PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — One could say this year's new fashion statement is the face mask.
It's not by choice for millions of people, but a necessity to combat the coronavirus.
As a result, a Pinellas County couple switched up their business model from boats to masks.
Eva Kubiak and her husband, Waldemar, didn't know much about the mask-making business, but that didn't deter them.
"I thought this was the thing to give back," Kubiak said.
The couple immigrated from Poland to take on the American dream.
Kubiak and her husband always wanted to give back but they didn't know how. That was until the pandemic hit.
"I think that the main reason was to help and because we also feel being immigrants America was always good for us," Kubiak said.
When COVID-19 turned everyone's world and livelihood upside down, the Kubiak's went with it and began making masks.
"It was spur of the moment. It was a very spontaneous decision," Kubiak said. "The major reason to it all was that we want to help. Let's do it. This can't be too difficult. It's only masks."
Those were famous last words for the couple. They found a lot of supplies like mask material and equipment came from China, as did the machine to make the in-demand item.
"This was actually something that I thought it was going to be the end for us," Kubiak said.
It wasn't and it isn't.
Seven staffers produce anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 masks a day. They can produce up to 150,000.
The couple is currently working with two dealers and they know this isn't a moneymaker.
"This is why we're doing this. If no one wants to buy except for the two venues that's fine, and if the pandemic is over and we close down that is going to be fine too," Kubiak said.
The wealth is there, but it's just in a different form.
For more information about the Kubiak's business click here.
