Did Mary Poppins inspire this beautiful art?

I don't know if Czech artist Michal Trpák is a fan of Mary Poppins, but his sculpture installation Slight Uncertainty definitely brings that film to mind for me.

The installation features beautifully detailed cement figures holding onto colourful umbrellas, floating in the space above the atrium of the EBC office center in Prague.

Gorgeous!

Soggy bottoms & saturated skulls!

8.47am on the way to Darwen

Soggy bottoms & saturated skulls!

Today driving to work in miserable, dark, gloomy, sleeting rain I passed 5 schools and was amazed at the small amount of umbrellas I saw, and therefore how many drenched children there were. There were children as young as 4 walking to school in pretty nasty weather without protection from the elements, and quite a few teenagers that looked soaked to the bone due to their ultra-coolness not allowing them to even wear a coat.

Now I've never made it to being a parent, but I'm a pretty cool Auntie & godparent (I haven't just claimed this title, I have actually been told this, by them), and I know I'm biased, but I just wouldn't let any of them out of the house without a brolly in hand in this kind of weather unless the only trip they would be making was from the front door to the car door. 

Most of the kids I passed were wearing a coat, but these stop at the top of the thighs so all the rain that dribbles down ends up soaking the littles tikes' legs, not a comfortable way to start the day, and I can't imagine, in the season of the mighty cold, getting drenched by cold, driving rain is good for their health.

Not the actual dog I saw,
just showing you what it looked like

What I found even more interesting, in this' kids without brollies' zone, is that I saw a lady taking her Shih Tzu dog for a walk. Not that interesting normally, but I was amazed at the contrast between how we treat our human kin and our furry family. This little dog had more protection from the elements than most of the before mentioned kids, it had a small dog coat on and it's lead doubled as a doggie umbrella.

I have absolutely no problem with these dog brollies (I may even end up selling them if enough people want one) or dogs in coats, but I do have a problem with cold, wet children having to sit in soggy clothes whilst trying to learn. 

Moshi Monsters

There are brollies out there for children of all ages, in many cute and funky styles, so I implore you, please save our future generation from soggy bottoms, and saturated skulls and get them an umbrella,

love

Karen Lee Xx

Hello Brolly have lots of kid's umbrellas, click on these links to have a look.

Children's TV character umbrellas

Children's Luxury umbrellas

Stephen Joseph's Ladybug

Bugzz Pirate

Heart Umbrella the perfect choice for teenagers

5 things to consider when choosing an umbrella.

If you are after an umbrella that won't turn into a broken pile of metal at the first sign of a gust of wind here are a few of my tips.

1. Choose your style

Galleria London Umbrella

Ask yourself, "Do you prefer a long umbrella or a folding style, manual or automatic?"

A long stick umbrella is the traditional umbrella that is seen in many British films being carried around London by men in bowler hats. Nowadays they come in all kinds of shapes, sizes, designs and colours and usually stronger and less likely to break.

They are sometimes known as walkers as they are tapped along the pavements like a cane (though beware, as leaning your body weight on a long stick can damage the umbrella).

Galleria Africa Umbrella

A folding umbrella can be more convenient, especially for women who like to carry an umbrella in their bag, but the downside is that with more joints comes more potential weak points, just like your legs which have very strong bones, but your weak point is the knee which can easily twist.

The convenience of an automatic is a great thing, especially if you are carrying bags, as with only one push of the button the umbrella opens. So why wouldn't you want an automatic? Well, they are usually a bit heavier due to the mechanism needed.

2. Look for quality

A long stick is always going to be stronger than a folding, but if you pick a folding umbrella, choose one with fewer joints in the rib, the more joints, the more places for the umbrella to bend or break, and check what material the ribs are made of.

Aluminum ribs are lightweight, but bend and break easily. Stronger metal ribs may be heavier but will perform better than aluminium. Fibreglass ribs have a lot of flexibility and can adjust to the wind, then snap back into place making them a good choice.

3. Pick a brolly to suit your personality & your colouring

Windproof Heart Umbrella
12 colours available

There are so many patterns, styles colours and shapes out there that you don't have to buy 'the-same-as-everyone-else's' standard black.
If you are a bright and lively person, why not have a bright and lively umbrella to show off your style?
If you are a bit quirky, why not buy a quirky shape, such as a heart, square or pagoda shape?

