After three generations of helping Vancouverites stay dry, the Umbrella Shop announced this past week it will be closing its doors by the end of the year.
The family tradition began when Isadore (Izzy) Flader, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, came to Canada as a young boy in the early 1900s. His family settled in Toronto where he grew up, met and married Ida, and found work fixing umbrellas.
“He just picked it up as a new immigrant,” said granddaughter Corry Flader. “He found that he was good with his hands.”
Izzy could not afford to open a store, Flader said, so he would go door-to-door asking if people had umbrellas that needed repairs, carrying out the work while sitting on the front steps of the home.
As the story goes, one day Izzy met a train porter who told him about the rainforest surrounding Vancouver. He was sold, and the couple packed up their four young children and all their belongings and headed west.
The family moved around a lot in the first few years in the city, but by the early 1940s established a factory with retail frontage on Pender and Howe streets.
The store has had a few locations over the years, its Granville Island location is already closed, leaving just the West Broadway and Pender Street locations.
Flader, president of the Umbrella Shop and, she proudly adds, a third-generation umbrella maker, joined the family business in 2002.
In addition to making rain umbrellas, over the years the Umbrella Shop has also become known for making the large, black reflective umbrellas used on movie sets, as well as patio umbrellas.
As the business started winding down, the factory ceased operations — meaning no more custom work, special orders, custom printing or repairs. The domestic line is officially out of stock and the company is in the process of liquidating its stock.
Flader, who’s retiring for health reasons, said at the rate stock is selling the Umbrella Shop could be closed to the public by the end of November.
The impending closure has been getting a lot of attention. Flader said that the statement posted on the Umbrella Shop Facebook page on Friday has had more than 3,500 comments. And she’s received many messages from customers.
“We’ve being getting such beautiful letters of thanks,” Flader said.
She adds that the business of making quality umbrellas isn’t necessarily a lucrative one.
“They’re really labours of love.”
“The nice thing about producing quality umbrellas is that although it’s farewell for the Umbrella Shop, it’s also not forever and it certainly isn’t goodbye,” Flader posted on Facebook. “Our designs and love will live on in the rainy streets around the world, but it started with you Vancouver.
“Thank you for supporting local businesses and understanding the challenges and beauty behind the finished product. Thank you for giving us the honour of sheltering you from storms, no matter how temporary.”
@JessicaEKerr
