After cancelling Northwest Arkansas Fashion Week, which was supposed to take place in April, Robin Atkinson, the CEO of the Arkansas Fashion and Arts Forum, organized designers and others to sew face masks instead. While they won’t be going to local hospitals, which need more specialized equipment to protect staff from the coronavirus, they will be going to others who are still working directly with the public.

“ 'If we made these, would you need them?' And the response across the board was shockingly affirmative.”