COCONUT CREEK, Fla. – A clerk at a Florida Publix went viral because of her face masks that don’t hide her beautiful smile.
Many of her customers had the same question: Where did she get a mask like that?
It turns out that the man who makes them is from right here in Broward County.
Brian Travers spends hours a day, every day, sewing out of his Coconut Creek home.
He does it not just because he loves it. He sews to serve a purpose
In 2008, Travers, a doctor, almost lost his life when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He went through hypobaric treatment to recover, but a side effect to that treatment was hearing loss.
When the pandemic hit and everyone started to wear masks, lipreading became a problem.
That’s when Travers came up with a solution and created masks for the hearing impaired. He started making masks just for his family so he could communicate with them easier, but it quickly grew into something much bigger.
”Just out of frustration I cut the hole out and not even thinking of putting something there, I just cut it thinking, ‘Is it that difficult to lower your mask?‘” Travers said. “But then I’m looking and I’m like, ‘What if I put something here?‘”
Now, Travers is getting orders from all over the world wanting his mask.
“For me it’s been really gratifying and I have fallen I love with it,” Travers said. “I get up with a smile and I know I’m going to be doing this all day for the benefit of others, I just love it.”
Travers’ masks can be purchased on his Anchor Handmade Designs website.