MAKE: Eco-tip of the week with Iris B ~ Save it for a rainy day …
This week, our resident eco and sustainability expert Iris von Brandstatter of Iris B Design Studio and author of the SustainabilityX eco-blog shares fantastic tips and advice on the amazing things you can do with broken brollies!
T’is the season of blustery, wet days ahead and a plethora of broken umbrellas will most certainly fall victim to our weather. Who hasn’t gone through at least one umbrella during the autumn and winter seasons? So, in honour of cloudy skies, endless puddles, soggy toes and drenched hats our focus of today is: Dead umbrellas!
I have religiously collected broken umbrellas for a long time and I had a good rummage around the internet to find more ‘eco’ ideas and hope you find something inspiring amongst it to revive your dead umbrellas. If you don't already have a collection, you could organise a broken umbrella collection and ask all your friends and family, or at school to save them for you.
"sad demise of my brollie" by Kittypinkstars
The fabric – which I wash at low temperature once I have cut it off the frame - can be made into wonderful things such as: waterproof cosmetic or shoe bags, rain-hats, covers for garden cushions or seats, raincoats for your pooch or a fancy kids-costume, baby bibs, peg-bags, ambient light shades (only with led-lights please!) and much more…
How to make your very own, swish and stylish upcycled umbrella skirt and see below for some other amazing products made from recycled umbrella fabrics by international designer Recycling Zychal!
There are also some utterly amazing artworks made from recycled umbrellas!
Channel 4 Logo Umbrella Art by Stephanie Imbeau
Here are some more tips on how to re-use your old umbrellas:
- Strip off the fabric from your old umbrella and hang it upside down to create a handy drying rack. Use clothes pegs to hang wet items to dry. Fold your new recycled drying rack up for storage and secure with a rubber band or velcro ribbon.
- Prevent a mess next time you clean the chandelier. Open an umbrella and hook the handle under the fixture to catch any dust or drips.
- Shield picnic food from the sun and insects. Cut the handle off the open umbrella, then place it over the dishes. Use the same cover to protect seedlings and young plants in the event of a frost.
- Create an instant trellis with an old umbrella. Remove the fabric, then push the handle of the open umbrella into the soil. Encourage climbing vines, such as morning glories, up the trellis as a centerpiece in the garden.
- Stake top-heavy plants like peonies with the ribs from an umbrella. Remove the metal ribs from an umbrella that's been turned inside out.
Now that we have covered the many usages of the fabric of a dead umbrella, what about some umbrella art?
With a bit of wire and a vase, you can make a lovely metal flower-bunch as a decorative item. You could use the fabric to make flowers and get some garden wire to fix them to the frame. Just watch the spiky bits.
During my research I also came across some lovely umbrella art and installations I would like to leave you with – may your season be of mellow fruitfulness and full of inspiration! The Artist Michelle Reader reworked an umbrella, bucket and other recycled bits for the Royal Horticultural Show into the most amazing Daffodil sculpture.
A recycled umbrella dress by Jill Danyelle has even been featured on the V&A's website recently. So, next time your brollie happens to break don't despair...think of all the wonderful things you could do with it!
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