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PAY IT FORWARD: promoting safety and kindness through masks

By Caroline Macfarlane

So I’ve been seeing a lot of people without masks on lately. And I always wonder what their thinking is. Don’t they care that they could be putting other people at risk? Don’t they care that they are 75% more susceptible to getting the virus or spreading it without one? Although we are all tired of the pandemic , tired of not being able to hug each other, tired of not being able to go out dancing or share food with one another; it is imperative that we continue to be vigilant about hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing. This virus is still here. Today there are 14.6 million confirmed COVID cases worldwide and this number will be exponentially higher by the time you read this. In the United States alone there are 3.9 million confirmed cases today, and have been over 143 thousand deaths in just a few months. We are all watching in horror as the states that have clamoured to “re-open” too soon and who have framed mask wearing as a political issue explode with new cases and deaths. It is clear that “face coverings” saves lives. Masks have also become a clear symbol of basic decency. Wearing one shows that a) you’re not an asshole and b) that you care about others. It’s a sign of respect.

When my colleague Catha told me she was going to start designing, sewing and selling colorful masks in the middle of the pandemic, I was both grateful and excited. I had tried a few different masks up until that point and none of them had fit well. Some were too loose. Others too tight. I was tired of wearing the generic hospital masks. They remind me of all the times I had to wear one visiting my brother in a cancer ward. I couldn’t wait to try out Catha’s masks. I knew Catha would create a mask that was not only well designed by also super fresh - the woman not only has talent, but style.

Catha, a filmmaker and costume designer (Casting JonBenet, Doctor Blake Mysteries) had been focusing on making her own films pre COVID, but when COVID hit NYC, she had to press the pause button on her own productions and find something new to do. As she and I have collaborated on many projects, we called each other often during quarantine and spoke about how important it would be to find other ways of getting creative and finding purpose amid lockdown life. Catha decided early on to dust off her sewing machine and make masks. At the time she began making masks, Drs were being given garbage bags to wear as PPE and there was a desperate shortage of masks. Catha wanted to give back to the city that had become her home and so @payitforward_bk  was established in her small apartment in East Williamsburg, as she sewed mask after mask with the sirens blaring outside the window and Cuomo on the TV.

I believe that if you have to wear something everyday - it should not only feel good, but make you feel good when you’re wearing it. Since receiving my first Pay It Forward mask, I haven’t stopped wearing them. I have a few on rotation and I wear them everyday. Catha makes each mask by hand. They are 100% cotton, which means you can wash and reuse them ( hello sustainability)! They also have a replaceable filter pocket, elastic loops for the ears and a wire across the bridge of the nose for optimal fit. I’ve even started putting a drop of essential oil on my filters so that they double as a little aromatherapy when I put them on. Catha tested out a number of prototypes on friends before going to production to make sure they fit well and were comfortable . She believes that the more comfy it is to wear a mask, the more likely people are to wear them and to wear them correctly, and she’s right. Also they look good. Each mask is colorful and unique. If we have to wear masks every time we walk out the door - why not look fly at the same time!?

In addition to being designed and made well, Catha has created an inspiring business model that I hope motivates other designers to follow suit. For every mask bought, a mask is given away to an essential worker or individual facing incarceration. When you buy one for yourself, you are buying one for someone else who really needs it. Before lockdown, Catha was in pre production for a documentary film she has been developing that deals with the overwhelming issues women experiencing incarceration face today , both inside prison and after they have been released. Catha cares deeply about this issue and has found a way to continue reaching out to these women who are trapped within the carceral state, a space that has unsurprisingly become a hotspot for the virus . The idea of paying it forward is embedded in the business model. How cool is that? Whether you are out on the streets protesting, or self isolating at home, you need a mask. Why not buy a high quality one for yourself and in doing so also someone else? Let’s start spreading kindness, generosity and care for one another at the same rate as the virus. That’s the only way we get out of this mess.

Covid Survival Pack no. 2

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How are we all doing??? 


