Kirk Sklar is getting revenge against coronavirus.

When the virus wiped out his business, he created another business to counterattack. Until last week, Sklar was a 49-year-old artist and maker of specialty dog leashes who lives and works in St. Paul’s Lowertown.

But now he is founder of Ikervolk, a company which sells his home-made face masks. The masks carry unique designs such as flowers, images of the galaxy, bees and cartoons.

In his first week, Sklar sold 150 of them at $10 apiece.

“When you make a mask, it’s a sign of solidarity against the virus,” he said.

Like many other business owners in the state, Sklar was blindsided the epidemic. Over years, he built up a business of making specialty dog harnesses out of leather. The virus swooped in, orders from customers vanished, and his income evaporated.

“I am still in shock,” he said.

Bored, he figured he could make a mask for himself. It’s better to make a mask, he said, than to take one away from a medical professional.

“I thought, ‘I make leashes. I should able to sew cloth,”’ he said.

Then he remembered how his mom made him clothes when he was a boy. He remembered seeing the sewing machine — and started looking for it in storage.

Finally, he found it — a Sears Kenmore machine “that’s about 75 years old,” he said.

He used cotton cloth for the shell, and inside he put a part of a filter from an air conditioner.

“With these, I am not promising any performance,” he said. “All I am saying it is better than a bandana or a T-shirt.”

He posted his Ikervolk mask on his Facebook page, and queries began to flow in. “I am just happy that I can pay my rent,” he said.

Artists, he said, have been hit hard by coronavirus.

“Friends of mine have paid fees, gone across the country, paid for hotels, and found that their art fair was canceled,” he said.

Sklar hopes he can make a living — temporarily, at least — with the masks. He said that making and wearing masks are signs of the public fight against a powerful attacker.