Local business dances around COVID-19, sells masks online

ALTOONA, Pa. (WJAC) -- The Dance Shop has been operating in Altoona for 17 years.

Though the business has been closed for seven long weeks, Micki Sampson, the company’s owner, has been quick on her feet.

“Typically this time of year I’m selling shoes, tights, leotards, performance essentials, eyelashes, earrings. This is normally a pretty busy time of year for us.”

When Gov. Wolf ordered all nonessential businesses to close, The Dance Shop shut down and Sampson had to lay off all eight of her employees.

“A dance retailer is about as nonessential as you get,” Sampson said.

The Dance Shop quickly took sales online, offering free shipping.

But with schools closed, dance recitals and performances aren't happening.

“It has been pretty quiet online,” Sampson said. “I certainly understand as a retired dance mom like myself, if your child is not dancing and not performing you don’t really have a need for the products that I’m selling.”

When Eurotard Dancewear, one of The Dance Shop's vendors, started manufacturing washable fabric masks Sampson got on board.

The Dance Shop is now selling the masks on their website through Eurotard's retailer referral program.

“My customer can go on their website, place the order, include all of their shipping and credit card information and hey send them to me for processing,” Sampson said. “We process the orders and Eurotard is actually making the masks in Georgia.”

The Dance Shop has sold hundreds of masks from the site. Sampson anticipates even more sales when businesses start to reopen and their employees need masks.

“This is still a day-by-day, week-by-week situation, but we’re ready,” she said. “Being a small business like we can turn on a dime like we did with the face masks to get them on our website, available to our customers. Desperate times call for desperate measures so we’re doing what we can to support our community, we’re doing what we can to support our dance community.”

Sampson said she's anxious to reopen her store, start seeing customers again and bring her staff back to work. She hopes the masks can sustain her business until then.

She said The Dance Shop is offering discounts on bulk orders of masks, available by contacting Sampson directly.

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