Above: Greg Potts in the machine shop at CU Boulder's听Idea Forge.听
Top:听A mask sewn by Greg Potts for his granddaughter. 听
During the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Potts, Idea Forge machine shop coordinator, joined many others in pursuing a new hobby: mask-making. He has made over 250 masks and plans听to sew at least 100 more.听
"The mask-making started after cleaning out my closet during听quarantine and realizing I had some听old button-down and golf shirts to spare," said Potts. "My wife also donated a number of blouses and old听high-thread-count flat sheets that were no longer needed."听
The masks are double-layer cloth masks听with an aluminum adjustable nose piece听and adjustable elastic over the ears. They are made completely from听recycled material. Potts said he can get about 12 masks out of a shirt or blouse and about 80 liners out of a king-sized听sheet.听
The first 100 masks听Potts donated听to CU Boulder for essential workers on campus. The others听he gave听to family, friends, and the Idea Forge staff. As Idea Forge staff return to campus, he said they will each receive five of his masks. The remainder will be given to anyone who needs one.听
Some of the 250 masks sewn by Greg Potts.听
Potts said he has another 100 masks in process, though now that he is back to work in the Idea Forge machine shop, they are taking longer to complete as he works on them part-time in the evenings.听In total, one mask takes听him about 45 minutes听to produce. That means to produce听250 masks, he dedicated over 185 hours.听
"I learned to sew when I was a teenager, said Potts. "There used to be a company called Frostline Kits in听Boulder that sold goose down outdoor products in kit form:听jackets, vests and sleeping bags, for example.听I made a number of them with my mom's help back in the day but hadn't听done a lot of sewing since. However, I听had been looking to buy a sewing machine for a while to do various projects, so I thought this was a good time to get one and do something that might help in some way."听
Potts said he loves听teaching the process of design and engineering to听students in mechanical engineering.
"It has truly been a dream job for me, doing what I love doing," Potts said.
In many ways, Potts said making masks is no different. He creates听a design,听then streamlines the most efficient process and works听on the skills to do it. He said he doesn't think he'll retire off of mask-making, but it听has been fun.听