The sun is shining, time to get out the umbrella. It could save your life!!

"Are you mad, the sun is finally shining and you're banging on about umbrellas?" I hear you say.

No, I've not lost a few (more) of my marbles, I'm going to tell you why it IS good to have an umbrella in this glorious summer weather. According to a US study published in JAMA Dermatology, any umbrella can block more than three-quarters of ultraviolet (UV) light on a sunny day.

But why should we want to block UV rays?

Silver Heart Umbrella

Exposure to UV rays can disrupt the replication of DNA leading to harmful mutations that turn into skin cancer. I know this better than most as my husband has had quite a few skin cancer patches pop up on his back and chest (his first was when he was only 35!), and when we've gone to have them removed (frozen off & cut out), the consultant has been very adamant in telling us that there is no such thing as healthy tan, and to try to block the skin's exposure to UVA and UVB rays wherever possible.
My hubby puts his cancer down to the poor knowledge of the effects of UV when he was growing up, when during many a hot summer day he would be out all day in the sun with only a splodge of plain old Nivea moisturising lotion on.

So back to why a brolly is a great UV blocker.

Windproof Square Golf Umbrella

Researchers at Emory University, in Atlanta,  collected 23 umbrellas from people at their medical school. The brollies were checked for no fabric tears, and then on a sunny morning they used UV devices to measure radiation levels just under each umbrella's fabric, and by the nose of the person using it, and then compared this to radiation readings taken with no umbrella.

All but one of the umbrellas was a standard, handheld rain umbrella. The other was a travel sun umbrella. The standard umbrellas blocked approximately 77 percent of the UV radiation (up to 90% if the umbrella was dark colour), and the sun umbrella blocked more than 99 percent of the UV rays. 

Does everything in your wardrobe show your style?

If you dress to impress, don't forget to make a style statement with the little things.

We fill our wardrobes with beautiful, stylish clothes, and match them with great accessories. A nice pair of Louboutin or L.K. Bennett shoes, teamed with a Gucci bag and some delicious jewellery, can give you that subtle inner confidence to face the day and anything that comes your way.

But there is one item in many women's style ensemble that is sadly overlooked.....
their umbrella.

As an accessory that people hope not to use it has been sidelined to a category of 'functional, but not necessarily stylish'. In years gone by handbags were necessary items that suffered in that same category until someone discovered that they could be both.

I have seen successful business women holding pitiful looking umbrellas, that wouldn't stand up to a strong breath from a hamster, or sporting bland, black brollies that blend you into the boring, bland background (name me a successful entrepreneurial woman who wants to blend into the background!). The only conclusion that I can come to is that these women haven't had the experience of a good umbrella............YET.

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 3 or 4 times the amount I would normally pay, but I just had to have it. The quality was so much better than the cheap brollies that I'd usually have bought. It just looked good, and was a bit quirky.

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.

Please, I'm begging you.....

don't think of an umbrella as just something functional to keep the pesky rain off. Think of it in the same way as you do your shoes and handbags. It should make you feel good, compliment your style and show off your personality. A good umbrella won't break on it's first encounter with the wind, a good brolly is something you just wouldn't even dream of 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 two), it will be a revelation to you how much better they are.

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


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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!