El Jefe Cat Lounge

Submitted By: Tiffany Lee of El Jefe Cat Lounge

Our cat lounge just opened in November and was just getting going when we had to shut down for COVID in March. We weren’t able to get any government assistance that would cover our expenses. We decided to open online merchandise retail. Cute cat or desert themed face masks were a product idea, but everything we found at the time were 3 weeks back ordered. So, we decided we would just make them ourselves. We couldn’t even find a sewing machine because they were all sold out. We reached out to our followers and a generous woman donated a super nice machine to us! Elastic was scarce and another woman donated 2 spools of elastic! We converted our lounge space to a cut and sew shop and got to work sewing 6 days a week. Tucson has been so supportive and has been purchasing enough masks for us to cover our expenses.

Finding enough of the right fabric is a constant challenge. We try to find patterns that our market will respond to like cats, cacti & desert themes, bohemian, and sugar skull cats. One of us sews and the other cuts and irons.  

We definitely support masking up for the safety of the community. It will probably be a part of life for a while, so you might as well make it a fashion statement. Shopping local is also more important than ever. Wearing an El Jefe mask shows you care about protecting our community, you support cat adoptions, and you support local business. 

To learn more about El Jefe Cat Lounge visit their website at https://www.eljefecatlounge.com/