2020.
The most dismal of years for so many people. For sisters Caryn Chow and Sheryl Chin, it was the worst of years for it brought the worst of fears. At a time when their mom, the great Loretta Chow (called “Mom” by so many of the sisters’ friends), was thriving and living life fully again after more than a decade of losing her husband, Covid-19 blew in and swept her to heaven on April 1st. The week before, Sheryl had stayed with Mom to care for her while Caryn herself was in another hospital struggling to recover from the virus. “The day we said goodbye to our beloved mom was the same day I was released from the hospital,” says Caryn. “I came home, got on my cellphone, and within an hour of FaceTiming me and my brother, she was gone. I remember watching my sister wiping our mother’s forehead, with her favorite Freddie Mercury songs playing in the background, as she took her last breath.”
It wasn’t until months later, after going through er belongings that the sisters discovered Mom’s bead collection. “Mom used to make these money balls fashioned from dollar bills and ribboned tassels for her friends and family. The money balls were then adorned with pretty beads.” Determined to put these beads to good use, the sisters took to making MaskLifts™ – beaded chain lanyard necklaces which easily attach to masks so you no longer have to dig for one in your pocket,
car or handbag. Each necklace is handmade and one-of-a-kind. Because this pandemic is so surreal, we sometimes find ourselves walking out the door without a mask. But when it is hooked onto a chain and hanging by the door or otherwise visible, it’s much easier to be reminded and just so convenient!
The Bead Sisters collectively spend 6-8 hours per day making MaskLifts™. “It’s our way of memorializing Mom, and if we can help stop the spread of Covid-19 or perhaps save the life of one person … well then, our efforts will all be worth it.”
We are grateful to the doctors and nurses who have worked tirelessly in their efforts to help others and for this reason, for every 5 or more MaskLifts™ sold per customer, a necklace is donated to a health care worker.
To order online, please visit www.beadCAUSE.shop.
For direct inquiries, email beadsisters2020@gmail.com
