By Michael Holloway - Jan 9th, 2021 02:14 pm //end headline wrapper ?>Vanessa Andrew. Photo courtesy of Madam Chino.
Who is Madam Chino?
It’s a question that
Vanessa Andrew, the owner and sole proprietor of Madam Chino, found herself Googling once upon a time. The name came to her in the form of a second-hand t-shirt at Value Village it’s white, velvet iron-on lettering proudly displaying the name.
“No one came up, so I guess its me,” Andrew recalls thinking at the time she discovered what would become the name of her business.
Vanessa Andrew. Photo courtesy of Madam Chino.
David A. Lieb and Camille Fassett
Associated Press
Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. He topped $4 million in annual sales from his New Hampshire store that specialized in protective gear for police.
Then he got a call from a buyer with the state of Massachusetts asking if he had anything that could protect people from COVID-19. As it happened, he did. He went on to sell the state 300,000 disposable masks for 97 cents each. From that point on, it s been just insanity, Bellia said.
Masks. Gowns. Gloves. Goggles. Sanitizer. Coveralls. Thermometers.
Bellia has sold it all, and not just to Massachusetts. From Maine to Hawaii, numerous other states, counties, cities, colleges and schools have lined up to buy from him.
AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File
Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. He topped $4 million in annual sales from his New Hampshire store that specialized in protective gear for police.
Then he got a call from a buyer with the state of Massachusetts asking if he had anything that could protect people from COVID-19. As it happened, he did. He went on to sell the state 300,000 disposable masks for 97 cents each.
“From that point on, it’s been just insanity,” Bellia said.
Masks. Gowns. Gloves. Goggles. Sanitizer. Coveralls. Thermometers. Bellia has sold it all, and not just to Massachusetts. From Maine to Hawaii, numerous other states, counties, cities, colleges and schools have lined up to buy from him.
Ray Bellia holds up personal protective masks and gloves, used by medical and law enforcement professionals, in the warehouse of his Body Armor Outlet store, Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, in Salem, N.H. Bellia s store rapidly evolved into one of the nation s 20 largest suppliers of personal protective equipment to states this past spring, according to a nationwide analysis of state purchasing data by The Associated Press.
(AP Photo/Charles Krupa) By Associated Press Nationwide
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Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. He topped $4 million in annual sales from his New Hampshire store that specialized in protective gear for police.