Journal

Folding Umbrella or Stick Umbrella? Choosing the Right Form

Folding and stick umbrellas fulfil different purposes. The right choice depends on transport, size, handle, mechanism and the way the umbrella is carried.

Automatic Open-Close or Automatic Opening? How Umbrella Mechanisms Work

Not every automatic umbrella works in the same way. Automatic open-close and automatic-opening mechanisms follow different closing sequences.

How to Recognise a Quality Umbrella: Seven Characteristics

A quality umbrella cannot be judged by one specification alone. What matters is how the frame, canopy, mechanism, handle and closed form work together.

Straight or Curved? How the Handle Shapes an Umbrella

The handle is the part of an umbrella experienced most directly. It rests in the hand, affects how the umbrella is held while walking and influences how it can be carried or placed when closed.

Designed Inside and Out: The Double-Layered Canopy of the Sapor Distinct

Most Sapor Distinct designs combine two separate layers of fabric in a single canopy. A closer look at how the exterior, interior, colour, materiality and sound are conceived as one.

How to Care for an Umbrella: Seven Simple Principles

An umbrella requires little maintenance. Complete drying, gentle cleaning and correct operation of the mechanism are what matter most. Seven simple principles for caring for the canopy, frame, hand...

The Umbrella: An Overlooked Design Object

An umbrella moves between two forms: open, it creates a personal space; closed, it becomes an object carried in the hand. This relationship between mechanics, material and movement makes it one of ...

How Wind-Resistant Can an Umbrella Be? What Stability Really Means

What makes an umbrella wind-resistant? How the frame, fibreglass ribs, canopy and appropriate handling work together.

From Parasol to Design Object: A Brief History of the Umbrella

From ancient parasols and Jean Marius to Jonas Hanway and Knirps: discover the history and continuing design evolution of the umbrella.

Why Sapor Reconsidered the Umbrella

Why an overlooked everyday object became the starting point for Sapor and why good design begins with use.

Care Begins in the Details: On the Value of Everyday Objects

On care as a design practice and why even an everyday object deserves to be considered as a whole.

Rain as a Ritual: Embracing the Quiet Moments

On the altered rhythm of a rainy day, everyday rituals and the umbrella as a considered companion in the weather.

Designed as a Whole: The Sapor Iconic in Detail

Designed as a Whole: The Sapor Iconic in Detail

Petrichor: The scent of rain

On the distinctive scent of the first rain and the visual idea behind Sapor’s first campaign in Cologne.