Weddings – Michelle Doyon, 44

byLindsey Logan

Michelle Doyon has owned Michelle’s Patisserie for the past 17 years. When a Stay-at-Home Order was issued for the City of Austin, she saw a 90 percent drop in her business and had to find new ways to make income and serve the members of her community. “We had to shift our frame of mind […]

Weddings – Alyssa Johnson, 23

byLindsey Logan

Alyssa Johnson is a wedding photographer and Texas A&M University college student. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Johnson has moved home with her family in Austin, Texas and watched her business suffer with dozens of rescheduled and canceled weddings. She remains positive and hopes to show her clients support and flexibility during this time. “We just […]

Weddings – Dawson Clark

byLindsey Logan

Dawson Clark has been in the process of building his venue, HighPointe Estate, for the past couple years. The venue was set to officially open at the end of March but is now estimated to lose approximately a quarter of a million dollars in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “Love people through this challenging […]

Weddings – Simply XO – Jordyn Zanin, 25 and Alexis Parmentier, 25

byLindsey Logan

Alexis Parmentier and Jordyn Zanin co-own Simply XO Events in Austin. They offer planning and coordinating services for weddings and since the coronavirus outbreak in March, the two have had 35 clients reschedule their weddings. Despite these circumstances, they remain optimistic and are actively helping their clients book new dates and vendors. “It’s a different […]

Weddings in a Pandemic

byLindsey Logan

The coronavirus pandemic put a halt to many large events and gatherings, including weddings. Postponements and cancellations had a major impact on couples preparing for their big day as well as many business owners who rely on weddings to make their living. Here are some of their stories.   Return to the Life in a […]

Community Heroes – Cynthia Lopez, 26

byTehya Rassman

Cynthia Lopez of Mission, Texas, is a receiving clerk who does inventory control at Essity. She started making masks for her friends and family and soon began making them for others in the community when word spread about what she was doing. “I started doing it for friends or for the community because if one […]

Community Heroes – Norma Castillo, 82

byTehya Rassman

Norma Castillo of Mission, Texas, lived in Bataan province in the Philippines during World War II when she was a little girl. Later in life, she worked as a seamstress at a Singer sewing factory. Castillo uses her sewing skills to make masks for physical therapists and patients at her daughter Annie Marie Esguerra’s clinic, […]

Community Heroes – Vanessa Paiz, 28

byTehya Rassman

Vanessa Paiz of Edinburg, Texas, recently opened a baby clothing shop called Butterfly Visions. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, she has put her business aside to make affordable masks for her family and the community. “I don’t think people should be taking advantage of the situation. Right now I’m charging the four (dollars) and a lot […]

Community Heroes – Yenisley Martí, 35

byTehya Rassman

Yenisley Martí is Cuban-American who works as a fashion designer for her shop, Fashion and Designs, in The Woodlands, Texas. She began making masks for her community in March and has already made around 10,000 masks. In this video, her husband Luigi Luperini Davila speaks for her because she isn’t fluent in English. “We really […]

Community Heroes – Adrian Gutierrez, 36

byTehya Rassman

Adrián Gutiérrez is a documentary producer in Monterrey, Mexico, who makes his own films, does freelance work, and occasionally does work for the BBC. On Feb. 7 Gutiérrez was in a motorcycle accident, so he was recovering at home in early quarantine. He wanted to help healthcare providers working with COVID-19 patients, so he started […]

Community Heroes – Asha Ramachandran, 18

byTehya Rassman

Asha Ramachandran of Massachusetts is a freshman journalism student at New York University. In April, she sent a tweet out saying she will donate to any sexual assault victim who comments their Venmo, PayPal, CashApp, etc. She is a victim of sexual assault, and she decided to donate $2,200 of her own money to people […]

Community Heroes in a Pandemic

byTehya Rassman

Community Heroes is a series of short interviews with people who are taking action to help others during the COVID-19 outbreak. Some are making masks, others are starting donation campaigns, but all wish to do something for their community.   Return to the Life in a Pandemic Main Page  

Health & Beauty – Braelyn Bianchi, 22

byReagan Morrisey

  Braelyn Bianchi was a CorePower yoga instructor in Austin when the studios had to start shutting down due to coronavirus. Bianchi talks about the difficult situation she has been in not being able to work during the time of this pandemic and how it has affected her. “It has definitely been difficult for me, […]

Health & Beauty – Ronaldo Valdez

byReagan Morrisey

  As a co-owner of Salon Vela in Austin, Ronaldo Valdez shares what his experiences have been like as a salon during this time. He also shares what it has been like looking over a salon staff that is very much like family and keeping in touch with clients he cares for deeply. “Fielding calls […]

Health & Beauty – Savanah Warnick, 24

byReagan Morrisey

  Savanah Warnick is a hairstylist at Mirror Mirror Salon in Austin. She has been unable to work for nearly 2 months now as the pandemic has closed down all salons. As a result, she tells how she has been focusing her time instead. “The hardest part is, as a hairstylist if we are not […]

Health & Beauty – Meghan Goodwin, 35

byReagan Morrisey

  Meghan Goodwin is a small business owner and licensed esthetician in Magnolia, Texas. With a young child at home she gives a lighthearted view on what her time has been like during the pandemic, joking that people are going to need her more than ever when this is over. “I think this time will […]

Health and Beauty Professionals in a Pandemic

byReagan Morrisey

While it is certain that this pandemic has affected everyone, one group in particular was affected in a way that others may not have been. When workplaces across the nation shut down, some employees did not have an option to continue work from home. Businesses like hair salons, gyms, and more were forced to close […]

Small Business Owners – Meg Sutton

byMildret Orellana

  Despite the governor’s announcement allowing businesses to reopen at 25% capacity, Meg Sutton, owner of Belle & Union Co. in San Antonio, has decided to keep her doors closed for the time being. Sutton’s shop has been offering free shipping and delivery, curbside pick-up and appointment-based shopping as an alternative. Sutton has been personally […]

Small Business Owners – Jane-Michael Stallings

byMildret Orellana

  Jane-Michael Stallings of Austin started making masks as a way to follow CDC recommendations while avoiding mask alternatives such as bandanas or scarves. Stallings went on to sew masks for friends and family and later found the opportunity to be part of the Austin Mask Exchange, a collection of makers providing masks for those […]

Small Business Owners – Ashley Raymond

byMildret Orellana

  Ashley Raymond of Austin decided to pursue Pocket Punch full time right before city officials declared a stay at home order and has decided to continue with her decision despite working from home. The idea for Pocket Punch, a hand-held multi-functional self-defense device, came about after stabbings occurred on the UT campus in 2017. […]