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And Now, an Origami-Based Minimalist Umbrella

By Ray Hu - October 8, 2014

in Kickstarter

TIL, in a 2008 New Yorker article (via Wikipedia of course), that "There are so many people with ideas about umbrellas that the Patent Office has four full-time examiners assessing their claims." Author Susan Orlean continues:

One of the problems, according to Ann Headley, the director of rain-product development for Totes [the largest umbrella company in the country], is that umbrellas are so ordinary that everyone thinks about them, and, because they're relatively simple, you don't need an advanced degree to imagine a way to redesign them, but it's difficult to come up with an umbrella idea that hasn't already been done.

Although I stopped short of diving into Class 135 of the ol' USPTO archive, the well-told product development saga served as a nice backgrounder on the umbrella in relation to a purportedly novel take on the very same. While Orlean's subject, artist/inventor Steve Hollinger, ended up licensing his umbrella to a toy company—patented in 2006, it doesn't seem to have made it into production—the "SA" has just launched on Kickstarter:

Sa is the latest non-watch project from Matthew Waldman of Nooka fame and is as futuristic as any product he has developed. He's taken young designer Justin Nagelberg under his wing, which, figuratively speaking, happens to be larger than the origami-inspired umbrella that the recent Hongik University grad has designed.

Seeing as it's only a prototype at this point, commenters have expressed some concerns—but given Waldman's experience in the field, they've got a decent shot at making Sa (utility patent pending) a reality, if they reach their $30,000 funding goal by the December 1 deadline. Comments, of course, are welcome below.

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Scott

10 years ago

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I'm sick of being asked to finance other people's businesses with no upside other than the unpromised hope I might get the product a few months before it's offered to the general public.

If they think this is such a great idea, they should shoulder the risk to bring it to market. It's not like they don't have the money to do it.
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Devin

10 years ago

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....Aaaand how is this different from the existing Oil-Paper umbrellas from Japan, other than it not being round? What major problems does this solve? I'm not convinced. I feel like a redesign of a common well-known product needs to solve 3 BIG problems that the original didn't solve in order for me to buy into the idea. Like what about dealing with heavy wind? What about drying time after you enter your house? How about storage, multi-functionality and material choice? As Adam says there's no functional prototype so that is hurting them for believability as well.

Someone could easily say.."I have a $5.00 umbrella at home and it works just fine, when it rains, which isn't everyday, so why spend $70.00 on a new one? The answer..."Because I wan't to support a creative entrepreneur that may develop even better products...one day". I'm not convinced this is a game changer in any respect. They need to go back to the drawing board and think about how soon to launch a product before its actually considered finished.
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Camden

10 years ago

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Why not just make one for God's sake, it's only an umbrella. You could prototype one in the time it takes you to photoshop.
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Adam

10 years ago

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Love the design and concept! But...

I won't be supporting the kickstarter, because it feels like they have completely jumped the gun taking it to kickstarter. They are essentially looking for development funds. They don't even have a functional prototype, but they are promising a delivery date in Mar 2015. Based on my kickstarter experience that isn't happening.
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