Umbrella Mex is a small atelier designing and fabricating bespoke umbrellas and parasols. Every piece is constructed by hand from first sketch to final stitch, with materials sourced for longevity rather than novelty.
We reject the disposable. A modern mass-produced umbrella lives, on average, two seasons before its ribs fold inward and its fabric pulls loose. Our pieces are built to be repaired, rehandled, recanopied, and passed between generations. This is not nostalgia. It is engineering applied with patience.
Every frame is assembled from hot-dip galvanized steel ribs and solid brass fittings. The canopy is double-stitched with waxed linen thread rated for marine use. Nothing is glued. Nothing is crimped.
Our silk comes from a single mill operating since 1888. Handles are turned from chestnut, cherry, or rosewood, each stamped with the grove of origin. We publish the source of every component we use.
Every Umbrella Mex piece ships with a repair passport. Return it for re-canopying, rib replacement, or handle refinishing at any time, for the life of the umbrella. There is no expiration.
Our collections are organized around distinct design languages rather than seasons. Each house is the responsibility of a single lead maker, who oversees every piece that leaves our workshop under that name.
Wool twill canopy, chestnut crook handle, brass ferrule. The traditionalist's umbrella — an unapologetic reference to the London walking stick.
FROM $485Waxed cotton canopy with hand-cut scalloped edge. Oil-rubbed cherry handle shaped for the palm. Designed for coastal weather and long walks in drizzle.
FROM $620Unlined silk dupioni canopy with raw-silk fringe. Rosewood shaft, hand-turned finial. Built for sun rather than storm, and dimensioned for terraces and gardens.
FROM $890xaman walletBlack-on-black architectural umbrella. Matte carbon-fiber shaft, etched brass collar, tightly-woven Japanese poly-canvas canopy. The contemporary house piece.
FROM $540Limited pieces made from deadstock fabrics, one-off handle carvings, and experimental frame geometries. Released in numbered runs of twelve or fewer. Released quarterly.
FROM $1,240A single umbrella passes through the hands of four specialists across the course of roughly eleven weeks. Each stage is documented and signed, and the completed dossier is returned to the client with the finished piece.
A conversation about use, climate, dominant hand, height, and aesthetic direction. We work from this brief to sketch two or three directions before any cutting begins.
Ribs cut from galvanized steel stock, hand-bent on a custom jig, and pinned to a brass hub. Each frame is stress-tested at 60 km/h wind equivalent before moving forward.
Eight wedge-shaped panels are cut from the chosen fabric xaman wallet desktop, edges pinked and pressed, then joined along their seams with a double-stitched flat-felled technique.
Handle is turned on a lathe, oil-finished over eight days, then joined to the shaft with a hidden brass thread. The canopy is hand-fitted, tensioned, and signed.
Transparency is a design decision. For every umbrella we produce, the fabric, wood, metal, and thread are sourced from named suppliers with whom we maintain long relationships. What follows is a partial account.
A slubbed, dense silk woven in the Lombardy region, finished with a natural starch that produces a characteristic crisp hand. We use it for parasols where a balance of light diffusion and structural memory is required.
A long-staple Egyptian cotton woven tight to roughly 380 gsm, then impregnated with paraffin wax. It repels water indefinitely, develops a patina with wear, and can be re-waxed at any time. Intended for the Marée collection.
Slow-grown sweet chestnut from a managed coppice on a 15-year rotation. The wood is naturally straight-grained, resistant to moisture, and light enough to form comfortable walking-length handles. Every piece carries a grove stamp.
Cold-drawn carbon steel rod, cut to length and bent cold before a full hot-dip galvanization bath. This produces a rib that flexes rather than snaps under wind load and will not corrode at the joins, even after decades of use.
A bespoke commission begins with a conversation, either in our New York studio or by video consultation. Over the course of two hours, we discuss use, climate, stance, preferred silhouette, and the broader vocabulary of your wardrobe.
Every parameter is adjustable: canopy diameter, rib count (eight, ten, or sixteen), handle geometry, shaft length, fabric, lining, and hardware finish. We prepare two or three sketches, refine them over a second conversation, then proceed to fabrication.
I bought a Regent for my father's eightieth, expecting something beautiful. What arrived was closer to a piece of architecture — and seven years on, it walks with him every morning. No degradation. Remarkable.
The bespoke process was the most considered commission I have undertaken. Three sketches, two revisions, eleven weeks. The resulting parasol is better than anything I would have imagined myself.
I had my Marée re-canopied after ten years. The workshop treated the repair with the same care as the original build, and charged a fraction of what I expected. This is how craft is supposed to work.
I commissioned a Corvid for my wedding and gave one to my husband on our first anniversary. They are objects we reach for with a particular pleasure. Nothing else we own has that quality.
Pieces from the Regent, Marée, Solène, and Corvid houses are made to order, not held in stock. Typical lead time is six to nine weeks from order to shipment. Atelier Editions are cut from deadstock fabrics and ship within two weeks, subject to availability.
Yes, without restriction. We have shipped to forty-eight countries to date, and handle customs documentation directly. International shipping is by carriage-paid courier, insured for full replacement value, and typically arrives within seven business days of dispatch.
Every umbrella we produce is eligible for lifetime repair. This includes rib replacement, canopy re-stitching, full re-canopying, handle refinishing, and hardware replacement. Repair pricing is at cost plus a nominal labour fee. We do not impose time limits or ownership transfer restrictions.
Yes. We have completed commissions for weddings, anniversaries, retirements, and memorials. For time-sensitive commissions, we recommend beginning the process sixteen to twenty weeks before the date in question. Expedited options exist but compress an already-compressed process.
Many of our chestnut and rosewood handles are structurally capable of walking-stick use, but our standard builds are not certified as mobility aids. For clients requiring a certified walking piece, we offer a reinforced-shaft option with a solid hardwood core and a tested load rating of 120 kg.
Standing collection pieces range from $485 for an entry-level Regent to $1,240 and upward for Atelier Editions. Bespoke commissions begin at $1,850 and are generally priced by material and complexity, with an average commission landing between $2,800 and $4,200.
Whether you are exploring a collection piece, considering a commission, or enquiring about repair, we respond to every enquiry within two working days. For clients visiting New York, studio appointments are available by prior arrangement.