamityware!
Sincerely, a best-ie fan, Virginia K.

Malaise

June 07, 2020

Let us hope masks do not become a permanent thing. I have yet to wear one and don’t plan to. They are ineffective in stopping the spread of the Corona virus and can, if anything, be detrimental. I love your bandanas which I use as bandanas, nit masks. I for one find it refreshing that you are not making masks but as a capitalist would understand if you started selling them.

Sara Steelman

June 06, 2020

My spouse also wears one of his BADbandanas when he goes out, and they look good and work well. If this goes on long enough, at least looking at your mask designs will be a bright spot. Perhaps dinosaurs munching on viruses?

Sylvia Boss

June 06, 2020

I agree with the others: “Masks are here to stay, would be cool if you made some” — I think your iconography would cut the ‘earnestness’ factor of wearing them, increasing the ironic factor, ergo be a good thing, because encouraging adoption (of masks.) Also, I did open the newsletter with the unveiling of the ‘Skedaddleosaurus’ tote campaign & I agree with Karen that it would make a great shirt, quilt or other other customisable pattern, so I second the idea of releasing it as fabric for sewists to sew at home!

Sally

June 06, 2020

Hi Don,

I would like to suggest that you DO start making masks. Not only will masks hopefully become a more normal thing here in the USA as the COVID epidemic continues but also when fall comes and influenza shows back up.
I work in a hospital and fabric masks covering the N95 or surgical/procedure masks are THE THING. The fabric helps keep the one mask you get for the day clean, they’re also fun. Bandanas are cool, but when you have to wear one all day every day in a truly contaminated environment, not so much.
Masks are becoming a fashion accessory, and I would love to be sporting a Calamity Wear mask. As well as giving them as gifts for Christmas. Please reconsider. Even made from the silk scarf material.
Also still yearning for the sea monster bed linens.
Thank you!
Sally from Michigan, USA

Charles

June 05, 2020

Love your bandannas, wish they were a wee bit bigger

Kristen Harkness

June 05, 2020

As a fellow Pittsburgher and someone who is slowly plotting accessorizing her 1910 house in your wonderful looks-period-appropriate-from-a-distance-but-we-know-the-truth designs from your Spoonflower studio and has outfitted her bathroom in epic style with the sea monsters shower curtain, I beg you to please consider releasing more textile designs if you aren’t interested in making masks yourself. Your sewist fans would greatly appreciate it! My husband and I both actually squealed when we saw the Skedaddleosaurus pattern. While I sadly don’t need travel bags, I would totally use that fabric for a shirt for my husband or a quilt for the guest room or …. Thank you for your delightful designs!

Susan Burns

June 05, 2020

Oh the new calamitous possibilities this year is offering for when you DO hit the mask drawing boards: Murder hornets! Stadium-sized asteroids! Revived zombie flatworms! Yellowstone! No wonder you are taking your time. Meanwhile, I’ll stay in, sip from my cup, get surprised (again) by that one bug in the cereal bowl, and adjust my BADbandana for contagion chic.

Heidi

June 05, 2020

Someone will always need a mask. People who have suppressed immune systems because of undergoing chemotherapy will need them. I appreciate the difficulty and the standards you adhere to with your suppliers. Badbannas will be enough for now. I’m only sorry that you are out of No 5 Robot Uprising.

Carolyn

June 05, 2020

I’ve rigged up all my BADanas as masks using this method of folding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibk6NsTPjfw
It’s easy to add a filter into the middle. To echo Jan West, it would be great if the cotton softened with washing.

Beckee

June 05, 2020

My sister made me a mask out of your pizza dragons bandanna…….(I do not have sewing capabilities) and I LOVE it. But I am going to badger you at least monthly to get your ass in gear to make us masks! We need them.
Beckee

jan west

June 05, 2020

I have the pizza dragons. I have washed and washed it and it will not get softer. The cotton is really heavy………but the design is great.

CL

June 05, 2020

Made a men’s handkerchief into a mask by folding it into a triangle over a piece of elastic that goes around the head. Works great, except that it is white (for now, ick). Just got your excellent bandanas to replace the white handkerchief and my man will be Styling! Thank you.

Lisa D

June 05, 2020

I made a bunch of masks with one order of Badanas. Quite the hit!

