Thursday, December 22, 2011

Rigu - Friday Finger Point

So, it's week 2 of the Friday Finger Point and I think I've got something that a lot of you might like..You know the way most things you can get for your camera are kind of dull and black/grey? Well, get ready for all of that to change thanks to the colourful camera accessories from Rigu..

This new company is based in Northern England in the Lake District, which, I'm reliably informed, is one of the most photographed places in England and hence it's possible for Andy, the company owner, to know when his mission has been accomplished..
"When most of the tourists and hikers are walking around with colourful camera straps I'll know that we've achieved our mission." I like the mission..and the products...

One product that really caught my attention was the iPhone4/4s tripod stand..Now, I don't have an iPhone but I know if there were a stand for my Samsung Galaxy S2 I'd be all over it in a heartbeat..Here's why..These smart phones have pretty decent cameras on them and most can now shoot in HD and the likes..The one failing though is that if the phone is being held any slight movement of the hand could result in a big movement in shot so a tripod would sort this problem out in jig time..Really, as far as cool/useful products go this one is well up there with the best I've seen lately (wow, how easily pleased am I?)..

Another item from the Rigu range that made be go "oooh, look at that, that's a bit nifty" are these camera bags..How can one get excited about camera bags you say? Well, because, they can be used for more than just cameras and they've got a nice wedge of padding for protection..With all the digital gadgets we have in our pockets these days giving them some protection is never a bad idea..Perhaps I'm showing my age here and starting to get cautious...At this rate if I'm not careful I'll be wearing knee pads when roller blading next ;)

So, a snapshot of some of the products there but the underlying ethos of this new company was summed up best by the owner Andy,
"Rigu was born from the idea that camera accessories don't need to be boring and black. Sometimes black is cool, but it feels as if in the camera world almost everything is black, people need more colourful options and that is what Rigu is here to do for you."
Given that what we do with LadyUmbrella is all about colour who knows, there may be a potential for a collab at with Rigu at some point in time in the future - for now we can dream..

Anyway, let me know what you think about Rigu..Am I right in thinking that the iPhone tripod stand is possibly one of the best things since sliced bread or perhaps some Hello Kitty Camera Straps tickle your fancy? And, what colourful Rigu products caught your eye?

Rigu - You've been Friday Finger Pointed!

The Friday Finger Point is a weekly post where I point the finger (in a nice way) at an online brand owner, designer or creative type..LadyUmbrella has been lucky to get lots of blog posts about us so it's our turn to give something back..Check out the brands and people pointed out each week, spread them on and let me know which ones you like!
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Never Thought We'd Get A Christmas Card Like This..


When this LadyUmbrella venture started a few years ago I never for one second imagined that we'd receive Christmas cards from model agents, let alone Christmas cards from model agents featuring a model wearing one of our t-shirts but that is what transpired..

A few weeks ago Irish stylist Lisa Byrne got in touch and asked us if she could use our black LadyUmbrella Meets Peter Pan top for an Irish themed photoshoot she was doing.. Now, regular readers of this blog will know I'm not prone to saying no so without hesitation I said yes..

And, then, a few weeks later, we get a Christmas card from Absolute the Agency with our t-shirt being showcased amongst a whole ton of other Irish designers..Really, was, well, kinda cool you know? I didn't expect to get a Christmas card and I certainly didn't expect that our top would be selected for the shoot...Perhaps it's time to raise expectations? In any event, it was a nice little surprise just before Christmas, one I shall remember for a while...Ole..


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Monday, December 19, 2011

The Blind Tiger Collective Pop Up Shop and Us!


By now I hope you've heard some of the mutterings from the grapevine about the Blind Tiger Collective - a pop up shop with 11 independent Irish designers - which is launching on Tuesday 20th December in The Little Green Gallery..The pop up shop will be open until the 24th - you're invited! This project has been brewing for a while now so, beloved readers, get comfy, read, watch and enjoy..Here's the downlow...

In mid November Dualta from Project A Apparel got in touch with me via the tweet machine and asked if we'd like our ladies clothes to be part of a pop up shop, The Blind Tiger Collective..Me, not being one to say no, quickly said yes and then we started to hatch plans.. Over coffees we schemed and tried to hammer out the details..Dualta had done a ton of work and had sourced all the brands for the pop up and got some great names like Turtlehead, S & D, Outcry Apparel and Dog Eat Dog Clothing..With the line up nailed down we moved on to "Phase 2 - Getting the Damn Word Out" (we didn't have a name for it, but, if we did...).


