SUDBURY -- Small business owners in Sudbury have decided to start selling their handmade items on Facebook.

From candles, to visual art and all-natural dog treats, these merchants are keeping busy selling online during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Jill-Anne Hachey is the creator of 'Believe In You' jewellery.

Hachey and two others came up with the idea of a virtual market, after finding that local makers had nowhere to physically sell their products. 

"Right now with all the stress going on you can either crumble or you can work together and be creative…so right now we're just kind of building this group, seeing what we can make of it," said Hachey.

Hachey started making jewelry in 2013, after struggling with mental health issues.

"I actually started making them for myself and friends and family kind of said you know this is great you should do this for other people too and it kind of just blew up," said Hachey. 

Another maker is making reusable masks, which she said are in need at this time. 

"Every second day I have to make between fifty to a hundred and they sell out within the first day or two," said Sophie Prisque, owner of Lady Crimson Cloth Emporium. 

Prisque wants buyers to know that her masks won't protect people from the virus but says they will prevent you from touching your face.

She also makes reusable toilet paper, which is another item you can't find on the shelves these days.

"You can just throw them in the wash, simple washing instructions, just hot water, with your regular clothes and stuff," said Prisque.

One local cafe owner also had to change things up when she was forced to close her doors. 

Owner of Cedar Nest Cafe, Suzette Peters is now selling homemade butter tarts, and after posting on Facebook, the orders kept coming in. Within a week, more than 3,500 individual tarts have been made. 

"I start making the dough, my Mom whose been with me this whole time, she's 76, she's a workhorse she works so hard. Her and my dad were small-buisness owners too and she knows, so it's been such a huge support system. Your family, friends, the community, it's overwhelming," said Peters. 

These small business owners say they are finding this time difficult, but say with the help from the community and with their virtual market, this stressful time is being made much more bearable for all of them.