The objective for the government, by allowing the opening of these stores again, is to give everyone the opportunity to make their own masks.
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In Chartres, the initiative was a real popular success. For the past week, businesses have been stormed by individuals in search of fabrics, fleece and elastic to make their masks. “Most of the calls concern the supply of elastics,” notes Valérie Barbier-Pottier, who, with her husband Olivier, manages the L’atelier de Filouche boutique in downtown Chartres.
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But the surprise for the couple, whose brand also maintains sewing machines, is the explosion in requests for repairs:
“Individual machines are intended for family and occasional use, and suddenly women use them at an industrial rate to sew masks for their families and those around them. These machines are not designed to run ten hours a day, seven days a week. ”
Valérie Barbier-Pottier (Filouche’s workshop)
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The professional also sees another reason: “The machines were sometimes stored in the back of a cupboard for several years, without having been maintained. And when we take them out to sew masks at a high rate, they let go. “
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On the Tissus Belice side, rue du Général-Patton, the crowds are also there. “Today, we are only dealing with the health emergency,” explains Jérôme Belice. “For the past week, we have had a very high demand for fabrics, particularly tight knits, and elastics. “
For thirty years in the business, Jérôme Belice, who worked on the markets before opening his store, knows all the tricks of the trade:
“We are able to provide solutions for masks that provide very good protection and, at the moment, we are not worried about the supply of elastics. “
Jérôme Belice (Belice fabrics)
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In Chartres, downtown commerce oscillates between gloom and optimism
The trader supplies himself on the European market. “In France, it is difficult to source elastics, but we still find suppliers, particularly in Greece and Romania. “
The trader has also started making masks “for professionals and businesses. We have no problem with outlets to sell them. “
Professionals had to adapt urgently to health constraints and social distancing, as soon as the authorization to open was given. “We had to organize and partition the store,” says Brigitte, store manager Brigitte Couture, in lower town. “The phone keeps ringing and customers came in large numbers as soon as the news came. “
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Since then, the professional, who draws on her long experience in the trade, multiplies the advice to her customers and copes with the crowds: “I bring customers three by three into the store. It runs all day. “
Jacques Joannopoulos
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