This is where the Bulgarian brilliance of Mr. Double A, Andrey Andonov, and his camera skills came into play. The first target to Blind Tiger-ised and caught on film was the Grand Social pub in Dublin.. We had grand plans of a grand Ali to be wheat pasted onto the side wall of the Grand Social (shown in picture) alas the roof was deemed, um, structural unsound, and the plans had to be put on the back burner..We did get to do some nifty wheat pasting inside though and Andrey was able to mix up this 20 second teaser clip for Blind Tiger, full of "what the deuce is that?!"..



The next step in the marketing efforts took us to Abbey Street where we we finally unleashed our Blind Tiger-ised Ali.. It took a couple of hours to get the installation up and whilst Dualta wheat pasted manfully I "worked the crowd" and gave out flyers and info to interested and curious passers by..The reaction we got was pretty cool and all we spoke to were supportive of the efforts and endeavor..And, there was the usual banter, some old guy asking if we were doing it for the Late Late Show before dancing in front of the camera, another asked if we'd put up an Ali like it on his house and another questioned "where are you going to put up Tyson?" Of course, it was all recorded by Andrey and the Naturehood Media Crew - here is the time lapse trailer..



We all know trailers are just preludes, teasers, to the full theatrical piece and so here it is..After Ali was put up we retreated to the nearest pub to record some interviews for Andrey to edit into the footage..Anyway, enough jibba jabba, enjoy...



As if all that wasn't enough to get some buzz going we had a photoshoot a cold Sunday a week ago and got a whole ton of quality pictures..You can check out the full lookbook on facebook.. We also got this nifty footage from Conor Coughlan - oh so many videos...This one was shot on a GoPro Hero2 camera and really looks sweet..



And, that is pretty much the story of the Blind Tiger Collective..It's all kicking off tomorrow and hectic last minute preparations are being put in place for the launch night..We've got DJs, free drinks and clothes - what more could you want on a Tuesday night..Here is your invitation and if you're in Dublin do try call in between now and the 24th - ideal chance for you to get your last minute Christmas shopping done..Hope to see you in there..

If you've read this far, fair play ;) Stay tuned for the post event update..
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Friday, December 16, 2011

OMUNKY - The Friday Finger Point


So, with bounding enthusiasm I write the first, of hopefully many, Friday Finger Points and I'm delighted to have OMUNKY as the first brand I get to feature..OMUNKY is a t-shirt brand with an eco twist, all t-shirts are eco friendly and 5% of all sales are donated to WildAid - a company that practices what they preach, nice to see..

Rick, the owner and designer behind OMUNKY, started OMUNKY in July 2009 with the goal of bringing humor to the eco-friendly/animal activist clothing market.
"I didn't want to sell shirts that just said things like "save the whales" or "plant a tree"."
he said and after scouring his nicely laid out shop I can confirm that there are no such cliches..Instead this eco brand has a fine array of quirky, colourful and charming characters ranging from giraffes to gorillas and moose to monkeys (there had to be some monkeys didn't there?).. The stand out design for me is this purple OMUNKY logo t-shirt, I really dig the colour and fun simplicity of the design..Which one floats your boat?

Whilst there are no rules to an OMUNKY t-shirt, there is a method to the OMUNKY design madness as Rick explains,
"There is really no rules when I design a shirt, I just prefer not to use humans or domestic animals. The current season also plays a factor in my releases. I try and stick the animal I design in what I feel is their appropriate month (Polar Bear = December, Giraffes = June, you get the idea)."
Indeed we do :)

Like lots of online brands the OMUNKY empire expands beyond just the website and onto facebook and twitter.. Rick, like myself, is
"a huge fan of Facebook and Twitter, and how they allow me to interact with my customers. I think OMUNKY would have been a very different brand if it did not utilize the power of social networking."
I can only concur with Rick on this point so follow OMUNKY on Twitter and like on facebook and let him know who pointed you in his direction ;)

The picture above also shows that OMUNKY is an online brand that isn't afraid to go offline and take his wares to his customers..This is an important part for growing a brand I think and something we've also tried to do (I wrote about this recently for HYA) and one that I hope has been beneficial for OMUNKY..