I don't know about you, but I found this week harder than others. I felt more restless and antsy to be outside and to see friends and family. The news in New York is grim and heart breaking and maddening. It's hard not to be able to go out and do more for our elderly and frontline workers. The sound of sirens has become the soundtrack to this city and the news about Bernie and Prine on the same day was tough. That being said, I have found that the sound of the birds (they've really been partying) and the sweeter air coming through my window brings me a lot of pleasure. I find it deeply satisfying to be using up all my art supplies, pens, cleaning supplies and spices and am lifted by my neighbours coming out on their stoops everyday to bang pots and pans and clap for our frontline heroes.  Every time I find myself feeling grumpy or down, I have to remind myself how lucky I am to be able to stay at home and self isolate, when so many have to go to work or don't have a home to shelter in place in.

What is so clear in all this, is that the vast majority of the "essential work"  keeping us afloat is done by low income minorities and people of color who don't get to binge watch netflix and bake sour dough bread to get through it, but have to ride public transit and go to work (without protective gear) in order to collect garbage, clean hospital floors, attend to patients, put groceries on the shelf and pack amazon orders. In NYC, if you look at photos of the subways and buses, you'll see mostly black and brown folks stuffed into crowded subway cars and buses because they are working the low wage / working-class jobs that are considered essential.  These folks are, quite frankly, keeping us alive and despite their heroic efforts, they are often being paid the least and getting the most sick. The communities in which our essential workers live are the ones being hit the hardest. This virus makes it very clear that inequality and environmental racism are pre-exiting conditions and that racism is, in fact, our biggest public health crisis.  

Today's article in the Guardian  A tale of two New Yorks addresses this stark inequality within a city that was already deeply divided by race and class. “Coronavirus has exposed New York’s two societies,” Jumaane Williams, the public advocate who acts as the official watchdog for New Yorkers, told the Guardian. “One society was able to run away to the Hamptons or work from home and have food delivered to their door; the other society was deemed ‘essential workers’ and made to go out to work with no protection [...] We put people out there and said you got to go to work, but we didn’t give them protective gear or additional testing to keep them safe. It was almost as though these groups were expendable to keep the city moving.” Jumaane recently wrote an open letter to Bill de Blasio asking him to breakdown COVID 19 numbers by race so that we can see these disparities clearly.

So although it's easy to want to escape and turn it all off until this thing passes, we need to be very aware of what is happening around us right now.  Governments around the world are using this pandemic to roll back environmental policies and push through more fossil fuel projects and bail out the very companies that are destroying the planet. We need to take a hard look at the ways in which racist and capitalist policies intersect in order to continue to harm low income communities of color disproportionately and demand policy changes that actually address this. We need to fight to protect our care workers and prevent our hospitals from being stripped to the bone (even in countries with universal health care), due to austerity measures. We have seen that this idea that "we can't afford it" is false. There are trillions of dollars to bail out corporations and yet undocumented folks pay more in taxes than Jeff Bezos and are denied care and deprived of the public resources they pay for. It is unacceptable. We can't lose focus. We have a big fight ahead of us. 

On Democracy Now this morning, Noam Chomsky said that amid the pandemic in a world run by sociopaths, he finds hope in the actions of popular groups and everyday working people — especially medical workers. "It's an inspiring tribute to the resources of the human spirit, a model of what can be done," he said. 

I finished my second COVID still life. It's called the Conquest of Toilet Paper inspired by Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin's book The Conquest of Bread which I read on The Anarchist Library.  Seems like as a good a time as any to dig into some anarchism! 

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Thanks to the folks who sent me more cool links and posts this week! Here are some highlights! 

My friend David emailed me this Neruda poem. He wrote: I believe you will agree this poem would be a good one in most times but at this moment is singularly perfect. It comes from Henrietta Mantooth, a dear friend and wonderful artist of 94 years who lives and works on the fourth floor of a house in upper Manhattan that she has occupied for six decades. 

Keeping Quiet by Pablo Neruda

Now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still
for once on the face of the earth,
let's not speak in any language;
let's stop for a second,
and not move our arms so much.
It would be an exotic moment
without rush, without engines;
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man gathering salt
would not look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing.
What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity.
Life is what it is about...
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of threatening ourselves with
death.
Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go.


