Umbrella dilemma

Hi everyone! I've started face painting at our local market... but with the long hot summer months ahead here in Australia, I've needed to think about providing some shade for myself.... plenty of trees at the market, but I'm thinking that as the stalls are increasing in number, I might miss out on a tree if I'm not there early enough!

Anyway, as I'm not quite ready to buy a big tent for myself (goodness only knows how I'd go erecting it by myself either.. I don't want to be reliant on anyone else... I want to be able to set everything up all on my own), I've bought a market umbrella.. a gorgeous bright sky blue one.... the only snag is, the base weighs an absolute ton! Hubby has said that he will go in the garage and try and design another base, but with the way my hubby works, I may not see that base for the next 3 years, if at all!!!

I'm beginning to think that the umbrella wasn't such a great idea! If there was an easy way to transport that weighty base from the car to the market, it would be manageable... but as I'm not as young as I used to be, I can't really carry heavy weights any more.... any ideas anyone?

a wagon? easier to pull than carry.

ambercat wrote:Hi everyone! I've started face painting at our local market... but with the long hot summer months ahead here in Australia, I've needed to think about providing some shade for myself.... plenty of trees at the market, but I'm thinking that as the stalls are increasing in number, I might miss out on a tree if I'm not there early enough!

Anyway, as I'm not quite ready to buy a big tent for myself (goodness only knows how I'd go erecting it by myself either.. I don't want to be reliant on anyone else... I want to be able to set everything up all on my own), I've bought a market umbrella.. a gorgeous bright sky blue one.... the only snag is, the base weighs an absolute ton! Hubby has said that he will go in the garage and try and design another base, but with the way my hubby works, I may not see that base for the next 3 years, if at all!!!

I'm beginning to think that the umbrella wasn't such a great idea! If there was an easy way to transport that weighty base from the car to the market, it would be manageable... but as I'm not as young as I used to be, I can't really carry heavy weights any more.... any ideas anyone?

www.everywherechair.com  I like this one and I saw another one last month just like this but cheaper. It folds up and and is in a rolling case. I saw it in blue & white and red & white. Just bing or Google it. At Bing it give you images and when you see one you like click the pic. and it will take you to the website. I Google and bing everything and if I want to learn how to do something I YouTube it. The internet is a wonderful thing. But this is an easy table with umbrella and pull out stools an easy one woman setup.   Wish you the best. oh yes, and I just Google-ed fold up table with umbrella and there it was. I am thinking about this very same table and umbrella for one day event or a few hour event. I like it.

Thanks girls! Hey Nikki... yes, your suggestion made me think of using hubby's sack truck to transport everything.. not very elegant, but at least I could move that darned base!!! I'm thinking that I could manage to heave it in and out of the car at least!!

Gypsy, thanks too for your idea!! That umbrella, table and seats looks so nice!! Trouble is, I stand to paint so I think the seats would get in the way somewhat.. I've wondering how easy it would be to paint with me sitting down and the child standing... I do have arthritis in my neck which is a pest... I have to work at a set angle, otherwise my neck completely siezes up!!

ambercat wrote:Thanks girls! Hey Nikki... yes, your suggestion made me think of using hubby's sack truck to transport everything.. not very elegant, but at least I could move that darned base!!! I'm thinking that I could manage to heave it in and out of the car at least!!

Gypsy, thanks too for your idea!! That umbrella, table and seats looks so nice!! Trouble is, I stand to paint so I think the seats would get in the way somewhat.. I've wondering how easy it would be to paint with me sitting down and the child standing... I do have arthritis in my neck which is a pest... I have to work at a set angle, otherwise my neck completely siezes up!!

I stand to paint also, I can paint faster when I am standing. But that umbrella will keep your paints shaded and give you some peace from time to time. I have to paint sitting down when I am on cement and I use a rolling stool like the chefs do. It's because of a sciatic nerve that always pops up if I stand too long on cement. But I can stand and paint 10 hours on grass. I also think that umbrella positioned in the right way would and could cast a shadow on you too. I did it 2 weeks ago with an double wide umbrella duck taped to my director's chair. It shaded my paints and me. It was at a festival where they provide the space (on cement) and the canopy in the air 40 ft. up so most of the day the sun was horrible. I went to the car and got that umbrella. I know what I say in my contract about shade and if no shade they will pay for me to set up a tent. But this was a festival and no contract except the one that protects them and holds them harmless, plus they already had my money to get into said festival. So I was not about to just walk off. I also did not want to create a stink with all the people looking on. I did not want to tarnish my image so I made do. It worked out. But that event coordinator knows that everyone needs shade and especially a face painter.

It a good thing it's well weighted though, I heard from another vendor that once he just erected his event canopy just as a gust of wind came and picked it up and carried it across the lot to nail a poor teenager in the head...could be a bad thing.

thouartbeautiful wrote:It a good thing it's well weighted though, I heard from another vendor that once he just erected his event canopy just as a gust of wind came and picked it up and carried it across the lot to nail a poor teenager in the head...could be a bad thing.

This was the event's canopy and it was 40ft. in the air. My double wide umbrella would not have gone anywhere because I weight everything down. But there was no wind that day just hot, and lots of sun in my face and paints were melting. But it is still an umbrella duck taped to a chair and I was under it. I have had one of these tents take off on me before at the beach because it was not staked down properly. I learn my lessons quick. I lost the day trying to post pics. so I did it through photobucket but can't get the result that I want. But it's something that they do show if a person hits the right link. I feel blessed by having something link up.
Thank you and you pics. are beautiful.

