Tote Bag Thursday & Cupcakes!

It's Thursday and we released our new tote bag yesterday so figured I'd write a short post about it and tell a tale or two...I also strongly advise reading to the end of this post or you can scroll now if curiosity gets the better of you ;)

The last few days in LUHQ have been dominated by the launch of our new tote bag, the latest edition to the LadyUmbrella family..We've been flat out trying to get the word out about our new bags for the last week and ran a great give away on our fanpage...

We had about 230 entries which is mind boggling considering we only ran the competition for about 48 hours..Have to say big thanks to all the retweeters on twitter - you know who you are (and we know who you are) - you are all champs..Needless to say our competition ran it's course and we got our winners..For posterity congratulations to Kate Canterbury, Joby Franzcek, Mari Richards and, last but not least, Josephine Thornton..The bags will be with you all post haste..

And so, who wants a bit of a story? There is a certain twitter user who goes by the name of @Danni2122 who has warmed the hearts of all in LUHQ..She came in to visit us on a Friday evening a few weeks ago in our shop in The Loft Market alas we weren't there when she arrived (we missed each other by about 5 minutes or so - Murphy's Law)..When we had found out that we had missed her we were insanely disappointed..Our humour didn't improve when we found out that she had brought some delicious cup cakes in for us! Cupcakes for us? - it really was touching..This random act of kindness was so bittersweet - we wanted to be there to shake hands, meet and greet and thank her properly alas it wasn't to be...

Since the day we missed her we've been wanting to make it up to her and as soon as we got our tote bags in we sent one to her and she sent us the above picture...For us we're still not content that we've made it up to her but wanted to try make an effort..I've said it before and will say it again, we are just 2 people, no big corporation, no big backers or investors, just 2 people with some hopes and dreams (probably no different to most people) and the support we've gotten from people is, well, mind boggling..People bringing cupcakes into us is another level and Danielle we are forever thankful..Come into us again some day and we'll be there - promise :)

And, now, what do you get for you reading (or scrolling) to the bottom of this post..Well, Danielle showed some generosity so figured we'd do similar..For those of you who read this and want to get one of our totebags (or ladies t-shirts) use code bagme20 now in our online shop for a swanky 20% off all of your order and of course, still free shipping...This code will only be valid until tomorrow night so snap it up and enjoy...

P.S. Sharing is caring! Our IT boffins have have got a new Facebook "like" button and Twitter ReTweet button on the top of all our blog posts..Give them a click and make us smile!

[FREE BAG ALERT] What Would You Put in Your LadyUmbrella Bag?

It has been a while since we've run a give away but we are back with a vengeance now..We are going to be giving away at least one LadyUmbrella tote bag but the more entries we get will result in more prizes - a simple enough ratio hehe...



So, the question is what would you put in your LadyUmbrella bag? Simple and fun so head on over to our fanpage to enter (or of course just leave a comment here if you don't like facebook)..

And, more entries = more prizes so tell a friend! Less than 100 entries = 1 prize, 100 to 200 = 2 prizes, 200 to 300 = 4 prizes, 300 to 400 ...= 6 prizes, 500 - 600 = 8 prizes..If you spread it on you get a better chance of winning..ole..

Competition will end on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning with the winner being announced on Wednesday - good luck all...


P.S. Sharing is caring! Our IT boffins have have got a new Facebook "like" button and Twitter ReTweet button on the top of all our blog posts..Give them a click and make us smile!

LadyUmbrella and the Umbrella Tree [New Design]

I like get things completed and my documenting of our new designs on this old blog of ours has been delayed due to us being pretty busy at LUHQ..We've had an incredible week or so really..At times it is just mind boggling what is happening with lots of people getting in touch to interview us (really, here is one and another and yet another - do feel free to peruse them) and we couldn't be more appreciative...Really, I've said it before and shall continue to say it with genuine meaning - thank you!! Myself and Elena have put all of our eggs in one basket (hehe, we've no business smarts) and are just trying to live our dream (oh, the cheesiest of cliches)..We also had to make a short trip to Spain but more on that later...

Anyway, enough of the guff, on with the design. Our 3rd and final ladies t-shirt in our La Segunda Coleccion is called "LadyUmbrella and the Umbrella Tree" and unsurprisingly has it's own little story (it's just how we roll)...

Sometimes when on strolls around forests LadyUmbrella happens upon unusual umbrella trees which are ripe for the picking..She thought her feathered friends would provide some help when gathering the goods alas they are sleeping on the job..

We can't wait to get to have this t-shirt on sale and hope to have it available very soon. Like its bedfellow, LadyUmbrella and the Merry Go Round, this t-shirt has a distinctive shape with a nice wide neck and longer fitted sleeves than before..For the t-shirt aficionados out there the t-shirts are 140grms, 100% pure combed cotton with a mind blowingly soft and comfortable pigment print..All t-shirts in our new collection also have an additional woven tag on the front of the tee, we hope you'll dig it as much as we do...

And so, that completes the line up of t-shirts for our new collection..We've put a lot of time and effort into trying to come up with some more strong designs and getting them created to the highest of standards...With some luck you will like them..Feel free to press the facebook like button and/or the twitter RT - each one helps us out immensely..