Another dear friend sent me this article from the Harvard Business Review. It's an important read:
 That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief

Haymarket Books has been streaming live teach-ins. I tuned into "How to beat Coronavirus capitalism" with Naomi Klein, Atra Taylor and Keeanga-Yahmahtta Tayor  along with a few other thousand people! It was such a success that they did part two last night. Mike Davis's talk called "Capitalism is the disease" was also really informative. They post all the teach ins on their  youtube channel.  

On a lighter note, my mom and I have become regulars at Ryan Heffington's live instagram dance parties! Highly recommend when you need to shake it all out and have a laugh at the same time. 

Mike introduced me to Club Quarantine, which is a queer digital nightclub on zoom. Great excuse to get all done up and freaky (people are bringing serious lewks, but you don’t have to). There’s often more than 100 people on there. They announce the Zoom code every evening at 9 on their IG @clubquarantine. Party goes from 9-12! 

My girl Chloe (below) has been busy making colourful masks. You can find them on IG @makeibamasks

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Last week I finally made "The Stew" and I gotta say, it lives up to the hype. The ingredients are simple, it's easy to make and very tasty.

If you're starved for some theatre, The National Theatre is now streaming their plays for free!

The MoMA is also offering free online art classes through Coursera! My friend Joe just started  Yale’s Most Popular Class Ever: Happiness which is has just been added to Coursera for free as well.


The Music Gallery (Toronto) and the Canadian Music Centre have just launched new initiative collectively known as “Music Gallery At Home” which consists of interviews and concerts from the Music Gallery’s universe of artists, thinkers and creatives. Up first, on April 13th, is an interview with one of Toronto's veteran improvisers, Nilan Perera, in conversation with MG Artistic Director and my pal David Dacks. :) 

Amy sent me some podcast recommendations from London. She writes ... 

Who's That Girl, presented by Leyla Pillai:This is a beautiful archive of episodes going back to 2012, some focusing on the work of incredible female artists including Nico, PJ Harvey and Billie Holiday. Each hour is part mixtape, part audio essay as Leyla weaves elemental body rhythms, sonic connections and her own crystalline writings. You can take a deep bath in these episodes, fully immerse. If I'm ever about to have a day of creative endeavour I usually start with one of these, it sets the tone of inspiration for rich thinking and making. 


Literary Friction, presented by Carrie Plitt and Octavia Bright :In short ,the smartest but least snobbish radio show about books and reading that I've ever heard. Carrie and Octavia are endlessly knowledgable and insightful -  as well as being EXCELLENT, intuitive interviewers they anchor their discussions in books everyone will have heard of. Their archive includes interviews with writers including Viv Albertine, Olivia Laing, Ottessa Moshfegh, Ocean Vuong and Chris Kraus. Basically it's the English Lit seminar I always wanted to be part of.  (Thanks Amy!)

Dad recently sent me this youtube video of a drum solo par excellance by Buddy Rich. His email read, "if you’re ever going to pay attention to a drum solo this is one to watch...it tells a story."   ( <3 ! )

This is the best Covid fashion lewk I've stumbled upon so far...



Sending love to you all!
Stay safe.
X Caroline 

COVID SURVIVAL PACK NO. 1

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Dearest friends, 

In an effort to help us all stay inside and stay sane, I've decided to start a weekly mail out of various links and resources that I've collected from friends and colleagues. I hope that as the weeks go by I'll find better ways to organize these emails - but for now it's a smorgasburg. I will continue to collect resources and send them out, so please feel free to send me any podcasts, exercise apps, music, homeschooling tips, free movies, mediations, tip for making dried beans taste good, comedy specials, DIY mask making instructions or artisanal toilet paper recipes. 

I know this is a really rough time for us all. How strange to be living in a moment where solidarity is shown not in coming together, but by staying apart.  Let's be kind and patient with one another. We will come out the other end, as long as we all do our part. I know this is going to be especially hard on our extroverts (hi mom!) and all of us as spring arrives, but let's focus on hibernating a little longer so we can dance and drink and hug and CELEBRATE together soon(ish). Just think how joyous it will be! 

So far, I haven't been all that successful at "living my best quarantine life." I keep meaning to start all my "COVID -19 resolutions" - read all the books (and the New Yorkers), do daily meditations and yoga classes, organize my shelves, finally Marie Kondo it up and make my apartment spark joy. So far, I've mostly been lazing about in oversized t shirts, glued to my phone in a spiral of anxiety and of course, washing my hands. I did draw my first Covid Still life though!