With us swimming in similiar shirty circles I've been familiar with OMUNKY for a while now and am happy to be able to showcase the brand as our first Friday Finger Point.. I can say with certainty that selling t-shirts online is not the easiest thing to do but I've been able to see OMUNKY grow over the last few years and genuinely wish Rick all the best for the future..Who knows, maybe an OMUNKY meets LadyUmbrella collab may happen sometime in the future..

OMUNKY, you've been Friday Finger Pointed!


The Friday Finger Point is a weekly post where I point the finger (in a nice way) at an online brand owner, designer or creative type..LadyUmbrella has been lucky to get lots of blog posts about us so it's our turn to give something back..Check out the brands and people pointed out each week, spread them on and let me know which ones you like!
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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas 3 for 2 Special Offer!


Now, there are only 10 days left until Christmas and if you're still trying to get some presents for someone perhaps we could be of some use?

We've got a special offer going for all of our t-shirts, a 3 for 2 deal..What this means is that you can get 3 t-shirts for as little as 40 euro and shipping is still free worldwide - that's just 13.33 euro (£11.20/$17.37) a t-shirt (crazy I know, but it's Christmas)..

If you order now we're pretty sure your t-shirts will arrive before Christmas but the cut off point for orders to outside of Europe is quickly approaching, ideally ordering today or tomorrow will ensure it gets to you on time..

So, why not give some LadyUmbrella this Christmas? Your support has been great throughout the year and we'd love if Christmas was no different... Stay happy all...


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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Are YOU an Online Brand Owner, a Designer, a Pretty Fashion Maker?


Are you a brand owner? A funky designer of anything odd, quirky or awesome? Perhaps you're a pretty dress maker? Dare I say it, a t-shirt company? Whatever you do and whoever you are I'd like to hear from you now...Here's why..

Each week I want to have a weekly blog post about some other brand that is doing something cool in design, fashion, jewellery or whatever and give them whatever attention I can give them..The reason for this is because we've been fortunate enough to receive lots of lovely blog posts about us I think it's time to give something back, karma and all that.. That's where YOU come in!

If you'd like to be mentioned in our weekly feature please leave a comment below or e-mail me at ladyumbrellaltd[A.T]gmail(~dot~)com (good luck spam bots ;)) with a link to your brand/items you'd like me to mention and a bit of info on what you do.. Then, I'll don my journalist cap and get to work on writing the posts..All posts will be shared on our facebook page and will be tweeted about.. It's Wednesday now so I think I'll aim to have the first one on Friday and perhaps call it the Friday Finger Point..um, ye, that could work..

So, you know what to do, get in touch asap and this ball will get rolling...Ole!


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Thursday, December 8, 2011

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway with The Tee Gazette


It's that time of year again and to get you into the Christmas spirit The Tee Gazette have put together an incredible giveaway...Today there are 4 t-shirts to be won, one of which is one of our own ladies tops of the winners choosing.. You can enter the competition here and then it's time for you to cross your fingers :) Also, as part of the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway I was interviewed and you can check that out right here..Let me know what you think and good luck!
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Sunday, December 4, 2011

Project 51 Pictures & Update!


So, you might have heard (or, at least I hope you have) that Project 51, the shop on South William Street, have accepted our ladies t-shirts for their month long pop up shop..We dropped the stock into them on Tuesday and popped in on Friday to see how things were going...To the right we have an amateur picture taken by yours truly of our designer, Elena Montes Casado, outside Project 51 with their rather large and festive Christmas tree in the window in the background (you know it's a bad picture when it has to be described, never fear, good pictures to follow)...

The area that is set up for the 15 designers in the Project 51 pop up shop is really something else, a visual feast of colours, shapes, materials and design talent..The scent of fine leather fills the room and the carpet underfoot is plush and creates a soothing sense of calm..An ideal environment to investigate the intricacies of the fine crafts(wo)manship on display before deciding which item to make your own..A trip Dublin to visit to this pop up shop is highly recommended and when you get there you'll know why..

And, in one corner of the Project 51 pop up shop our t-shirts, La Tercera Coleccion, some with their effervescent salmon-esque hue, beam out - buy me (or so we hope :)). The (expertly taken) picture shows them just hanging out beside the fine leather of Garvan de Bruir..And, that's where a story comes in if you'd be so kind as to indulge me..

