The story of our face coverings is a tale of what can be possible in a time of crisis. It is the story of a team built on Zoom calls, scattered across the country at kitchen tables and bedroom desks, who came together to do something to help others.

It started with a conversation between Ron Arad and Maurice Ostro. Ron, an acclaimed artist and designer, knew the inspiration of our great artists was needed more than ever during these challenging times. Maurice was concerned about how intimidating face coverings could be and the importance of alleviating this fear and encouraging people to wear them.

They both agreed that joyful designs would be uplifting for people to see and would promote their use. By using a UK manufacturer not supplying frontline workers, they could create a comfortable, reusable, non-medical face covering which would protect PPE supplies, be good for the environment and raise money for those in the frontline.

And so the idea was born: to create face coverings using the smiles from famous portraits and history’s boldest trailblazers. A team of volunteers swung into action: Michael perfected the designs, Michal built a production line, Ran refined the graphics, Zaki ran our public relations, Katy dealt with legal matters, and Alfred coordinated work across the new team, with Emily coding an Instagram filter so people could try them on – take a look here. Celebrities and influencers joined in to share the message.