Well guys... it's officially been ONE YEAR since the pandemic changed our little Bowfish world. With all of the struggles we've all had to endure, I felt it important to look back on some of the accomplishments that we've been able to achieve this year.

 For those of you who may have missed it — it feels like centuries ago! — we helped assemble a team of 14 seamstresses, 16 cutters, and over 25 fabric/supply donators to make over 980 facemasks that we then donated to 40 different healthcare facilities and frontline workers. I’m also proud to note that this was an entirely WOMEN-run initiative.

 The camaraderie and compassion that each of these women showed after answering our call-to-action is something that I will remember for the rest of my life. So, today I honor them — their hard work and their commitment to come together for a cause greater than any single one of us to support our neighbors and our country.

Once mask supplies stabilized, we pivoted toward supporting frontline workers and healthcare heroes' ears. Credit for this initiative goes to another amazing woman: Ryann McMahon, owner of Rybandz headbands. Ryann came to us asking for help in keeping up with the surging demand for her new headband design, which included attached buttons for supporting facemask straps. For those workers who were required to wear masks for 12+ hours a day, the buttoned headbands took a huge burden off of their tired ears! 

We were adamant about not charging these workers for their Rybandz, so we came up with an idea that allowed customers to purchase them for the frontline workers, and also include a personalized note of encouragement, support, and love. And guys... let me tell you: reading some of those notes brought the waterworks, but also made the darkest days of the pandemic a little brighter.

I’m eternally grateful that we've been able to help and support people in this small way over the past year — especially Ryann, whose brilliant idea helped keep all of Bowfish's team employed and working. I am most grateful to all of our loyal customers who kept showing up for us and for keeping Bowfish's light on.

Thanks for being there for us when we needed it the most <3