03/30/2026
For those who aren’t on Dri’s mailing list, I want to share the story of how Dri’s newest compact umbrella, Coastal Coral, came to be. 🪸
When I told my sister I was in product development for Dri’s compact umbrellas with the intention of adding a brighter color to the line, her eyes grew big and her smile grew even bigger. Her excitement was palpable, infectious and so incredibly validating.
From that moment on, every fabric sample, Pantone selection, and manufacturing video was sent to my sister. Because how can you get more helpful input than “too orangey”? You can’t, really.
When 500 hundred of these umbrellas arrived at my house months later, I held my breath and immediately FaceTimed my sister. What if they were bright orange, or a weird shade of baby pink? Or an odd peach color that no one would want? Even though the swatches we’d landed on looked good, an unfortunate fact of mass manufacturing is you never truly know how a shade will turn out until you’re stuck with hundreds (if not thousands) of them.
My sister pulled over on her way home from work and patiently waited for me to stop freaking out and just show her the product already. It was one of the many times over the course of my life it’s come in handy that she’s a therapist.
I cut open the box with my eyes closed (not safe - 0/10 recommend) and held the umbrella up to her, feeling truly nauseous.
Then she yelled, “SHE’S HERE AND SHE’S BEAUTIFUL!!!”
My eyes flew open and I saw that she really, really is.
So this one is a special one- not just to me, but to anyone who has a sister that they’d trust with 500 of anything.
I hope you love it as much as we do. 🪸
