Umbrellas. Here at VIP, when we think umbrellas, we think about promoting your name to people walking by your outdoor seating or your promotional booth at the beach. We think about golf game and promotional give-a-ways.
However, most people don’t think about an umbrella until they need one. So what else is there to this little piece of material that we frantically look for after a few raindrops hit us or once we discover a sunburn on our skin?
According to Wikipedia, the word “umbrella” evolved from the Latin umbella (an umbel is a flat-topped rounded flower) or umbra, meaning shaded or shadow. An umbrella typically refers to a device used to protect us from the rain, while the term parasol usually refers to an item that protects you from the sun. Umbrellas can further be divided into two categories: a fully collapsible unit that gets small enough to carry in a backpack or handbag and the non-collapsible version in which the support pole cannot retract (think beach umbrellas).
The collapsible umbrella originated in Ancient China in the year 21 AD, when Wang Mang needed this type of umbrella for a ceremonial four-wheeled carriage and it needed to have bendable joints to allow it to be extended or retracted. It was however, a large umbrella – not like the small ones we use today. It wasn’t until 1710 that a Paris merchant named Jean Marius developed the first lightweight-folding umbrella. It could be opened and closed like the ones we use today and it weighed less than 1 kilogram. The Princess Palatine purchased a model in 1712, and she loved it so much that she told all her aristocratic friends about it, making it an essential fashion item for Parisians. In 1759, a French scientist named Navarre presented a new design to the French Academy of Sciences for an umbrella combined with a cane. By pressing a small button on the side of the cane you could open the umbrella. Umbrellas were a considered a popular fashion accessory during this time period and were solely used by women.
Today we know that men and women use umbrellas – usually the small, portable items that we can take with us in case of a rain shower or the larger golf umbrellas that shade us from the sun. Here at VIP we carry a range of promotional printed umbrellas that you can use to not only shade you from the sun or protect you from the rain, but to also display your company logo for all to see. Contact our office today for a free mockup to see how your logo looks on one of our umbrellas – and let the rain fall and the sun shine!