Pink Gerbera Daisy Umbrella

And don't forget about colours; your umbrella filters the daylight through the colour of your brolly onto your skin. The creamy colours and golds can even out your complexion, blues can suit a mediterranean or darker skin tone, but can make a light skin colour look a bit washed out, some of the most flattering shades are pinks, purple and red, which bestow a warm healthy glow to most skin tones.

4. Curves are good 

The canopy of a less expensive umbrella is usually a flatter shape, and more likely to turn inside out with a sharp gust of wind. A more curved dome shape is likely to keep it's shape, especially in windy conditions, and gives more protection from that sideways driving rain.

5. The Price has to be Right

There is a saying 'You get what you pay for' and with umbrellas this is definitely true. Umbrellas can range from pound shop specials to over £500 for luxury Italian designer styles.

Square Golf Umbrella
Available in 8 colours

To be able to sell those 'pound shop style' umbrellas so cheap, they usually have to skimp on the quality, which is why they usually collapse at the first sign of wind, and end up strewn along pavements.

The £500 designer brolly isn't an option for most, and a lot of the time their actual mechanisms are the same quality as in the mid level umbrellas, so you are mainly paying for the styling or the designer name (or both), but if you do have the option to choose, buying a mid-priced umbrella is probably the best. Anything between £15- £50 is what I would expect to pay for a good quality brolly.

I hope this helps, and if you want to have a look at Hello Brolly's gorgeous umbrellas click here.

Why Meat Loaf has got it so wrong!

I heard on the Radio 2 breakfast show this morning that 35 years ago Meat Loaf released his grand, operatic rock concept album, Bat Out of Hell. In October 1977 it was let loose into a world where there had never been anything like it, and it sold, and is still selling, millions. In tribute Chris Evans was playing various tracks from the album, and I was singing along in my car at full pelt.

He then played Two out of Three Ain't Bad, a brilliant song, that I truly love but hadn't listened to for a while. As I was singing my mind went off at a tangent, thinking about the 2 out of 3 sentiment. I was thinking that many times in my life I have settled for 2 out of 3; like when I've found a top I like that is the right material, fits well, but isn't quite the colour I want, or a pair of jeans in the right colour, perfect style, but not quite long enough (hey I'm a smidge off 6 foot, and believe me they're NEVER long enough!), but I've still bought them anyway. Why???

You know the scenario you have a boyfriend who is cute, has an amazing body, but has the intellectual appeal of a fruit fly, but you put up with him, because, as Meat says, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!!!!!

But, and it's a big BUT, I don't settle for 2 out of 3 when it comes to the umbrellas I stock, they have to live up to all my expectations of Quality, Style and Gorgeousness, so why do I settle in my personal life?

I bet I'm the same as many of you in that I will spend more on others than myself, probably for many reasons, but let's not get into a therapy session here. If this also sounds like you then the words, uttered by the mouths of many a celebrity selling hair products, need to repeated by you (and me)

"Because I'm worth it!"

We are all 'worth it', but often settle for less than we deserve, and this has to stop, NOW!

So next time you see something you want, but hear the Settling Fairy whispering in your ear, give her a quick shove off your shoulder and shout
"2 out of 3 is bad.
I want 3 out of 3!"

Why Hello Brolly is better for you than Starbucks & Amazon!

It's better for your budget to buy from independents than Starbucks & Amazon!

How can this be?

A  four month investigation by news agency Reuters found that Starbucks had paid absolutely no corporation tax in Britain the last three years, but told investors that it was 'profitable'.  

A Starbucks' representative stated "We have paid and will continue to pay our fair share of taxes in full compliance with all UK tax laws, as we always have." John Culver, the president of the Starbucks’ international division, boasted to analysts: ‘We are very pleased with the performance in the UK." 

What?

On the same subject, Amazon, Britain’s biggest online retailer, had sales of £3.3 billion last year, but paid no corporation tax at all!!!

