Unlike the traditional rain poncho, the more stylish and feminine ponchette is sleeveless and made for warm summer storms that come on out of the blue. This design takes advantage of the light-weight yet durable and waterproof material of the umbrella and uses the umbrella's Velcro fasteners to stay shut rather than buttons or a zipper. Organic thread is the only other ingredient. Each ponchette requires approximately 2 umbrellas.

The ponchette is made from the triangular wedges of abandoned umbrella material, sewn together in a mosaic pattern to create a unique palette for each one. Designs can be as simple as black on black, or as daring as plaid on paisley, depending on the umbrellas.

Adding to the simplicity of the design is a deep pocket which enables you to stuff the entire garment neatly inside itself, making it easy to store before or after a storm.

For larger scale production of the umbrella ponchette, street vendors who sell umbrellas could be paid to collect broken ones, and could advertise that they do so. If it were possible to get many vendors to do this, people would begin to know that their broken umbrellas could be left with a vendor, rather than thrown out. Another way could be to pay homeless people to collect them, and bring them to shelters for reimbursement, much like soda cans.

For this contest, I plan to collect source materials myself, plucking them from the New York City streets where abandoned umbrellas are plentiful on rainy days. I may also do custom designs through my website, www.rowboatstuff.com, where people can send me their broken umbrellas and design their own ponchette.

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