Finally, earlier in the post I mentioned a brief trip to Spain. Myself and Elena had the pleasure of getting all spruced up for a friends wedding in an absolutely lovely spot in Alcala which is just outside of Madrid...Gone were the LadyUmbrella t-shirts and buttons replaced by dresses, suits and glasses of coldest beer one could ask for in the hottest of places...A great night was had and I experienced the customs of Spanish wedding - vivan los novios...

P.S. Sharing is caring! Our IT boffins have have got a new Facebook "like" button and Twitter ReTweet button on the top of all our blog posts..Give them a click and make us smile!

Bedazzling Jewellery - Things Just Got Better!!

Hello all - how are you? Things are going really good here at LUHQ and with our new ladies t-shirts designs almost ready for release we're on the proverbial pigs back..On top of that though we have something a little bit special for all of our customers, some bedazzling jewellery for you...

Each order we ship out will now contain a nice discount code for Aliquo Boutique. So who or what is Aliquo Boutique I hear you ask..well, get a load of this!

Handmade in Dublin by french jewellery designer Alice Moyon, aliquo pieces are made from a wide range of beads of different shapes, textures and materials - pressed glass beads from Bohemia, lucite beads from the 1950s, 60s and 70s, colourful glass pearls, vintage pendants and antique brass & silver plated chains.

We were fortunate enough to meet Alice via a meeting of our paths. Alice is a fellow trader in The Loft Market and when we saw her designs we knew that we had to try get something sorted out for our customers..And with a whole lot of "merci beaucoup" a deal has been done so that you can all accessorise your LadyUmbrella t-shirts with some pretty quirky and unique jewellery at a discounted price...

For all you twitter lovers our there follow @AliquoBoutique and find out more about Alice's creations..Each order we send out now will contain the special discount for Aliquo Boutique so if you want one a discount you know where to go...hehe, and just in case you don't it's our online t-shirt shop ;)

So, what do you think of the bedazzling jewellery from Aliquo Boutique? Any pieces catch your eye? Let us know...ole..

P.S. Sharing is caring! Our IT boffins have have got a new facebook "like" button and RT button on the top of all our blog posts..Give them a click and make us smile!

Mona LadyUmbrella - The Story Behind the Design

It is with great pride and joy that we unveil our latest ladies t-shirt design to the masses..This design is called "Mona LadyUmbrella" and like all of our other tees has a little story about it...

Mona LadyUmbrella shows off her best side in her portrait with her friend Rob the Renaissance Robin..There is no avoiding her gaze but feel free to try...

I asked Elena to explain the design a bit more to me and she started mentioning words like "dadaism" and a chap called Marcel Duchamp..I had never heard of him (pardon my ignorance, I'm the spread sheet guy hehe) but a quick google led me to his Wiki page..Turns out dadaism is like an early form of surrealism which is what Elena studied in college and where she gets most of her inspiration from...And, for those who like table quizzes, the movement became called dadaism thanks to a dictionary - they opened it and it landed on dada which is French for a hobby horse (and German for "yeah right" or so I'm told) and decided to christen it after that...

Anyway, long story short, Duchamp painted his dadaist take on the Mona Lisa which Elena then expanded on to create Mona LadyUmbrella...I'm biased but I like it..it's a simple yet eye catching design and is our first just black and white offering...This t-shirt also boasts our additional tag on the front which I think is kinda narly..

My thoughts arnen't what is important though..I want to know what you think..leave us a comment here or check out more pics on our fanpage and feel free to comment there...love to hear what you think..

And please, press the lovely RT button up the top of this post, it rocks our world..ole!

P.S. for those of you who love a sale we have 25% off now with code fiesta25 in our online t-shirt shop - the code is valid until Spain are knocked out of the World Cup (or win it!) - viva Espana..

LadyUmbrella and the Merry Go Round [New Design]

It has been a while since we launched our La Primera Coleccion of ladies t-shirts (we launched them on 20th of January 2010) and since then we've been busy in the lab working on new designs (well, Elena has anyway). Today we unveiled one of our new designs from La Segunda Colecction called "LadyUmbrella and the Merry Go Round"...If you like it please press that lovely green RT button just above - it helps us out big time...

Anyway, all of our t-shirts have a bit of a story to tell and this one is no different...It reads:

The yellow birds look on with dismay as LadyUmbrella hogs the pelican, indulging her childhood love of the merry go round...Garrett, the adventurer, looks on from above and ponders his descent to the waiting masses...

We're really delighted with how the shape of this t-shirt worked out..like our other t-shirts it is 100% pure combed cotton which makes it really soft to wear. If you have purchased one of our t-shirts from our first offering they were 180grms in weight but the new collection are 140grms - so slightly lighter to make them ideal for the summer...

So, I hope what you're saying to yourself know is "I just checked the site but I don't see this design..I want it - where is it?" and I'm happy to inform you that we hope to have our La Segunda Coleccion available on our site before the end of July - not too long to go..please, bear with us :)

There are more pictures of LadyUmbrella and the Merry Go Round on facebook so do check them out..We'll also be uploading more pictures of the rest of our designs in the coming days so do check back..Stay happy all - ole!