This seems utterly baffling to me, and to many of the independent business owners that I know. We all, in the general population, work hard to create profits or earn wages, of which the British tax system takes a proportion. Whether you think this amount should go up or down is for another discussion, but what is important is that we all have to pay in to the system so that the UK can run vital services such as the NHS, schools or many of the things that we sometimes take for granted, like national security.

Hello Brolly (my business) is a British based business, owned by me, a British woman who pays all her due taxes, who also pays staff who live locally. Therefore everything that I earn and all that I pay out whether in wages, taxes or personal spend goes into the British coffers.

Compare this to Starbucks, a global company that doesn't seem to pay it's 'fair share' into the British tax system, because according to them, they have no profits! They also use the supply chain to move their 'potential profits' out of Britain, as the UK arm has to pay the company's own subsidiaries in Holland and Switzerland (cheaper tax systems) for buying and roasting their coffee beans.

Yes, they do employ staff who through their taxed wages pay into the system, but this is at the cost of the jobs at local independent cafés & coffee shops that are closed down due to the predatory practices of a company who can afford to trade longer at a loss to crush the opposition (how can this be for a company with NO profits?).

So how can I make the claim that independents, like Hello Brolly, are better for your budget than Starbucks? 

Well the more money that is paid into the British tax system, and kept within the country by British based businesses, means the less money the government will have to get from the individual.

This in turn means your personal taxes don't skyrocket, but the more money that is moved out of the country, or legally manoeuvred into a 'no profit' status, then the more you will have to pay out to make up the shortfall.

So please look for a British based alternative when you are thinking of spending your money, it'll benefit you in the long run.

1000 Umbrellas floating like swans

 'Just Sometimes..' by Luke Jerram

For three days De Wereld van de Witte de With Festival in Rotterdam brings international and national modern art to public spaces that is created by some of the young and cutting edge artists from Europe and Rotterdam. 'Just Sometimes..' was temporary artwork that was commissioned by the festival organisers in 2010 from artist Luke Jerram, who grew up in the English town of Stroud.

The installations remit was to create strong imagery and visually connect the streets with the waterways. Around 1000 orange and yellow umbrellas were installed over a 300 metre length of the canal for the public to enjoy during the 3 day festival. From a distance it was hard to tell what they were, but as you got closer you could see the umbrellas floating gracefully on the canal.



During the festival hundreds of people took photos of the artwork on their mobile phones and cameras, and even the driver of the local tram made an impromptu stop, abandoning his passengers, in order to get out his camera and take a quick snap. Another artist team from Norway built special benches that were placed alongside the canal to provide a pleasant view of scene.


The artwork was removed at the end of the festival and all the umbrellas were handed out to people passing by. Since the festival ended the distinctive yellow and orange umbrellas can be spotted around the city on rainy days, acting as a legacy and reminder of the art.  

19 umbrellas & 16 million colours brighten the lives of sick children.

This is so stunningly beautiful that I just had to share it.

'Imagine' by Matthew Placzek

Photos © 2010-2011 Thomas Grady Photography 

Made for the Omaha Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Nebraska, by sculptor Matthew Placzek, 'Imagine' captures the innocence of youth in a heartwarming scene of children at play with umbrellas, inviting you to float inside the building where 19 colourful umbrellas are suspended from a 75-foot steel ribbon inside the stairwell. The umbrellas contain programmable LED lights capable of 16 million different colour combinations.

Broken umbrellas used to create art & environmental awareness.

Kickstarter funding, where any individual can back potential projects with a pledge starting from only $1, has been reached for the creation of a beautiful dome sculpture 'Harvest Dome 2.0' to be made out of discarded pop bottles and broken umbrellas in New York.

The project, which asked for $7500, and actually received $7596, aims to raise awareness of the debris that clogs New York’s waterways, threatening fish and other forms of wildlife. The project is the brainchild of husband and wife Alex Levi and Amanda Schachter, New York City Architects who returned to New York in 2007 after ten years creating Public Art, and practicing architecture in Spain. 

The funding is for their second version of the dome; the first ended in disaster. On October 19, 2011, they transported the original Harvest Dome over water from Hunts Point to the Inwood Hill Park Inlet, with the help of Rocking the Boat and the Bronx River Alliance, but bad weather caused the dome to be blown against Rikers Island. What was left of the dome was then seized and broken up by the New York City Department of Correction (though the project eventually reclaimed the remains and will display them alongside the new Harvest Dome).

