Last week working from home!

Good day,

We are in our 8th and LAST week working from home because of COVID-19.

The lockdown on Curaçao will be released as of Friday 8 May. We are allowed to go out every day again. Groups can be a maximum of 25 people, the catering industry still must stick to take-out, the rules for supermarkets and hardware stores remain the same. Everyone is of course expected to maintain the 2 meter distance (yes, here on Curacao they always talk about 2m instead of 1.5m) and to maintain personal hygiene. The curfew will also remain in place for the time being from 9pm to 6am. All in all good news! It is another step in the right direction.

The requested financial support from the government has been approved and paid. The money covers a part of the April personnel costs. This is very pleasant, because of this we can keep it up a bit longer until the tourists come back to the island. We expect to be able to apply for this again this month, but not much is known about this yet.

Last week, everyone brought their finished production to the factory and picked up new stuff. So, this week everyone can fully produce in their own home again.

Serena and I are now busy preparing everything for opening the factory again. The measurements must be observed. Decisions must be made about which workplaces we will occupy, how many people are allowed in the shop, how many people we can admit to paint during the Chichi workshop, other protective equipment for staff and customers. For this, signs must be made to clearly communicate everything to the customers. In addition, we will continue to work on the financial situation. This needs to be closely monitored and adjusted where necessary.

Brainstorming about the future is also what we are doing a lot. Entrepreneurship is looking ahead. Serena’s Art Factory has / had the most sales to tourists. Now that tourists are not allowed to come to the island and we do not know how long this will take, we have to see if there are other ways, we can get sales. We will certainly focus on the local market. For this, work is already in progress with a task force of Chata with various other attractions on the island to put together special offers for the inhabitants of the island.

Serena has also completed all annual staff appraisals everything online for the first time. It was a bit awkward for both parties, but it worked. After starting up the Factory again, Serena can be there again for everyone and focus on it.

We are not there yet, but we are heading in the right direction and this is already a big step. So next week I will write my blog from the factory again about starting up the factory after the corona crisis.

Enjoy the freedom but continue to observe the Corona measures.

Regards,
Hermien Visscher
Office manager Serena’s Art Factory