COVID-19 Update + Resources From Our Founder

By Zeeni Zaheer

As you all know, A LOT is going on lately with COVID-19 and we're sure you've received countless emails from various businesses about the measures they're taking to keep their customers and their workers healthy and safe. We're doing our best to stay safe and follow CDC guidelines as well, but since we're a very small team and exist solely online, we are still open for virtual business. 

I'm hoping to create some fun content for you guys as I look for ways to stay occupied, so keep an eye on our Instagram and website for mostly non-covid-19-related updates... because I'm sure we can all use a break from the news cycle once in a while too.

NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL

We recognize that this pandemic will impact our small business tremendously, and that there are others with small profit margins who are in the same situation as us. If you don't want to buy anything on the webshop right now but do want to support us during this time, we are now able to offer gift cards. Gift cards are a great way to support your favorite independent businesses while staying safe / isolated. 

We'll also be offering delayed deliveries on any purchases made during this time, just type in the notes section at checkout that you would like to delay delivery and specify a date for us to ship out the order. If we have any questions, we'll contact you by email, and you can always contact us the same way to make changes to your order up until the specified ship date.

STAYING SANE 

If you're lucky enough to be working from home, are self-isolating or self-quarantining, going a little stir-crazy, or feeling anxious about the pandemic  -- we get it and are right here with you. It's been a crazy few weeks for sure. 

Personally, Instagram has made me feel more connected with others and has shown me that we really are in this together. There are a ton of people on social media who are helping disseminate accurate information, providing coping strategies, addressing mental health, and generally sharing ways to stay safe, healthy, and happy. Here's what I'm enjoying lately:

  • I'm enjoying Bright Minded with Miley Cyrus, a celebrity talk show about mental health that's hosted daily by Miley Cyrus on IG live Mon-Fri at 11:30AM PST. She's had high profile guests like Dr.Amen, Demi Lovato, Amy Schumer, Rita Ora, and Jeremy Scott on the show so far. 
  • YouTube's Stay Home #WithMe series features playlists of activities you can do at home with your favorite YouTubers: cooking, exercising, drawing, cleaning, crafting, and more. I did a yoga and pilates class from this series just this morning. 
  • This past Sunday, I did a virtual drink and draw figure drawing class with a gorgeous model who gave us many graceful poses throughout the session. It's a free-draw class, so don't expect instruction – just go with the vibe. I ended up doing it with my entire family, the model was nude-ish, but it's coronavirus szn and this is just where we're at right now. But it was a really fun change of pace that we all enjoyed. The class was done by This Place NYC and is free! They do take donations though, so if you can afford to give, then give. Happens every week, sign up here. 

    #HappyAtHome on TikTok is a playlist that shows why staying home can be a good thing. It features lots of funny quarantine content, and most importantly it features this remix by JoJo.

    HOW YOU CAN HELP

    If you can spare some cash, help others by donating to food banks:

      Beware of scams, but there are a lot of great local efforts happening right now too! Here are some local news stories with resources and ways to donate or get involved:

        You can always start your own hyper-local efforts by running errands for those who might have a higher risk of severe illness in your own neighborhood.

        - - -

        Have coping strategies or resources you want to share or more nonprofits responding to the pandemic? Send them our way by emailing hello@thelunary.com and we'll try to share some of them with our email subscribers and Instagram followers.

        Love yourself and support your community. We love you, and will try to do the same. As always, thank you for your support.

        xo

        Zeeni Z.

        Owner / Founder 

        Zeeni Zaheer

        Owner, Creative Director @ THE LUNARY