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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Portland Re: Umbrellas

Posted by Alison Hallett on Tue, Nov 22, 2011 at 1:05 PM

In the comments to my whiny rain post this morning, commenter Super Chundy mentioned a Susan Orlean New Yorker article about umbrella design:


Hollinger's umbrella project [....] was set in motion in november of 2004, on a particularly lousy, wet day in Boston. Hollinger was walking through downtown on his way to the Chase Gallery to install his sculptures for a solo show. Ahead of him on the sidewalk was a man fighting with a tattered umbrella, which was funnelling rain onto the man's back rather than shearing it away from him. The futility and anguish of humankind's relationship with the umbrella stuck in Hollinger's mind. Later that afternoon, at the gallery, he watched as the wind punched umbrellas sideways and then bounced them off cars parked along Newbury Street. He had always liked umbrellas, and often sketched them, because he found them aesthetically interesting, but this was the first time that he considered them as dysfunctional objects that might benefit from being reinvented. Stephanie Walker, who was then the director of the gallery, was watching the umbrella massacre with him. Knowing the way Hollinger's mind works, she wasn't surprised when he emerged a month later with a new vision for an umbrella and a patent application covering dozens of mechanical improvements.

It's about the history of the umbrella and an inventor attempting to improve its design, which sort of makes it the quintessential Susan Orlean article. Read it. And now I want one of these.

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Comments (9) RSS

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1
Umbrellas are the Pedestrian's Fixie: Annoying to everyone but the user.
Posted by ≥ on November 22, 2011 at 1:22 PM · Report
2
Alison, do you know how many fucking conversations you'd have to have with strangers about your zany umbrella if you got that thing? It would be way, way worse than having wet hair and clothes all the time.
Posted by Joneser on November 22, 2011 at 1:43 PM · Report
3
also, it's super expensive and i would lose it within 20 minutes. (see also: why i can't have nice scarves, gloves.)
Posted by Alison Hallett on November 22, 2011 at 1:48 PM · Report
4
From the senz° FAQ:

Does senz° ship to the USA and Canada?
Unfortunately not yet.
Posted by dmitrir on November 22, 2011 at 2:12 PM · Report
5
Daniel Bernoulli wouln't bother that umbrella at all... nope.
Posted by encephalopath on November 22, 2011 at 2:19 PM · Report
6
Almost 42 Euro for a silly-looking umbrella that's probably no more effective than a normal looking one.
Posted by DamosA on November 22, 2011 at 2:55 PM · Report
7
Check woot.com somedays they have knock offs or cheaper senz.
Posted by Rosy on November 22, 2011 at 3:43 PM · Report
8
it needs venty things on top otherwise it's a sail, not an umbrella.

off-topic: noticed the ad next to this post for Kyuss! sweet. who's got the mescaline?
Posted by eric cantona on November 22, 2011 at 3:56 PM · Report
9
Umbrella tutu to keep your legs dry.
Posted by Tom [______] . on November 23, 2011 at 9:17 AM · Report

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