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However, today's a new day! And what better time to read about disaster capitalism, collective solidarity, community healing and sink into some big ideas about how we might cope and use this moment to transform our lives/cities/economy than now? I have found over the last few years that the best way to deal with anxiety, grief and uncertainty is to lean into it and turn it into an opportunity for growth. That being said it's also totally fine not to be productive right now. Take your time. Sleep in! Binge tv. Do whatever feels right to get you through it. We are all adapting. 

  • I'm starting off with an animation called "How I Learnt To Stop Worrying" by my brother Blake. At the time he made this he knew something was wrong with him but didn't know what. To help keep his anxieties at bay, he dived into making his first animation. Blake taught me how to stare down fear and uncertainty with humour, creativity and courage. Hope it inspires and comforts others. 

 

  • OK BOOMER. This article from the New Yorker is for friends or parents who aren't taking this whole self isolation thing seriously. 

 

  • I have asked my professors from my Design & Urban Ecologies program at The New School to create a COVID Survival Reading Pack. I spent two years with these urban nerds discussing capitalism, community solidarity, how/why our systems are failings us, the ways in which we are all interconnected and how to create networks of solidarity. I am grateful that the program helped me understand how we got into this mess. This reading pack will grow over time and includes real life utopias and dystopias.  If you want to lean into this moment rather than escape it, than these readings are for you. 

 

 

 

  • Nowadays - my favourite spot for dancing (maybe in the whole world ) is broadcasting DJ sets, educational sessions and talks every single night. Their live stream is free and available to everyone from 8pm to 12 am! We can rave from our own kitchens! And just think, no long subway rides or expensive cab rides home afterwards! 

 

  • Toronto Public Library and New York Public Library has great apps. Kanopy is free video - lots of documentaries, features and Criterion classics. Libby is ebooks and audiobooks. Other libraries have similar apps - may be called Overdrive in other places. Click here for some academic lectures, podcasts and free online courses.

 

  • I don't have facebook, but some of my Toronto friends have told me about an fb community support group called CareMongering, where you can post what you're in need of, what you're offering and share resources. It's been covered by international media like the BBC to show the beauty of community coming together during hard times. Go Toronto! 

 

 

  • WFMU has a huge archive of interviews and radio archives. If you enter a name in the search bar on the top left of the main page, all the results for that artists will come up.  WFMU also is part of the Free Music Archive, which collects public domain. The station's own on-air concerts are collected here too. 

 

 

  • It's amazing what shows up on Youtube!  My friend Ian recommends a four-part series about the eccentric jazz great Slim Gillard called Slim Gaillard’s Civilisation that is fun and fascinating. Ian also recommends The Prisoner for some camp ‘60s paranoia. Ian's friend Don Rooke has put some of The Henry's recent performances at The Burdock  on Dropbox. Gorgeous music. Ian you're so cool! 

 

  • Oh and check out the hilarious long-lost Richard E. Grant satire on food snobs, Posh Nosh for a good laugh.

 

  • Music!!! Mosaic Records has a gazette that curates classic jazz videos and articles. I often check out Light in the Attic Records and Luaka Bop when I need new music.  There's also Samy Ben Redjeb’s seminal Analog Africa for the best in both "explosive foot-shufflers and hypnotic sauntering treasures from Africa."  Aquarium Drunkard is an eclectic audio journal focused on daily reviews, interviews, features, podcasts and sessions. My friend Andy makes great mixes too!

 

  • Here is a very extensive syllabus for reading about contagion while in quarantine spanning literature, philosophy, history, etc! 


Ok folks, that should keep you busy for a while. Please send me all your cool links, readings, memes and new Covid fashion lewks!  

If anyone has resources on how to set up mutual aid networks in your neighbourhood while self isolating, please share. Also feel free to subscribe anyone you think would enjoy my Covid Survival pack! 

XO CAROLINE 

  • I'm starting off with an animation called "How I Learnt To Stop Worrying" by my brother Blake. At the time he made this he knew something was wrong with him but didn't know what. To help keep his anxieties at bay, he dived into making his first animation. Blake taught me how to stare down fear and uncertainty with humour, creativity and courage. Hope it inspires and comforts others. 