Alicia

June 05, 2020

I got pizza dragons for that very purpose! Two were turned into masks and one I wear as a headband. The best!

Mickie Rat

June 05, 2020

This is why I just bought two sets of Bad Bandanas (pizza dragons and squelletons), to wear as masks! They are way easier to carry around when you’re not wearing them because you can wear them ascot-style like Fred from Scooby-Doo when they don’t need to be on your face. I don’t like the medical type masks because there’s no convenient place to put them when they aren’t on Your face. Also, when the pandemic is over, regular masks will be kind of useless, but bandanas will always be useful for sooooo many things.

Tom B

June 05, 2020

I wear my Robot Uprising bandana because I didn’t like the way normal masks make my glasses fog up. I even had one person notice what the pattern was and was amused by it.

Tim

June 05, 2020

My spirited bones bandana is my trusted companion on even days and my robot uprising on odd days! Love them both and my friends keep trying to steal them. Maybe I need new friends. 😂

Maggy Shannon

June 05, 2020

I like my Spirited Bones BadBandanna for a mask. Helpful tip: inserting a coffee filter dramatically increases the effectiveness of your mask.

Here’s a reliable reference which includes directions on making a no-sew bandanna mask: https://www.webmd.com/lung/coronavirus-face-masks#1.

Stay well everyone!

Linda

June 05, 2020

I bought a set of your napkins and made masks out of them!
I love the subtle print and the fabric is perfect.

Christy in calamitously hot Phoenix

June 05, 2020

Numerous friends are sewing masks for others. One friend here in Arizona is making hundreds for the Navajo Reservation, one is sewing masks for sale, and another in Montana is sewing masks for charity. Have you considered printing a repeating pattern on yardage? I love the design and color on my 20oz mugs, but maybe you’d redevelop your shower curtain or bandana designs for 45" cotton yardage.

carolyn scott

June 05, 2020

As a long suffering victim of RBF (resting bitch face) I’m loving that I no longer have people mis-interpreting the meaning or intent of my words because of my lack of matching facial expression and now living on an equal plane with all those people who live with a perpetual smile on their faces, being perceived as sweet and kind, even when they’re thinking evil thoughts.

Greg

June 05, 2020

I wear the blue monster bandanna as a mask. I sewed on some velcro so that I could wrap it around and get the same result very time and it works perfectly.
What I’d buy in a picosecond though is a bandana with a giant, scary smile printed on the mouth area.
Thanks for existing!

Rob

June 05, 2020

I wear a Bad Bandanna – Robots in particular- as a face covering. Works great!

Mark Ludy

June 05, 2020

You are too much! Love Love your humor, whit and charisma! I wish I was Don.

Diana Quinn

June 05, 2020

Oh please design just one mask!!!
It would be Fabulous!!!

elen brandt

June 05, 2020

Love you all to death!!!!

MsMz

June 05, 2020

LOL, Don! however, you might actually be better at vaccine development than those currently doing so as you “think outside the box”.

Erin C.

June 05, 2020

Fellow Pittsburgher, fellow BADbandana wearer. Total fan.

Gina Smitasin

June 05, 2020

I guess those who want a mask could always make their own out of a bandanna…actually cutting it up and sewing a better fitting mask.

Virginia Martin

June 05, 2020

Jaime McBrady made me laugh. Commas save lives. Haha

Janet Mills

June 05, 2020

The BADbandana works for me! Wore one with my Calamityware t-shirt to my first visit with friends since all this started (maintaining distance around their outdoor table). Here in Nova Scotia, the BADbandana also works to keep black flies out of your mouth and nostrils!

Jaime McBrady

June 05, 2020

Hey Don, put a comma in your “stay healthy…” comment. It’ll then read: “ No, epidemics last forever.”

Denise Clemons

June 05, 2020

I believe that Don is my Spirit animal. Love you guys. Stay safe, please. We will all get through this… together.

Jean Andersen

June 05, 2020

Love my BadDanna!

Judy

June 05, 2020

Yes! The BADbandana works great! Can’t wait for the robots one to return!

Suse

June 05, 2020

Thanks Don. We can always count on you to be on point!

JANE L LOVSTUEN

June 05, 2020

LOVE your designs ! Don’t ever stop !

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