Patio Umbrellas & Garden Umbrellas

For nearly two centuries villages in Asia have been producing high-quality bamboo and teak patio umbrellas. Originally, the villagers made them for monasteries or ritual occasions, but they soon began producing them on a larger scale. Not long after, the villagers began selling their patio umbellas in the market place. Almost all of them are now made in villages who have speciallized in this craft for over 100 years.

The construction of each patio umbrella on oriental-decor.com goes through a time-tested and tedious process to ensure only the highest quality umbrellas see the market place. Each umbrella is made with seven parts: upper head, upper head sleeve, lower head, rib, struts, stem and spring latch. These parts are assembled to form the patio umbrella frame, which is then saturated in an insecticidal solution to prevent harmful organisms and destructive pests from damaging it. After the frame is completed, the shade or covering of the patio umbrella is pasted onto the frame by a special mixture of persimmon fruit secretion and paste - this helps make the umbrella waterproof as well.

Each patio umbrella shade that is made of cotton is first dipped into oil and a special solution containing powder and water is added to ensure a waterproof nature. This special powder contains a Thai herb pronounced "bok-oh" which in effect seals the shade of the patio umbrella by filling any holes in the cotton; the powdered solution is applied twice for best effect. The oil serves to make the umbrella shade hard and sturdy. After all this is completed, the umbrella shade is left in the sun to dry.