Dawn Andrews’ nationwide business had been about enhancing people’s beauty.
But now her calling could very conceivably be about saving lives.
Such is the metamorphosis from one manufacturing moment to another. Less than two weeks ago, Andrews, who put her creation known as Garb2ART Cosmetics on a national, department store scale with lip glosses and more artfully packaged in recycled materials, realized the spread of the novel coronavirus was halting sales of her products because of dwindling shopper traffic amid sheltering-in-place guidelines.
In fact, one major store franchise that owes her $10,000 in cosmetics payments even sent her a note saying they couldn’t settle its account with her for a while amid the severe economic dip.
But the self-proclaimed Gloss Boss made little time for sadness. Because the high-energy, seize-the-moment businesswoman suddenly fell into a new niche beginning March 12.
Seems that four years ago, she briefly made hand sanitizer in a pinch for Roche Diagnostics, and later manufactured some for a few hospitals. When COVID-19 began spreading, her Garb2ART sales reps across the country told her that pharmacies and other outlets “were begging for hand sanitizer” as demand rose to unprecedented levels. Hand cleansing steps are among the main routes to killing the virus, according to authorities.
So the reps asked if she would consider making sanitizer. She hardly understood.
“I said, ‘OK, I’ll make 1,000 (bottles),'” she said. “I remember that one of them chuckled and said ‘Uh, I think you’re going to need to make a lot more.'”
What a prophecy.
Now, already headlong into her new venture after a nerve-wracking $20,000 personal investment plus a batch of 25 new, added employees she hired only days ago, a reborn Garb2ART — she’s waiting to give this effort a proper name while the cosmetics line is on hold — is suddenly manufacturing 10,000 concentrated, one-ounce bottles daily for hospitals, pharmacies, nursing homes, jails, you name it. In fact, the demand at her business on Central Avenue in Columbus may be among few things spreading faster than the virus in major cities.
For the complete story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