 

  • OK BOOMER. This article from the New Yorker is for friends or parents who aren't taking this whole self isolation thing seriously. 

 

  • I have asked my professors from my Design & Urban Ecologies program at The New School to create a COVID Survival Reading Pack. I spent two years with these urban nerds discussing capitalism, community solidarity, how/why our systems are failings us, the ways in which we are all interconnected and how to create networks of solidarity. I am grateful that the program helped me understand how we got into this mess. This reading pack will grow over time and includes real life utopias and dystopias.  If you want to lean into this moment rather than escape it, than these readings are for you. 

 

 

 

  • Nowadays - my favourite spot for dancing (maybe in the whole world ) is broadcasting DJ sets, educational sessions and talks every single night. Their live stream is free and available to everyone from 8pm to 12 am! We can rave from our own kitchens! And just think, no long subway rides or expensive cab rides home afterwards! 

 

  • Toronto Public Library and New York Public Library has great apps. Kanopy is free video - lots of documentaries, features and Criterion classics. Libby is ebooks and audiobooks. Other libraries have similar apps - may be called Overdrive in other places. Click here for some academic lectures, podcasts and free online courses.

 

  • I don't have facebook, but some of my Toronto friends have told me about an fb community support group called CareMongering, where you can post what you're in need of, what you're offering and share resources. It's been covered by international media like the BBC to show the beauty of community coming together during hard times. Go Toronto! 

 

 

  • WFMU has a huge archive of interviews and radio archives. If you enter a name in the search bar on the top left of the main page, all the results for that artists will come up.  WFMU also is part of the Free Music Archive, which collects public domain. The station's own on-air concerts are collected here too. 

 

 

  • It's amazing what shows up on Youtube!  My friend Ian recommends a four-part series about the eccentric jazz great Slim Gillard called Slim Gaillard’s Civilisation that is fun and fascinating. Ian also recommends The Prisoner for some camp ‘60s paranoia. Ian's friend Don Rooke has put some of The Henry's recent performances at The Burdock  on Dropbox. Gorgeous music. Ian you're so cool! 

 

  • Oh and check out the hilarious long-lost Richard E. Grant satire on food snobs, Posh Nosh for a good laugh.

 

  • Music!!! Mosaic Records has a gazette that curates classic jazz videos and articles. I often check out Light in the Attic Records and Luaka Bop when I need new music.  There's also Samy Ben Redjeb’s seminal Analog Africa for the best in both "explosive foot-shufflers and hypnotic sauntering treasures from Africa."  Aquarium Drunkard is an eclectic audio journal focused on daily reviews, interviews, features, podcasts and sessions. My friend Andy makes great mixes too!

 

  • Here is a very extensive syllabus for reading about contagion while in quarantine spanning literature, philosophy, history, etc! 


Ok folks, that should keep you busy for a while. Please send me all your cool links, readings, memes and new Covid fashion lewks!  

If anyone has resources on how to set up mutual aid networks in your neighbourhood while self isolating, please share. Also feel free to subscribe anyone you think would enjoy my Covid Survival pack! 

XO CAROLINE 

Cause sometime's you just need to buy yourself flowers

I stopped into ABC Carpets today to get a little hit of color and texture and met a lovely woman, Shanta, at the flower counter who was making the teeniest, tiniest bouquet of dried flowers! The delicate nature of each small flower and the way she was putting them together delighted me. I asked her is her pink bouquet was for sale and with delight she said it would cost me seven dollars. I added one tiny flower to the bunch and thanked her profusely for her gorgeous arrangement. I clutched my fragile bunch of flowers the whole way home, from Union Square to Sunset Park and now they sit on my mantle and bring me such immense pleasure, it’s crazy. It really is the little things isn’t it?

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The perfect pretty song for a cozy Sunday afternoon in November.

Location scouting with Catha (Coney Island)

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Catha and I went location scouting for a little film we are working on. It was kind of wonderful to be there so early in the morning. The park was almost entirely empty except for a dad and his son on a rollercoaster together. Next time I want to ride the Wonder Wheel - I’m going in the am.