The Harvest Dome 2.0, a 24 foot diameter sphere, will introduce light into the work, and have an array of light-emitting-diodes, inserted into each of the bottles and powered by tiny photovoltaic cells to create a glowing halo in the water at night.

They are currently working with groups local along the Harlem River to secure a location to construct the Dome nearer Inwood Hill Park.  NYC Department of Park and Recreation has already obtained permission for them to put the Dome in the inlet waters. 

Proud to be a Pleb!

Many of us have come across the Vagina Monologues, in which there is a whole section about a four letter word beginning with C. In the play it asks women to reclaim the C word to take it's power away from men (and sometimes women) who use this term as an insult, and to give it's power back to women.

So after the brew-ha-ha that is going on in the media about the Conservative Party Whip allegedly called the Downing Street police 'plebs' I decided to look into the word to find out if it is such a BAD word that the British media is stirring it up to be.

I knew the word was a shortened version of plebeian, but will admit to not knowing it's true meaning, so I looked it up.

---

plebeian |pliˈbēən|
noun(in ancient Rome) a commoner.• a member of the lower social classes.adjectiveof or belonging to the commoners of ancient Rome.• of or belonging to the lower social classes.• lacking in refinement: he is a man of plebeian tastes.ORIGIN mid 16th cent.: from Latin plebeius (from plebs,pleb- ‘the common people’) + -an.

---

Well after reading this I am surprised that all this furore has occurred. Although it is currently being bandied about as an insult, I feel that, as a member of the 'lower social classes' (unfortunately I haven't yet reached the high society invite circuit just yet, or married a Lord), and as someone who probably 'lacks refinement' (if you compare me to nobility............. or even the butler in Downton Abbey) I should proudly reclaim plebeian.
We should all be proud of our heritage, whichever so-called class we are tagged with. I am proud to be a 3rd generation shop keeper, therefore working class, and I have no problem with anyone who is born or rises to the upper classes, we all have our part to play. If many of us stand up and proudly proclaim ourselves to be plebeians then the power of  this word as a term of abuse is removed, so here goes 

"I'm proud to be a pleb"

.......now someone hand the police a dictionary.

They did it! - A Guinness World Record!

A little while ago on my Hello Brolly Facebook page I wrote about a quirky little museum in Peaks Island, Maine, USA and their attempt to get in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The Umbrella Cover Museum in their own words 'is dedicated to the appreciation of the mundane in everyday life. It is about finding wonder and beauty in the simplest of things, and about knowing that there is always a story behind the cover.'

When I last wrote about them they were waiting to find out if they would be included in the GBoWR, and I am glad to tell you that they now hold the world record for the Largest Collection of Umbrella Covers - 730.

They are happy to receive umbrella covers from all over the world, just pop them in the post, and included your story about (or history of) the cover.

Send them to : Nancy 3. Hoffman, Director and Curator, 62-B Island Avenue, Peaks Island, ME 04108

If you want to watch the video of the official count - http://youtu.be/pzzYDZjlxGs
If you want to show a bit of support, they also have their own facebook page http://www.facebook.com/UmbrellaCoverMuseum

A good umbrella. Why? Because you're definitely worth it!

Why do many women pay huge sums for shoes, bags and hats, and then top the ensemble off with a pitiful looking cheap umbrella that wouldn't stand up to a strong breath from a hamster? 

I will now admit to, at one time in my life, being one of these women. I like nice clothes and accessories, but umbrellas were something that I would spend as little as possible on. I thought that they always break easily, and they are easy to lose so what's the point spending good money on one.

Well one day I saw a brolly that mesmerized me, it was 2 or 3 times the amount I would normally pay, but I just had to have it. The quality was so much better than the cheapo brollies that I usually bought, and it just looked good and was a bit quirky.

