Above: Toni Jarvis, Nottingham Face Mask Shop Manager 38 Carrington Street, Project Manager, Director, Teacher, Innovator of Tiger Community Interest Company
“When the pandemic first began we were completely thrown, especially as a small social enterprise whose main focus is engaging with our community. Our first instinct when lockdown began was to temporarily shut down like many other businesses did. We turned off our sales channels as we were unsure what the postage situation would be and cancelled all our upcoming events as we knew they wouldn’t be able to go ahead safely for the time being”.
Tiger Community Enterprises, Textile Projects: Teaching, Recycling, Skill Development was established in 2013 to become a local hub and example for recycling, community skill development and enterprise.
They’re now happily evolving a face mask service both for their Covid19 partners For The Love Of Scrubs and for people in Nottingham, with their face mask shop inside 38 Carrington Street the place making place for a new kind of Nottingham.
Above: Top Left Toni Jarvis Director Tiger Projects Community Interest Company Left: Pugdog Red Mask, Blue, Red and Purple White Skull Mask, Summer Exuberant Orange Mask, Green and Pink Plain Masks, Pink, Navy Chevron, Black and White Crosses Mask, Purple, Purple Purple Mask, Holy Cow Mask,Black and White Humour Note Mask, Floral Multiwatercolour Mask, Brown, Light Blue and Beige Mask and Traditional Floral Print Mask.
All masks are sold at between £4 and £5 each. You buy two and take one home. The other one is your good will paying for the future of the service and distribution so that there’s always money that can be used to produce PPE for the NHS. The generative idea of this can also provide resources to develop Tiger community enterprise in skills, teaching, workshopping and new ways of trading.
As Toni and the team at 38 Carrington Street agree, there is nothing like strange situations to get the mind whirring with possibilities….
As Covid and lockdown progressed, Toni’s first instinct was to make masks, but as they were a controversial topic at the start of lockdown she was unsure of the best way to go about this and whether mask making could have lasting value.
The Tiger Team researched online tutorials to keep everyone entertained and crafting during lockdown and these are something Tiger are keen to grow and develop.
Tiger have worked with the Nottingham section of For The Love Of Scrubs group, set up by Lincolnshire hospital nurse Ashleigh Lindsell in April 2020 There are now 29,000 UK wide members. Very quickly the regional wing of the national group were making scrubs, headbands, laundry bags and ear savers for NHS facilities around Nottinghamshire.
Since lockdown their growing team of 170 machinists have worked on a voluntary basis with local hospitals in vital need. Moving from their previous location near Forest Fields to 38 Carrington Street’s basement last year enabled Tiger during lockdown to develop a great team of volunteers and expand upstairs to the urban room used by community groups and Nottingham design projects to respond to large order requests such as the one for 1500 headbands.
The Nottingham section of For The Love of Scrubs have produced 25,000 essential items since May 2020 and Tiger are producing approximately 400 masks a week and a hundred sets of scrubs a week.
Tiger Community Enterprise have risen to the challenge of Covid and now provide a central hub to support distribution and collection of donations, supplies and completed items around the city. Below is a snapshot of the kinds of work they do and want to develop. Get in touch!
toni@tigerprojects.co.uk
@TigerGreenTex
Facebook – Nottingham StrEAT
Twitter – @NottmStrEAT
Instagram: @TigerShowcases
Take-away food and strEAT market
Tiger can offer Management Consultancy for other social enterprises, self employed and those seeking job skills and experience
Help with, organisational expertise in Exhibitions and fairs
Workshops in Recycling Creativities
Director Toni Jarvis
Director John Newton
Director Marielle Newton
Director Niall O’Hagan
Tiger run The Streat Food Stall, part of the Sneinton renewal supported by Minor Oak Co-Working
Tiger support Tracey’s Street Kitchen that works to meet the immediate need of the homeless for food but to draw attention to how homelessness might end, through creating opportunities and resources for people to help themselves better.
Tiger organise Community Workshops directly with community groups and at the Basement, 38 Carrington Street, Nottingham, NG1 7AG
Tiger 38 Carrington St Basement activities:volunteer opportunities, drop in sewing sessions and workshops on recycling creativities.
Tiger run Sewing Classes at AC Crafts
412 Nuthall Road, Nottingham, NG8 5DS
Tiger usually run workshops in sewing, recycling and community cafe in Bakersfield.
You can buy Tiger Face Masks from:
Sarah from Shop Zero also retails their reusable bamboo drinking straws
(The straws were sourced through Ali Baba)
signsofanopencity 
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