Garvan and I both happen to be from Kildare Town and both happened to go to the same secondary school - heck, we even got the same bus to school.. Granted, he was a few years ahead of me so it might just seem like a little coincidence but, try this on for size...Last year we were part of another pop up shop called Rough Diamond (option C) which had a few Irish brands for sale..Yep, you've guessed it, out if the numerous Irish brands and designers ourselves and Garvan were both selected for that pop up...And, then, there is the fact that a few years back, whilst in my IT mode (I studied IT in college), Garvan asked me if I could build a site for him - unfortunately I wasn't able to but I was asked which is another interesting overlap..And, if we really go down the rabbit hole, Garvans folks and my folks are good friends - lets hope they visit the pop up shop together hehe :)Anyway, that's the end of story, thanks for listening and now onto the update...

There is an important date coming up in Project 51 - on the 8th of December they are going to have 20% OFF everything in the entire shop so if you're looking for an iDEAL day to go then that might be it... Also, if you'd like to meet Elena, the creative Spaniard behind the whole LadyUmbrella brand, she will be in Project 51 on the 7th of December as part of the "Meet the Designer" aspect of the pop up..Ask her for her autograph or something and see her get redder than red with embarrassment in nano seconds ;)

So far our t-shirts have been on sale in the pop up for 4 days and we've received really great reports and sales updates back from our friend, and designer extraordinaire, Sinead Doyle who works there...We were very apprehensive that our humble t-shirts might not have worked in the pop up, given that they are surrounded by so many great designs and items, but it seems like our fears have been unfounded as they are selling really well in there - we're close to having to go and restock some sizes already which is insanely great and long may it continue!

If you're in Dublin why not pop in to the pop up and make a restock a necessity for us? And, if you've been into Project 51 what are your thoughts on it? Ole :)


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Saturday, December 3, 2011

Ray D'Arcy on Today FM!! - Our First Radio Mention!


If you heard LadyUmbrella being mentioned on Today FM by Ray D'Arcy then this is old news to you..If you haven't heard though then now you have ;)

I was one of those who didn't actually hear the LadyUmbrella shout out last Monday on Today FM live but was informed via the tweet machine and the tasty people at Burritos and Blues that we had got a mention on Today FM..

The reason I'm writing this blog post now about our Today FM shout out is because since Burritos & Blues mentioned it a few of my friends have also said that they had also heard it..And, that is where the plot thickens..

The reason we were mentioned on Today FM was because they were discussing Irish websites online and places to shop in the run up to Christmas..The researcher had a few websites that he recommended and then they opened the phones to listeners..And that is how we got a shout out - someone out there, called Sheila, sent in a text recommending our ladies t-shirts for Christmas..So, thank you Sheila :)

The mention in full goes as follow - "LadyUmbrella is another Irish site with a Spanish girl and an Irish guy" - sure it ain't a huge shoutout but it's our first radio mention so happy days - bring on the next one :) Ole..


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Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Day of the Double Delivery


Well, you know what, yesterday was quite a day - long but good and dare I say historic for us and LadyUmbrella. Lots of hours in a car, lots of road travelled and lots of t-shirts delivered..

A while back I mentioned that we had been accepted into the Project 51 December Pop Up Shop and so yesterday was when we dropped in the stock.. As Project 51 is in Dublin there wasn't that much driving involved but a whole lot of satisfaction..Project 51 is a really swanky shop and we're thrilled to be in there for the month..There will be lots of interesting events happening there so stay tuned for that..

Once that delivery was made we set a course for Ennis, Co. Clare to make our next delivery. Neither myself, nor Elena had ever been to Ennis before but it seems like a nice little town..We would have liked a chance to explore the side streets a bit more alas our time was spent briskly bounding of blossoming puddles as rain blitzed us from above - yes, we forgot our umbrellas but not our t-shirts..

After a bit of meandering we found Babylon and met up with the owner Fiona (pictured above with Elena) who was busy getting the place kitted out for its re launch which is happening this Saturday..Fiona has big plans for it as "Only in BABYLON this Saturday ... A complimentary in store stylist who has previously worked with ELLE magazine. She will personally help you select the best clothes to suit your shape and style." So, if you're in Ennis or Clare make sure to pop into Babylon this Saturday..We're sure it'll be a success as even though the shop wasn't fully made up when we were there the space looks great and there were lots of very nice clothes (we even spotted some of our old Loft friends dresses, Tokiki and Chupi hanging on the rail) already in place..

