May 2020 Est. 1985
The Northside Chronicle
Volume 36 Issue 5 - FREE -
The Community Newspaper of Pittsburgh’s Historic Northside
Owner of Troy Hill salon donates 500+ handmade masks to area hospitals By Ashlee Green Justine Jernigan is standing inside of her local Walmart, on the hunt for elastic. “I’m usually isolated in the sewing section every time I come,” she says. But today, even Walmart is out of the stuff, which is in high demand due to the growing interest in handmade face masks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Jernigan, owner of The Beauty Suite PGH, opening soon in Troy Hill, is a cosmetologist, certified sugarist, lash and brow artist, and seamstress. Her online shop Twirl & Grace is a little girls’ bouPhoto by Janine Faust
Warren Jones, the great-grandson of Albert Eastwood Jones Sr., founder of A.E. Jones Sign Co., holds up the popular golden numbers with black outlines that are often showcased on windows in the Northside to display a house's address. In its 123-year history, the company has weathered economic collapses, new technologies, and changing consumer tastes. Full story below.
Century-old sign company has true grit They've been through the Great Depression and the Steel Crisis: COVID-19 is next. Photo courtesy of Justine Jernigan
Jernigan is using her skills as a seamstress to make fabric masks for those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. tique that sells dresses and event wear for tea parties and pageants. Because of this, she already had the sewing resources when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she says, which gave her the motivation to temporarily shift her focus from dresses to fabric masks. “As a seamstress, I am guilty of hoarding fabrics and notions such as thread and See Masks, Page 5
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By Janine Faust Warren Jones stretches across a laminator and pulls a layer of ultraviolet-resistant plastic over a dozen freshly printed tabletop displays for Happy Day Dessert Factory. It's a gray day in late February, and the ice cream parlor in Allegheny West needs signage for its upcoming grand opening. “I get my exercise,” he jokes, making sure the laminate is pressed down evenly. “Thank God I have Pappy’s long arms.” Warren runs the printed images through a laminator, using a foot pedal to keep the
- Tour de Quarantine, Page 6
STORIES, COLUMNS, - Health & Wellness Guide, Page 11 FEATURES & MORE - Primary Election Guide, Page 29
machine moving so his hands are free to smooth the laminate. He explains some of his tricks of the trade while printing out
Photo by Janine Faust
Located on Tripoli Street in Historic Deutschtown, A.E. Jones Sign Co. has always operated in the Northside.
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the Happy Day Dessert Factory displays: Usually, he keeps one fingernail a little long, he says, to make peeling extra laminate off easier. These days, Warren is the sole employee of the A.E. Jones Sign Co., founded by Warren’s great-grandfather, Albert Eastwood Jones Sr., in 1897. The company is located at 507 Tripoli St. in Historic Deutschtown, tucked away in a modest garage storefront made of brick and white paint. While it’s moved locations several times, it has operated solely in the Northside for 123 years, and always by a See Signs, Page 8
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