BORROW – STAY DRY – RETURN

Borrow – Stay Dry – Return is an umbrella sharing scheme, to promote a sharing culture in Galway. Drop into a Galway City library, borrow a beautifully customised brolly, stay dry when it rains and bring it back for the next person to use.

This is Galway-based social sewing group Sew Last Season’s winning entry to the Weatherproof Me! International Design Competition, which challenged artists and designers to create wearable designs that embrace Galway’s weather and transform our behaviour in the wind, the rain and the dark.

Sew Last Season hand-decorated over 40 umbrellas using fabric and trimmings from clothing which had been donated to Saint Vincent de Paul shops and which had remained unsold. They used a range of techniques including crochet, appliqué, lacework, embroidery, felting and more. Each umbrella is completely unique, and showcases the skills and styles of a volunteer.

Cumann na bFhear volunteers from the Sandy Road Mens’ Sheds customised special drop-pots for holding the umbrellas at the libraries.