Curtain Cabin is COVID compliant

By Dawn Moses

Before the Lockdown was announced, The Curtain Cabin was already taking measures to keep staff safe with social distancing and use of hand sanitisers and keeping surfaces clean. When dealing with a high proportion of elderly clients, we were extra cautious and careful.

In the initial week of lockdown I took it on myself to notify all our clients that had orders in the pipeline, of the current situation and have kept them up to date as the weeks have gone on. All my staff had to be furloughed, but we set up a WhatsApp chat so that we could all keep in contact and I could update when and where necessary. I was also making up PPE for a local care worker (scrubs) and am now making facemasks for our employees, as well as selling them to some local businesses.

Being the owner of four ponies and a border collie, I travelled and sorted the animals twice daily, meaning I was out in the fresh air for quite a lot of the time. Running has also been my main source of exercise, with riding out on horseback on Holt Heath on occasions.

I am also chair of Trustees for Verwood Family Church, who meet via Zoom every Sunday morning, and my husband and I provide the musical lead for these meetings by means of worship songs.

I became a grandparent during lockdown and have communicated via Zoom with our son and daughter-in-law in Devon and watched our granddaughter grow over the weeks via this media. We long for the day to go and visit and to give our granddaughter a big hug!

Realising that the current situation was going to affect our business for some time to come, I have taken it upon myself over the last few weeks to make the Curtain Cabin COVID compliant, with the putting up of barriers between staff and clients (and also between staff members) making choosing of fabrics from our hundreds of pattern books more self-service and easier for customers. I have had time to sort out the stock room and the many fabric remnants that were being stored at the Cabin were put into several containers at the front of the shop for the people of Verwood to help themselves to free of charge.

A virtual design appointment service was set up as we went into the lockdown, offering clients a design and quotation service from photographs and measurements emailed through to dawn@curtaincabin.co.uk. From the photographs and measurements we could suggest fabrics and styles and send out samples for the client to look at in the comfort of their own homes. We could also give cost indications and even put the potential orders into production, pending the time when we could come into the home and check measure and fit.

Looking to the time when the showroom can re-open (hopefully in early June this year) I am delighted to advise that we will bring forward our fabric sale of 20% OFF ALL FABRICS to 1 June and have persuaded our suppliers to allow us to run this for two months till the end of July. This will be a great chance to draw back our loyal customers and reach out to new.

It has been a time of reflection and a time when I have done much “Spring Cleaning” in the showroom and workroom. I feel excited that we can now move forward with anticipation and want to be a blessing to the town of Verwood.