When we got home the inner numerical nerd in me made me capture this image from the car dash. We clocked up 513km in one day and were on the road driving for in and around 8 hours..It was undoubtedly a long day but this is what it is all about..We'd love to be able to make deliveries every week so if you know of any shops in your area that might like to stock LadyUmbrella please let us know, slowly but surely we'll build this baby up..Ole!
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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Whale Birds?



Sometimes Elena comes up with quirky and unusual doodles like the two "whale birds" about..I figure, rather than keeping these wacky creations for myself I should share them with you so as and when Elena has an odd drawing I just might put it up here for your perusal...Some day some of the doodles might end up on a t-shirt, you never know...Any idea what to call the "birds" though - or does whale birds work?
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Friday, November 25, 2011

Ohh Black Friday SALE!! Ram-a-jam



Ohhh Black Friday, ram-a-jam,
Prices so low, ram-a-jam,
Sales so good, ram-a-jam
Ohh Black Friday, ram-a-jam...

That is the little ditty that has been stuck in my head throughout the day as our Black Friday sale has unfolded (to the tune of Black Betty - below).. We kicked it off earlier today and were offering free "Stay Happy" illustrations to the first 10 customers as well as 30% off + free shipping..Happy to report that we've ram-a-jammed past 10 customers so there will be no more free illustrations but there is still 30% off for you with code blackfriday30 (oh so original I know)..

Thus far we have orders destined for the US, Ireland, The Netherlands, Canada, UK and France which is a nifty line up..Hopefully we'll be able to get some orders from a few more differnt countries, it helps me live vicariously and impresses the pants off the ladies in the post office ;) If you want to order head on over to our online shop, choose your threads and enter the code blackfriday30 - code will be valid until midnight on Monday..Needless to say if you could spread the word about our sale to a friend or two that would be immense..I don't expect you to be a fraction as passionate about LadyUmbrella as I am but any help is big time appreciated, you're helping the little guys which is always a good thing to do..

Anyway, before you rush off to order from us enjoy the tune below..Oh Black Friday, ram-a-jam...

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Thursday, November 24, 2011

A Tipple and a Tee...


How does a tipple and a tee sound to you? Tonight we're taking part in the The Beauty Spot with Lisa Lu which is happening in Dakota Bar in Dublin..It'll be good to have some face to face time with some customers (hopefully there'll be customers or else it'll just be face to face time with some tipples) as it's been a while since we've been out and about with our ladies t-shirts...If you happen to be in the city would love if you could pop in, not for us but to support the night - there will be lots of other nifty brands there and Lisa has gone all out to make it a great night...all we need is you! It's free in and you might even snag a bargain..Ole...
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Friday, November 18, 2011

LadyUmbrella Lands in Kwilla!



Delighted to say some LadyUmbrella gear is now stocked and available in Kwilla in Kilkenny.. It's been a while since we've been stocked in a shop so it's kinda cool to be "back in the game"..

On Wednesday I bused it down to Kilkenny (bused it as I'm not one of those driving folk, have never really driven in my life, it would be handy though) to deliver the stock to Shannon, the owner of Kwilla. Upon arrival to Kwilla I was blown away with how dainty, quirky, charming and cool Kwilla was - not to mention it was laiden with lots of great items..A real shop that you could spend hours rummaging around and coming across lots of great things from Irish designers..Happy to say that we may now be rummaged upon and found..

