Umbrellas

Living in Seattle, umbrellas have a place in our day to day, especially during the rainy season. Some say this is all the time but we here know otherwise. We can say that Seattleites buy a lot of umbrellas. And we loose a lot of umbrellas, too.

Umbrellas create beautiful patterns, opened or closed, from the topside and the underside. They are geometric. They are rhythmical. They can be printed or embossed. They can be patch worked or striped and trimmed with ruffles or lace.

Entire cultures can be seen in and under umbrellas. One of my favorite images is of rush hour in a Chinese city in the early 1980’s when everyone on a bicycle – hundreds of people – each carried an open umbrella. It was raining buckets and as pedestrians with out umbrellas, we were drenched.

And how about the beach umbrella. One says “on holiday” as fast as a drink with, well, an umbrella.

Umbrella’s can be chic and modern or old fashioned. We love Maggie Smith, The Dowager in Downton Abbey, with her umbrella or parasol in hand on nearly every outing?

Offering some one an umbrella in the rain is very considerate, downright polite.

As motifs in conversational or novelty prints, the shape of an umbrella is quintessential. Its structure creates geometry and a flower so when used in a textile or surface design it covers both key categories.

Every designer can draw an umbrella. Whether precise and mathematical or loose and abstract, we’ll always know it’s an umbrella.

Oops, it is starting to rain outside… Now where is my umbrella?