 (This is the umbrella that started it all, it's such a good brolly that I still use it almost 10 years later)

It started my love of umbrellas, and my change in career to becoming the owner of Hello Brolly. Since starting my business I have, as you would expect, collected quite a number of umbrellas for my personal use. I have big'uns, little'uns, odd-shaped, colourful, plain, frilly, fashionable, long and short, but my one criteria that must be filled is that it has to be a good quality umbrella, and that is also my one true criteria for all the brollies that I sell.

To answer my earlier question, the only conclusion that I can come to is that these women (& men) haven't had the experience of a good umbrella............YET.

Don't think of an umbrella as just something functional to keep the pesky rain off you, think of it in the same way as you buy your shoes and handbags. It should make you feel good, compliment your style, show off your personality and be fashionable. To me a good umbrella won't break on it's first encounter with the wind, a good brolly is something you just wouldn't leave lying around because you like it so much and, best of all, a good umbrella will make you feel terrific even on the most miserable of days.

So please, if you've only ever bought cheap umbrellas, just try going up a level (or 2), it will be a revelation to you how much better they are.

A magical umbrella sky.

In Águeda village in Portugal their beautiful day has multicoloured sky. One of the streets in this pretty little village is transformed into a beautiful sky of brightly coloured umbrellas suspended by strings attached to buildings on the either side of the street. The installation is an initiative by the council, in the small town just south of Porto, and is part of an art festival call Agitagueda.

These beautiful pictures were captured by 35-year-old photographer Patrícia Almeida who writes: 

“In July, in Águeda, some streets are decorated with colorful umbrellas. I read about it and I became curious, so, during a Saturday I went there to take photos of the two streets decorated with the umbrellas. Before driving to Agueda I used Google maps to find those streets, but when I got there I did not need the map. I was inside the car and I saw the umbrellas hanging in the sky."

"It was somehow magical. I just walked several times along the two streets and took the pictures. I felt like a kid, amazed by all that colour! Walking under that sky made of umbrellas reminded me of Alice in Wonderland, it is something completely unexpected that made me smile."

"I tried to take photos of both the umbrellas and their shadows on the floor, and, since I like details, I also took some pictures of the umbrellas without the surroundings. Later, I reflected about it, and I was wondering how could something so simple make you feel happy and have such an impact on people."

She has named this series 'Umbrella Sky'.

I'm connected to Prince William & Prince Harry!

This doesn't have anything whatsoever to do with umbrellas, but I thought Id' share it anyway.
I'm excited because now I'm only 2 degrees of separation from Prince Harry & Prince William!

I'll explain............a few weeks ago I met Ben Hunt-Davis the Olympic gold winning rower, and got to hold his actual GOLD medal!
Then I was watching the Olympic rowing the other day when Great Britain's Helen Glover and Heather Stanning won Team GB's first gold medal of the 2012 London games, and it cut to a shot of Prince Harry and Prince William in the VIP section smiling and cheering, and they were sat tight next to Ben Hunt-Davis, who now works with the current GB rowers.
So I have met someone who hobnobs with royalty. COOL!

Open your hearts with Umbrellas For Peace

The McCord Gallery & Cultural Center (Illinois, USA) is inviting children and families of all ages to participate in a global activity that has brought people together for the common goal of making their world a more peaceful place.

The late artist Matt Lamb created the Umbrellas for Peace global art project after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade towers and the Pentagon. In May of 2002 he met with 38 children of the victims of the terror attack, and they painted umbrellas using them to express their feelings of grief, and to find their hopes and dreams. A painted umbrella parade followed in Washington, D.C. , and since then over 2 million children and adults from 29 countries have participated in the Umbrellas for Peace program.

Matt Lamb often explained that he used the umbrella as a metaphor for protection,

"It does not discriminate and all people are safe under the umbrella. A closed umbrella lying on the ground is nothing, but pick it up and open it and the top becomes a shelter and can also be representative of hopes, dreams and aspirations. The underside of the umbrella can be a place to park your concerns and fears. The shaft of the umbrella represents the universal energy, which leads to the spokes that represent the individual’s strengths. Umbrellas for Peace helps children and adults use art to express their positive emotions by painting them onto the umbrella. The individual will artistically design umbrellas that represent their values of world peace. It teaches children peace, hope, love and creativity."

