Jumping into the face-mask businesses has proven to be extremely advantageous for David Gravelle.

In May, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gravelle’s curling-apparel company WOW! Special Event Management Inc. launched its own line of face masks. His product, branded as , sold extremely well in the spring, benefiting both his business and the community.

“We tried to fill a gap,” said Gravelle. “We saw that people were sewing their own masks out of cloth and realized that a more hearty and safer product may be needed.”

Gravelle partnered up with Derek Robbins, the owner of ATAC Sportwear in Langley, B.C., to develop a MASQ. Robbins, who is originally from Collingwood, has been producing curling apparel items for Gravelle’s company PROCURLING Wear for the past seven years.

“As a small business operator, you are always looking for ways to be innovative and take advantage of opportunities that come your way,” said Gravelle. “This was just one of those opportunities.”

The pair responded almost immediately to a need created by the pandemic and developed a high-quality mask.

Although they did extremely well in the spring, the market caught up to them over the course of the summer and MASQ sales dropped.

Recently, they decided to change the design of their MASQ collection in order to meet the current need. They’ve developed a thinner, more contoured mask, a mask that’s integrated with a neck warmer, and added children’s sizes.

“Our first set of masks were built on the surgical mask layout. The rectangular mask with the double fold or trifold,” said Gravelle. “We found that our market really wanted more contoured, fashionable masks. They wanted form and function, so that is where we have gone.”

They’ve also added more options and created both two-layer and three-layer masks, which offer different levels of protection.

Gravelle also serves as the physician-recruitment consultant for Georgian Bay General Hospital. Because of his connection to the local health-care community, Gravelle has decided to donate a portion of the sales from every MASQ to Georgian Bay General Hospital and the Huronia Community Foundation.