Page 7 - Florida Sentinel 5-1-20

Feature
Wedding Planner Uses Special Talents To Create Special Order Face Masks
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
Wedding planner, Pat Smith loves bringing beauty and joy into people’s lives. As the owner and operator of ‘A Delicate Affair,’ she delights in bringing beauty and elegant details into each client’s spe- cial day.
Ms. Smith is a self- taught wedding planner and began her business with a boutique. As the wedding planning business changed, Ms. Smith closed her bou- tique and created her consult- ing business. She designs the perfect wedding for each client and will take care of selecting fresh or silk flowers, gift bas- kets, event stationary, tuxe-
dos, installation, and design for the wedding. Ms. Smith is known for her exquisite flo- ral arrangements. She has started providing classes in floral arrangements, and her next one is in July, pending the status of the COVID-19 pandemic.
While she has had to put her business on hold for the time being, her husband acci- dentally came up for a way for her to help her community. His concern about the Coron- avirus led him to try on some of the equipment he had from his time with the Tampa Po- lice Department.
After examining some of his masks, Ms. Smith de- cided to use the technology to start making masks. Her deci-
Pat Smith is using skills to make face masks during pan- demic.
sion came just in time as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention began advising
that people should wear masks when they are in spaces like grocery stores, or other spaces that don’t allow for the ad- vised six feet of social distanc- ing.
After developing her masks, her children and grandchildren started posting pictures on social media and the business blew up. In the past few weeks, Ms. Smith hassewnfrom7a.m.to2a. m., to meet the requests for masks.
Her daughter has been helping by cutting the fabric so that Ms. Smith can sew and assemble. Each mask is wash- able and has a washable filter. They come in a variety of pat- terns.
Ms. Smith takes requests
through texts to her phone. The number to text is 813- 992-5297. A consultation about fabric patterns and de- sign will come next. After set- tling on the pattern choice and other miscellaneous details, Ms. Smith will make the mask(s).
A native of Tampa, Smith is a proud graduate of Middle- ton High School. After gradu- ating, Ms. Smith traveled the world with her first husband, who was in the military. She settled back in Tampa and met the love of her life, Rickey Smith. Ms. Smith lives in Tampa with her husband of 34 years, a retiree of Tampa Po- lice Department. They have seven children and many grandchildren.
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