It’s the rainy season in Panama. Umbrellas are everywhere. When it rains, you see the ones that work. When it doesn’t, you see the ones that don’t work anymore.
They come in all kinds of lovely colors and paterns. And, the fabric is usually still good even when the umbrella no longer works. So, let’s see want we can do with them!
First, we take it apart. It’s easy to do. Just a basic pocket knife will do. You take the metal parts that bind the cloth to the frame apart and work your way around. That’s enough. After that, you can take it off it’s frame and there it is. The original idea was to turn it into a simpel bag. We found an instruction video
But to start with, without any work, you have a mini-poncho for your backpack. In the pooring rain, this came in really handy.
After a little research, we found several more ways to turn broken umbrellas into fun and useful items. Not just for the cloth, but also for the frame and even for the handle! How about an umbrella skeleton photo mobile, a hanging umbrella lamp, an umbrella frame plant stand, an umbrella cloche (especially for see-through umbrellas), skirts (not for see-through umbrella’s) and even a doggy rain coat!
