Caption Contest #2: your turn to vote!

We are overwhelmed with the umbrellamunity's enthusiastic response to @RecyclingZychal's generous giveaway.

The captions have been aligned with the appropriate photo - and it's almost time to crown our winner with a unique upcycled umbrella HOOD. Voting is open to all readers, and especially friends of the entrants! So cast your vote and lobby your friends to help you win. One vote per person and the contest will close at midnight, EST on Tuesday, December 1. Go!





















Thank you again so much for playing along, and to @recyclingZychal for offering to host such a wonderful giveaway, just in time for the holiday season. That's the spirit! And speaking of, we're big fans of game environments here at BOS-HQ and may we also point you toward this for either yourself of that special gamer someone on your holiday list. Cheers!

Not happy hour

Superwoman, @Jerseyshorejen took a minute to think of us on her walk back to the car after completing Philadelphia's 1/2 marathon last weekend. We're completely humbled.

Sting ray

Reader Carrie came upon this fish out of water outside the Cole Haan store on Philadelphia's Walnut Street.

Feeding time

Chayoung found this fella locked up and crying for help.

Close knit

On this Thanksgiving day, we are so grateful for all you kind readers who stop in to look at the subjects of this funny little blog. And to all you umbrellarazzi who have come face to face with one of our subjects in the wild, and have "gotten it". Thank you.

A happy and filling Thanksgiving to you and yours!



We count at least 4 handles in this pile-up, but wouldn't be surprised if there were more hiding.

Bringing people together

Remember a few months ago when we posted this? Well the other photographer was indeed a BOS reader; Becky recently emailed us four photos she'd been saving on her phone for months, and this was one. Obviously we can't help but wonder if they are single and should go on a blind date and fall madly in love and give away little umbrella favors at their wedding.

But until then, we'll settle for: Awesomeness.

Awesome like easy-to-assemble furniture and delicious meatballs

What is? Getting our first submission from SWEDEN!

The lovely Sofie Karlsborn dropped into our inbox with this delightful montage for your enjoyment. Terrific!









While you're here, don't forget to vote in the caption contest for your chance to win an adorable (or manly, whichever) upcycled umbrella HOOD!

Caption Contest #2

The second Better Off Soaked Giveaway is brought to you by the extremely creative and talented Recycling Zychal who has generously offered to gift a custom-made Upcycled Umbrella Hood to one of you lucky readers. The winner gets to choose a fabric from her Etsy page, the Eco-Fi felt lining and snap enclosure. Your final product will look like this.

Like the last contest, everyone who leaves a caption for one of the umbrella photos posted below is entered, and you may enter once for every photo. However, now with more awesome! Instead of using a random number generator, this time we're going to let you readers (and your friends on Twitter and Facebook!) vote for the winner. Create and leave your captions from now until Midnight, Sunday, November 29th. Then voting for the favorite caption will be held Monday and Tuesday.

Without further ado - the candidates! Create one caption for any or all of the five photos taken by our artist, Taryn Zychal. Indicate in your comment which photo the caption is for. Have fun, and good luck!

PHOTO 1:


PHOTO 2:


PHOTO 3:


PHOTO 4:


PHOTO 5:


Artist's background in her own words:

I started Recycling Zychal on Earth Day of 2009, but the idea of making dog coats from broken umbrellas started about 5 years ago when I bought an umbrella at the salvation army. It was teal and had white whales along the edge, it was really cute, but found out when I got home that it was unrepairable and broken. I couldn't bare to throw it out, and I knew I would eventually think of something to do with it. I tucked it away and a year later got my first pug, Jake. The idea struck me to make him a dog coat from the broken umbrella after a whale print collar had made me remember that I had the fabric. At the time I didn't know how to sew so the original prototype is glued together. I wound up entering it into ReadyMade Magazine's Maguyver Broken Umbrella Challenge and it came in runner up, but I had received so much attention for it, I decided to learn to sew and start the company. I stuck to just custom-fit dog coats for awhile, but I have expanded to the HOOD, which comes from my Polish roots and is a new-school version of the babushka. I also have Man HOODs which will be debuting on the site next week, Kitty Toys that help raise money for a no-kill shelter in Arizona and am launching a few more items before the holidays, all of which are made partly by salvaged broken umbrella fabric and utilize the liquid resistant properties of the material. I think of myself as less of a "crafter" and more of a product designer who just uses umbrella nylon as my medium.

