It's Raining Cats & Dogs................no really!

Where does the saying 'Raining cats & dogs' come from?

There are quite a few ideas to where this saying comes from, but the one that crops up quite frequently (and the one I like the best) is that in medieval Great Britain cats and dogs would sleep in the sun on the top of thatched roofs.

When it rained, and the thatch got wet, the straw became slippery therefore the cats and dogs would go sliding off. Hence it's 'raining cats and dogs'.

Galleria Raining Cats & Dogs Umbrella available in folding & long stick styles.

What do you get if you put a pumpkin, an umbrella & a Marvin Gaye record in a room?

Meet the gorgeous undulating Pumpkin Umbrella. This stunning design is by Japan based, Canadian designer DiCesare, and when it was released in Japan it became a fashionista must have, and now for the first time in the UK Hello Brolly gives you the opportunity to own this beautiful work of art.

DiCesare's Pumpkin Lottie Umbrella

DiCesare's Pumpkin Sweetie Umbrella

It's Earth Day so I thought I should do something.......

It's Earth Day 2013, and I'm wondering what I could do to improve my carbon footprint.

I, like most people, already do little bits and pieces:

• Home waste recycling (helped by the council's recycling schemes)
• I have a food composter in my yard
• I've a water butt that collects water from my outhouse's roof, which I use to water plants & clean stuff outside
• Turning off taps whilst teeth cleaning (if you want to know how much water this saves, try putting the plug in the sink before you start, you'll be surprised).
• There's a jug in my fridge for tap water, because I like it really cold and if I waited for the cold stuff whilst running the taps, I think I would empty my local reservoir within a week.
• I've got a couple of steel drink bottles that I use whilst out and about instead of buying 'over-priced' drinks in plastic packaging.
• Make my own lunch, either soup or sandwiches, and package it in reusable boxes.
• I found some really cool veg shaped boxes (bell peppers & onions) so that I can put part used veg back in the fridge without using tonnes of cling film (saran wrap if you are from the USA), and although they are made of plastic I figure that they will save a lot (money & the world's resources) in the long run.

So what can be done?

I know that we in the West create a shed load of the problems that blight the world, but unfortunately we aren't likely to go back to the horse & cart world of old, so how about we all improve just one thing so we can start a big ball rolling, and you never know where it'll stop.

So what is my ONE THING that I'm going to do.......

I am going to do my best to change Hello Brolly's packaging (when I next have to order it) to a more earth happy alternative.

So what's your one thing going to be?

If you have a 'THING' why not write it in the comments, and let others know about it.

Toodles,

Karen Lee

Have a sneaky peek at Pixar's new short film.

Monsters, Inc., currently showing in 3D, has spawned a prequel/sequel called Monsters University which should arrive in cinemas on June 21st. At this point you're probably wondering what's this got to do with umbrellas, well, in their usual style, Pixar is releasing a new 6 minute short film to show before the main feature which will be called The Blue Umbrella.

The Blue Umbrella's description:

“It's just another evening commute until the rain starts to fall, and the city comes alive to the sound of dripping rain pipes, whistling awnings and gurgling gutters, and in the midst, two umbrellas, one blue, one not, fall eternally in love”

The film was directed by Saschka Unseld and produced by Marc Greenberg. Pixar is well known for touching short films, and The Blue Umbrella appears to be no exception. It looks so cute, I can't wait.

Have a sneaky peek below.

Is this the end of High Street retail shopping?

I know that I am biased, in that I have an online umbrella shop Hello Brolly, but I want to spend a moment in contemplation on why online sales are growing at an astonishing rate throughout many retail sectors, and the traditional high street is struggling.

1. Open All Hours

On the internet he accessibility of being able to shop at whatever time you want, and not being restricted by opening hours, makes shopping for Great Auntie Ethel's slippers, at 4am in the morning, so easy, perfect for people who work unsociable hours the ability to shop in their off time has opened their lives.

Also for parents online shopping has been a god send. You know that moment when you need to go shopping for the weekly shop with toddlers in tow, and you spend most of the time replacing items back on to the shelves that your little darlings have decided that you must have, well with supermarket online shopping you can do all the shopping without one pester or major tantrum. You can now put the little ones to bed, then sit there in your leopard print onesie jimjams, or in nothing if that's your thing, and buy what you like without being hassled.

2. Perfect for the less abled.

Disabled people, and a growing number of older infirm web users have benefitted greatly in being able to shop for pretty much anything they need without having to try to negotiate busy shops.

When I went out with my best friend and her mother, who in her later years had to use a wheelchair, I discovered how hard it was to get round a town centre, and it's shops, whilst pushing a wheelchair.

Most shops are not designed for people with difficulties, and everything is aimed at the eyeline of the walking customer, so using the internet allows the same shopping experience to all, with an ability to browse at your own pace.

3. Choice

Wherever you live, small village or big city, you have access to a huge amount of products, that unless we made the whole of Yorkshire into a shop you couldn't possibly get under one roof. This means none of us is now limited to putting up with buying our washing machine from the local retailer at an inflated price, due to it being the only place to buy it in your area (a lesson that Comet, so drastically, never learned).

4. Treated well

I know you may think this is a weird one, but we no longer have to put up with the sulky shop staff, the 17 year old Kylies and Kenzies and their mobile phone fascinations, or have to wait until they've finished their animated discussion about the club they went to last night, and the bloke they copped off with, before we get served. You can now press a couple of buttons, and hey presto you've bought what you need. Bliss!
(Before you revolt, I also have a bricks and mortar retail shop, and therefore know not every staff member is like this, but I, like you probably, have experienced enough of this to add it to the list.)

5. No Queueing

or Parking charges!

Again pure bliss!

So does all this mean the end of physical retail shopping? 

Well no, it just means that traditional shopping will have to up it's game to keep people buying, it is no longer OK to just, in the words whispered to Kevin Costner's character in Field of Dreams, 'Build it and they will come.'
We want more, we want an enjoyable experience!

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