When 30-year-old Briana Ferguson was coping with the impact of the pandemic, she, like many others, decided to learn a new skill.

Through video instruction on YouTube, she learned the art of embroidery and her company, BriMadeIt. And recently, she was awarded the Buffalo Business First Manufacturing Award.

“Honestly, I was shocked when we got chosen for the award and I was so overjoyed,” Ferguson told WKBW. “I started at home during COVID. I was making masks and putting people’s names on them, which was cool.”

The solo entrepreneur was awarded for her dedication to local manufacturing in Buffalo. BriMadeIt is the only embroidery shop in Buffalo, according to WKBW.

She says about 35 per cent of her clients come from Canada or overseas, adding that her business receives between 50 to 100 orders daily.

“There are nights when I’m here until three or four in the morning,” she told WKBW. “So, it takes a lot of hard work and when I say we, I mean me. We embroider bags and T-shirts and all different things. We have all kinds of things, we do not like to turn down any embroidery orders, honestly, all things are possible at BriMadeIt.”