So, in short: Taryn is awesome. And if you need another reason why, she also said that she'll donate $1 to the Morris Animal Refuge in Center City Philadelphia for every broken umbrella donated to her.

Follow her here.
And a very special thanks to @stylestance who connected us by featuring us on her blog on the same day! Heart! Swelling!

Nature, nurturing

Isn't the ivy just saying "don't worry little brolly, we love you just the way you are."

Another first-time submitter! Thanks JoAnne, who spotted ole rusty during a walk around Wilmington, Delaware!

Dorm storm

Looks like we can spot three, maybe that's a fourth peeking out in the back there? Must've been a convention.

Another from Becky, who sent us quite a few that she's been collecting!

Midnight stroll

Via our Argentine correspondent, @jpstamm.

I'm a fool to do your dirty work

Well aren't we steely.

New reader Ashley from Rosamond, California, sent in this scoundrel, and says that she had just visited this blog for the first time when she spotted it a few hours later. We think she's a natural.

Fate!
Love!

Victorian lady

The hoop skirt is enviable, sure, but that corset is a feat of engineering m'lady.

Sent by Becky, in Philadelphia - a first timer!

Swarm

Steve from Philadelphia saw this fella reaching for help in Center City, Philadelphia. Unfortunately, she couldn't be saved and was swallowed by Fall.

Snap trap

The day started fine
We stopped for coffee, and then
Something... I just snapped.

The first of two sent by @WhitneyBender

Hasty retreat

Ipod's fault, music
blaring. He almost missed stop
Yet I'm left behind.

A second sent in by @WhitneyBender in one day.

All aboard

@SweenITsent this over the wire from Grand Central Station

Maximum security, minimum coverage

Via our Hoboken correspondent, Andrea

What's your sleep number?

1?
5?
10,000 dead leaves?

@Parkview sent this skeleton along to us from Malcolm X Park in Philadelphia

Rubber sole wanted

Couldn't hurt, right?


We discovered this one just off Philadelphia's Broad Street earlier this Summer.

Well-spoken

Umbrella Chief, Robin Bogg, sent this London crash victim our way via Twitter.

Bat nap

First-timer umbrellarazza Jacquelyn sends us this snoozer from New York's subway system.

Pop quiz, you long-time readers. Did Jacquelyn's snap trigger your memory to a similar one sent in from another umbrellarazzi earlier this year?

Any way you slice it, you're soaked

Put that in your head-
Line and print it, satire boy.
Unapeeling ire!

Karen sent this newsmonger to us from Park Slope

Habeas corpus

I'm not litigious
Per se, but this seems like un-
lawful treatment, no?

We spotted this one in our favorite stretch - 16th and Spring Garden!

Fall apart

You love us when we're
Pretty. Colors, cov'rage, shade.
Fall burial ground.


@whitneybender found this poor fella asleep in Philadelphia

Ruin

California-based reader @howardweaver sends us this one, which he spotted during a recent visit to Rome while walking between the Coliseum and the Forum. We can't remember from our Latin classes who was the Roman God of rainfall.

'Brella-con

Three of our most prolific 'razzi were together when they spotted this cluster, first snapping from across the street and then re-sending this one when they discovered the third on the other side. Great find!

Nosedive

Another gem from @gaillary during her visit to Manhattan.

Horseshoes and hand grenades

Reader @gaillary says she was visiting New York this summer when she came across this flatliner.

Shined

It must've been a Maybach.

Our 1st Chicago submission sent in by @emveebe