What was interesting about the LadyU delivery to Kwilla is that it didn't include any t-shirts..T-shirts, to a degree, have been our "bread and butter" but this delivery hammered home to me how far we've gone in less than two years.. Instead of delivering t-shirts I delivered totebags, notebooks, badges and illustrations to Kilkenny - I did so wearing a t-shirt though ;)

Anyway, Kilkenny is a really lovely city..I was there before for a Twitter talk and highly recommend that if you've never been there head on down for a trip..And, if you do, sure you might as well call into Kwilla ;)


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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

LadyUmbrella Pops Up in Project 51

Yesterday I had the pleasure of "sealing the deal" so that LadyUmbrella will be part of the Project 51 Pop Up Shop for the month of December. We're delighted that our wares were accepted and will be part of the pop up shop.. If you've never been in to Project 51 then you have to rectify that as soon as possible - it is a really nice place with lots of great Irish designers in there like Sinead Doyle, Jennifer Rothwell, Heather Finn & Yvonne Ryan.. Our ladies t-shirts will be there from December 1st so put that date in your diary...Will we be seeing you in there in December?
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Thursday, November 10, 2011

How Many T-Shirts Hanging on the Rail - WINNER Video


Well, we had a lot of fun with our How Many T-Shirts Hanging on the Rail giveaway and like most of our giveaways we always wind up doing some sort of silly video in which I invariably make a fool of myself - it's a "gift".. Anyway, this giveaway was no expection...This video, I hope, will lay to rest any doubt about my counting skills (one duck, two ducks, three ducks) as I count how many ladies t-shirts are actually hangin' on the rail... Hope you enyoy the video and many thanks for taking part if you entered and congrats if you won!! To make sure you don't miss out on any other giveaways or sales the wise thing to do is join our mailing list :) Ole..

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

How Many T-Shirts Hanging on the Rail?

Every now and again we like to run a little giveaway and today is one of those days...We've been preppin' stock for some Christmas (the C word, dun don dun) fairs and the likes and figured why not use the photo op for a fun giveaway... We took this picture yesterday and the question is: How many t-shirts hanging on the rail? We've just kicked off the giveaway and it's going to last for 24 hours and then we've a little video for you tomorrow where you can find out how many t-shirts are on the rail..You can enter by leaving a comment here with your guess AND the name of the t-shirt you'd like from our online shop or by doing so on our Facebook Page..Good luck & please, spread it around :)




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Wednesday, October 19, 2011

50,000 Tweets! Have we tweeted?



50,000 tweets on, obviously, Twitter - is it time to go to rehab? I remember when I sent my first tweet back in August 2008 thinking that twitter was a fad and that it would be a waste of time...Little did I know...Twitter has been anything but a waste of time as I've met a whole truckload of cool peeps be it related to our ladies t-shirts, be it related to silver (one of my other loves) or everything in between..

In fact, I've come across too many good people on twitter that I can't even attempt to mention them.. I'd love to be able to and without doubt I have a plethora of @ symbols floating around my mind now as I'm running through all the names of people I've met but rather than me going on a listing crusade I think it would be kinda cool if those that I've tweeted leave a comment and say "me" (or, feel free to get creative)..I'll follow this post up then with a "shout out" post to all you good peeps who I've tweeted with and will then, eh, tweet about it so that the circle is complete...

So, have we tweeted? Leave a comment and let me know..Ole!
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Monday, October 17, 2011

Dublin Living Awards - Finalists!


The Dublin Living Awards are a new set of awards for, well, people and businesses in Dublin and we're finalists!!! As they say on their site "The Awards celebrate the Dublin businesses, organisations and people that make Dublin a great place to live work and visit." We're really delighted to be finalists and now badly need you to take a second to vote for us (please)..

We're in the Fashion Retailer category (an apt place I guess) with some big name brands like Clerys Department Store and Costelloe + Costelloe but it's all down to votes now which means it's all down to you.. It would be beyond cool if little old LadyUmbrella could somehow become David in this David and Goliath story..You and your votes are our slingshot and you can make it happen..

The below image is from the Metro Newspaper which gives some more info about the Dublin Living Awards, always nice to see LadyUmbrella in black and white :)


If you vote please leave a comment to let us know so we can shower you with thanks :)
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Monday, October 3, 2011

The journey of a thousand...



...t-shirts, starts with the first few..

You might have heard the old Chinese saying "The journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step" well, for us and our new collection of womens clothing the journey is all about the t-shirts, not the distance...Each new collection is a "struggle" to design, produce and sell but it is quite rewarding so worth all the effort...Today, as we ship out the first of our new collection, I want to chronicle the moment that we got the ball rolling for this particular journey of a thousand t-shirts.. I got our design ninja Elena to snap a picture of one of each of the new collection before we sent them on their merry way...Memories, in the bag...

If you want to help us on our journey, you know what to do :) Ole..


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Thursday, September 29, 2011

Our Number One Fan?



