My name is Aymeric and I really like what I do. I do what I studied and what I have lived through the last 35 years of my life has been graphic design, advertising, and printing, that’s what I do.

But with COVID-19, all my clients stopped sending me work. At some point, someone showed me a cap with a mask and said “have you seen this?” As the subject of sales is something that I have always been passionate about, I thought it was terrific and as a printer, I can put it together; then I started doing them.

Claudio my son, was one of those who were left without a school. He has down syndrome and autism. They gave him classes online but the truth is that they were not enough, and I could see that he was desperate. As the two of us were alone in the house, I said, well, ”help me”. I bought everything I needed and taught him how to put the clasps, so when I did one thing, he helped me with another.

We were both going to deliver the masks but I thought, who is going to know that we make them? I needed to sell more because the money I had saved was running out, between investment of the material and normal expenses. So I made a magnet to stick it on the car and people started calling me for caps and masks. When we were going to deliver what was sold, I realized that the most vulnerable people needed them too. That’s why I said, for every three we sell, I’m going to give one away. And the reality is that at the beginning, we gave away more than we sold, but well, we liked it and people began to react very nicely when we gave them to them.

Later, I believe that the manufacturers of the caps realized that it was a good deal and began to manufacture them, but at incredibly low prices against which there was no way to compete. The advantage that Claudio and I had is that he began to tell me that if ”Woody” and I don’t know what, and in his low language, because the reality is that Claudio has low language but as a father, I say that he speaks ”cetacean” and that I, I am an excellent “cetacean” translator. Then it occurred to us to make a cuter one, or a model that is a cap and visor, that nobody had.

We produced a super-economical version and for the children, I drew the character they wanted, we printed it and we stuck it on their masks. Then Claudio told me about the characters he liked and we started doing it. Claudio bags or sometimes also helps me put on the clasps and labels. I made him a logo and I am also about to open his Facebook page, I think that I will no longer call him “Claudio’s masks” but “Claudio’s Little Tiendita” because, as the father of a special person, of a person with a disability, especially with intellectual disabilities, one of the main fears is dying first. So I thought that if I do the little store, it’s cool because it can grow.

In conclusion, this was an opportunity that gave us life. I have always believed that everything happens for something. I see it this way, COVID-19 has taught us to see what is really necessary for our life and what is not so necessary. He is participating and he is very happy, he wakes up and says “let’s go to work”. At night I tell him, “how are you going to want me to pay you today?” And he usually tells me with grapes, because he loves grapes.

I am very happy because Claudio feels useful because he is happy. Today our products, before bagging them, he sanitizes them with alcohol, we close the bag and deliver with a label. I also made a graphic image of it. Claudio arrives and looks at the logo, and says “Yayo, yayo,” and I answer him, yes my love, this is your company, and this is for you and it will always be for you, and you will see how we will grow.