Did you see my post in the show n tell? I use an Iphone as well to upload pictures from photobucket but it doesn't allow me to "host" photos from my phone onto this page either, so that's not just you.

OH no it is just me. I am not html or computer literate in any way. I copied things from the browser bar where my pics. were stored into the 1st box and then to the 2nd box but nothing. that code that starts with href=http I never copied or have seen the href letters. I read some more instructions and I am stumped. I see what you sent but the pic. cuts off some of the stuff between lines. So I can't put the full url in there because I can't see all the letters and numbers. at the end things are missing when it goes to the next line. I am trying once more. Thanks

one trick is when your curser is in the link box to copy the code press the "ctrl" button and the letter "a" at the same time, this is a quick key to select all of the text. Then use the right click to select "copy"

this is how a lot of people at our local market attach umbrellas to the tables. (our tables are concrete slabs but should work on wood too) You just get a piece of PVC pipe bigger in diameter than your umbrella and attach a really big c-clamp to it with small clamps (to stay permanently) then just hook it to the table... don't need a base that way.

Another option is to ask for shade/canopy from the venue. Just make it part of your contract.

anniel wrote:Another option is to ask for shade/canopy from the venue. Just make it part of your contract.

My event was a festival and they did provide us with setup and shelter. As I said the canopy was 40 ft. up. That's just great and the way they like it but it's so high that the sun can shine under and through that high of a setup. As I stated before it is a festival so I pay to get into that festival months before it happens. There are no cancellations once they except you. I have a contract for parties and other events but you can't do that for a festival. Most festivals I do are the ones that I provide my own tent and that is the way I like it. But when a festival comes along and it is to good to let it pass by just because they provide the shelter. I think I can deal. It had a canopy so what do I do leave? Then they keep my money and I don't make the 3 nights and 2 days of a festival and more money lost. Well sometimes you have to improvise and do the best of what you have available to make that money and not walk away. The canopies were that high for everyone so how could I ask for something different. Yes I could of moaned and groaned and made myself and everyone else miserable but I chose to smile and do the best with what I had. Have you ever heard that necessity is the mother of inventions.

Well, had fun two weekends ago... I had booked a spot at a family fun day where stall owners were allowed to drive their cars onto the oval.... the organiser assured me that we would have a spot on that oval... so hubby rigged up an attachment so we could attach the umbrella onto the back of our ute... Drove down there only to find when we arrived that there was no space left for us!! So disappointing!! I took my table and paints down onto the oval and thought, well, I'll just paint for a little while as I was out in the full sun... hmmm... I hadn't even got my table set up and there was already a queue!!! Consequently, I painted out in the sun for nearly two hours before I finally had to stop as I was getting scorched and my paints had turned to mush!! I felt so bad for the kids who wanted to have their faces done, but I had to get out of that sun...  

Thanks for the suggestion Tammy.. unfortunately though, I have a very lightweight, roll up table which I carry in a bag.. so definitely not enough weight there to secure my huge umbrella!!

And yes Annie.... if there is an option, I will make sure I get shade next time!!!

So it's back to the drawing board for hubby.. I have a big Christmas outdoor event coming up on the 20th December... I hope to goodness he has something sorted by then!

Hi everyone! Just thought I'd pop back in here and show you the idea my hubby came up with for my umbrella stand.... he had a spare car wheel in the shed, cleaned it up and spray painted it a lovely bright blue!! It works brilliantly! I was out face painting in a gale the other day and the umbrella flapped around, but didn't budge!! I'm really happy with it!! Plus, while it is heavy, I can easily carry it... Yay!   

ambercat wrote:Hi everyone! Just thought I'd pop back in here and show you the idea my hubby came up with for my umbrella stand.... he had a spare car wheel in the shed, cleaned it up and spray painted it a lovely bright blue!! It works brilliantly! I was out face painting in a gale the other day and the umbrella flapped around, but didn't budge!! I'm really happy with it!! Plus, while it is heavy, I can easily carry it... Yay!   

I made a gun case kit and was thinking of a way to put shade over it for one day event or an event that might last 4 or 5 hrs. A place where I don't want to hassle with a tent or there is no room for a tent like Jackson Square. This is a wonderful idea. Now I am off to look for a big umbrella. Where did you find your big blue umbrella? Thank you so much for sharing, it's appreciated.
.

I've seen your gorgeous gun case kit on Facebook... soooo lovely!!! Absolutely beautiful!! Wish I had the talent to be able to do something like that myself... my finger constantly hovers over the 'buy' button on ebay for a guitar case, but I know that if I bought one, I'd never have the skills to be able to transform it into a grand face painting kit as you clever girls have done!!

Anyway, I bought the umbrella at Ray's Outdoors, a big camping store in Australia... there are cheaper shade umbrellas to be bought in regular stores, but I wanted a sturdily built one that wouldn't fall to bits the first time I used it!! It cost me around $60.

Must add though that I do have to 'follow the shade', meaning that as the sun goes overhead, I have to move the umbrella a little bit, but it only takes a minute in between customers.

ambercat Thank you for the compliment on my case. It was a labor of love and time.
I will Google umbrellas at camping and outdoor stores. It just looks so large and just what I need. I have never seen one that big except on patio furniture. I want one but without the patio furniture. I will find it and thank you for getting back to me. Happy Painting!