TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) — The Master Craftsmen Studio has been crafting and creating at Florida State for two decades. Some of their unique pieces can be found not just on campus, but around the city of Tallahassee.
Now, the team at Master Craftsmen Studio are teaming up with the innovation hub at FSU to create face shields for hospitals.
“Emily Pritchard with the medical school was putting together an effort with the innovation hub on campus run by Ken Baldauf to create the actual plastic face shields," said John Raulerson, the program director for Master Craftsmen Studio.
The studio first started out making masks but realized there was a need for something even more extensive, face shields.
They joined forces with the innovation hub, and the Coca Cola company donated the plastic that is being used for the shields. Studio manager Phil Gleason explained how it works, "I put the line drawing in the computer and then it sends over here and just follows the exact line that we tell it to cut."
At first, the team had a logistical issue with the material. Raulerson said, "It has an extreme memory of its shape, having been in a roll."
Gleason looked into that issue and found magnets would keep the material flat. Raulerson called the FSU High Magnetics Laboratory who supplied magnets for the project.
Phil Gleason, "I put them in and stick them down with magnets. And basically I cut the first three and move the magnets back and pull them out."
The teamwork different departments at Florida State have shown is nothing short of amazing.
Raulerson said, "It's incredibly symbiotic. The partnership through the FSU community. It's really aw inspiring to be honest."
Gleason added, "I think it's really nice to keep people busy and working, it's also helping. But, I feel like I'm doing something that's making a difference."
The team can create 200 face shields in one day. So far, they've already created more than 1200 face shields. Once completed, the face shields attached to the head gear are then sourced out to hospitals in the area.
The healthcare facilities receiving these face shields are:
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital
Capital Health Plan
North Florida Women's Care
Florida Advanced Dental Care
Big Bend Cares
PCAIMA
Allergy & Asthma Diagnostic Treatment Center
Big Bend Hospice
Elder Care Services
Children’s Clinic
Cardinal Healthcare, PLLC
Capital City Anesthesia LLC
If your facility needs a face shield, you can request one here: https://news.fsu.edu/coronavirus/ppe/