Who is our number one fan? Now, there is a question we may have just answered on our recent photo shoot for our new collection of womens clothing which we have finally just released (ole!!)...Big thanks to camerman Darren, make up artist Madonna and model Alison for making the photo shoot possible...This behind the scenes video features typically terrible jokes from yours truly but perhaps answers the question about our biggest fan...Or, are you our number one fan? Let us know :) Ole..




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Thursday, September 22, 2011

Photo Shoot - Behind the Scenes

Alrighty then, are you ready ready for a platoon of pictures? On Sunday 18th Sept we found ourselves in DStudio to do our photo shoot for our new collection of t-shirts...Behind the camera we had Darren from Life in No Motion, our make up artist was the gifted Madonna and the lovely lady in front of the camera was Alison..We had a lot of fun together doing the shoot and the following or some behind the scene type pictures for your perusal while we frantically select and edit the pictures for our site..

Darren Looks Through A Magazine to see how he wants Alison to contort..



Two cameras at the same time - always challenging for a model..



A few touch ups to make sure everything is as it should be..




See, people were allowed to have a bit of food (as long as they could eat it in 10 mins ;))




I believe the frame came into play at some stage during the day...



A pweddy picture...




I can assure you Alison was fine, she didn't fall from the ladder, was just a misguided idea...



...although when Elena dropped the bucket on her she did yelp a bit ;)



Elena & Alison, still friends at the end...




And, everyone likes a bit of cheese so here is the "Team Pic"



And that's a wrap..We've got a few more fun cheesey pics on facebook which of course I'd highly recommend you check out ;)

For now though, consider yourself warned that the launch of our next collection is just around the corner - we're aiming to have them available early next week...If you jump on our mailing list you'll get a handy e-mail the day they are available so you'll be one of the first people to get them :) So, who wants to get their hands on one of our new designs? If so, which one?

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!
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Sunday, September 11, 2011

Pop Up Style Swap - Today!


We're almost all set to take part in the Pop Up Style Swap being organised by Lisa Lu which is kicking off later today in the Grand Social in Dublin City..From what we can gather it's going to be a fun and fashionable event and part of the Dublin Festival of Fashion - fun times ahead..If you're in the city why not pop in and check out the antics?
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Friday, September 2, 2011

Blue September - We're Going Streaking with Paddy Power!


So, today was an interesting day...

I'm just back from a photocall for Blue September where Paddy Power (all Irish readers will be familiar with that name I'm sure) and Féilim Mac An Iomaire (who may be familiar to internaional readers as his successful job seeking billboard stunt got picked up by all sorts of world media) were togged out in not a lot to kick start the Blue September campaign..

A few months back we got involved with the Dip in the Nip, the fun fund raising event for cancer, which is organised by the incredible Maire Garvey..The Dip in the Nip, like the name suggests, is an event where people go running into a large body of water somewhere completely starkers with all the proceeds of their fund raising going to cancer research. This year though Maire has gone one further and launched Blue September here in Ireland, giving us males a chance to flaunt our jiggly bits...Whilst talking to Maire today I mentioned that I'd do the dip and now have the feeling that my proverbials are well and truly on the chopping block - all for a good cause though..

Anyway, today Paddy Power and Féilim Mac An Iomaire took the first steps in streaking and posed bluefully (oh, I like what I did there) to kick start the Blue September campaign..Now that they have kick started it it is up to us (you, me, he she) to make it a success..I read just yesterday that a startling 1 in 3 males in Ireland will be affected by cancer...This hit home with me - I've a brother and a father so statistically one of us will fall foul of the dreaded big C at some stage, a far from pleasant notion...

So, like I said, it is up to us to get the word out about Blue September... How can we do this? Well, share this blog post for one..Spread the word of the Dip in the Nip event which is happening on the 25th of September.. If you've got a swinging appendage and are based in Ireland why not put yourself forward for a dip? Donate whatever you can...I know we're in what seems like a never ending recession but if you can spare a few bob then it's guaranteed to go to a good cause when you donate to Blue September..1 in 3 men will be affected with cancer, 1 in 3...

Anyway, little video below of O'Connell Street and the Spire where the photocall was today with Messrs. Power & Mac An Iomaire surrounding the driving force Maire...

Spread it on...Ole!



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!
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