We are excited to announce that as of this week, we have begun returning to the studio! Of course- this is only really an option for a limited group of participants -but we are excited to get started working again! As of Wednesday our Alexandria workers were able to return and begin their weaving again! The health and safety of our staff and adults is vital part of our re-opening plan, so we have put a lot of thought into setting up our spaces to keep everyone healthy. This was a huge task for our administrative team, and after many weeks of hard work we are finally able to implement all of their plans.

 

 

What steps are we taking? First off, we’re limiting the number of people returning. Those that are returning are screened at the door for a fever and overall health. We are also implementing traffic flows around the building and in groups spaces, so that individuals don’t “run into” each other by accident. Since our space has two doors, we even get to have a separate entry and exit! Additionally, all of the shared items that we would normally use like the microwave or fridge are off limits, instead everyone will bring their own items in and enjoy a lunch from home. In our workspaces each person now has an entire “section” to themselves. Their area is taped off and has their name written on it. They even have their own permanent table, chair and basic supplies available at all times, so that there is no need to share!

 

  

Now of course there are a few things we can’t have multiples of. In the weaving room our spinner, that rolls the yarn onto the bobbin will be shared. So we’ve set up a cleaning schedule to make sure that this doesn’t become an area of transmission.

 

After a day of being back at program I think we can all say we’ve missed each other. We’re working hard to make sure everyone stays happy and safe and we’re hoping that after a few weeks we’ll be able to increase the amount of days that our guys can return to work. Additionally, we can happily say that our Fulfillment Center is now back to shipping three times a week! Once we get to December we hope to return to a daily shipping schedule as well, so if you’re keeping up with our progress be sure to check out our website for all our new products. As fall continues on we’ll have new items ready each week, along with a few of our favorite Archive items.  Start thinking about your holiday shopping now before we run out of stock!