If you are in Illinois, USA, once again this program is being offered to children and adults of all ages. McCord art instructors will be on hand to guide the creative process.You can be part of it, enroll now by either stopping by the McCord Gallery & Cultural Center, at 9602 W. Creek Road (129th and La Grange Road) in Palos Park or phone 671-0648.

(McCord thanks the Great Lakes, Bank of Choice for its sponsorship of this project.)

Program schedule:

Four days to choose from with all classes running from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.: Monday, July 9; Wednesday, July 11; Monday, July 30; and Wednesday, Aug. 1.

Fee is $5 and includes an umbrella and paints. This project culminates with an opportunity for all to march with your umbrellas in the Autumn in the Park parade to be held in Palos Park on September 15th, 2012. This is an event that shouldn’t be missed.

Make an Umbrella clothes line

Rainy Day Ideas

What can you do with your old umbrella (once you've bought a deliciously cool one from Hello Brolly).

Make a Clothes Line!

An old umbrella makes a handy clothes airer. Just strip off the fabric and hang the frame upside down from your shower curtain rail (make sure your old umbrella has a hook style handle), and then attach your wet clothes with clothes pegs.


When your clothes are dry the best thing about your new clothes line is that it folds up for storage.

The world's most expensive umbrella!

The world’s most expensive umbrella was created in 2009 when Italian Formula One mogul Flavio Briatore and designer Angelo Galasso partnered up to create Billionaire Italian Couture, the “first international couture line exclusively for men”.

Made of high quality crocodile skin, this umbrella will certainly help you stand out in a crowd. Just to make the umbrella more exclusive, Briatore and Galasso have made sure that each one is full of individual details. Best of all, the crocodile skin most likely guarantees that the umbrella won’t turn inside out on a windy day.

At a price of 'only' $50,000 it ought to come with a tracking device in case you leave it in your billionaire friend's luxury yacht.

Marilyn Monroe's umbrella sells for $19,200!

At Julien's Auctions in Las Vegas on June 27, 2009, this Evans Swenson white umbrella, used by Marilyn Monroe in a 1949 photoshoot on her first visit to New York, was sold for an amazing sum of $19,200. 

The photo shoot was with Andre De Dienes on Tobey/Jones Beach.

1 school = 2,400 Brollies & 1 World record attempt

Students want to help build a school in rural Kenya, and they just might break a world record while they're at it. To build the school, the Schools for Kenya club at Shorewood High School in Seattle has been raising money for Free the Children, an organization that let's children help children.


They've raised $6,000 so far, but need $8,500 total to finish the project. But, they're tackling this fundraiser by trying to set a new world record for the largest umbrella mosaic. On the field at Shoreline Stadium on June 1, at 4:30 p.m. approximately 2,400 umbrellas will be raised to form the shape of an elephant holding an umbrella, or, an "umbrellaphant."

"Everyone really embraced [the idea,]" said Bethany Smith, President of the Schools for Kenya club. "From there, it just kind of snowballed and turned into this big "umbrellaphant" event."

Smith said that the students at Shorewood High School won't be able to break the record and create the "umbrellaphant" on their own. They're asking anyone with $5 and an umbrella to join them on June 1, get in the "umbrellaphant" formation for just 10 minutes, and help them break the world record for the largest living mosaic.

The record is currently held by 2,115 participants at Bradman Oval Bowral, in New South Wales, Australia who created an umbrella mosaic depicting Mary Poppins and her umbrella.

Skin Cancer Foundation advocates umbrella use.

With the arrival of warmer weather, experts are cautioning people not to expose themselves to the sun's harmful rays..... and skin cancer. 

SkinCancer.org's advise that if you're outside when the sun's rays are usually strongest (between 10am-4pm), head under a pavilion roof, leafy tree or carry a UV Protection sun umbrella. 

Here at Hello Brolly we have some great umbrellas with UV Protection. Check out the Black Witch Umbrella and the Heart Umbrellas. All the Heart umbrellas have UV Protection, but the Silver has the highest UV rating of the range due to it's reflective outer surface, and black inner surface (which absorbs rays reflected from pavements).

To all you umbrella fans out there this is the 1st post on Hello Brolly's new blog about all things Umbrella!