TRAY 6 Umbrellas and More

TRAY6 calls the great state of California home. We’re proud of the efforts that California has undergone to make our communities & state a great place for both our fans and the environment. One community in particular has just made headlines – Manhattan Beach. They have just been granted the approval to officially ban plastic bags from their shops & stores. As of January 14, 2012 – plastic bags are officially being forced out of this chic California beach community. A quote from the City of Manhattan Beach’s website reads;

“As a first step toward reducing single-bag use, the Manhattan Beach City Council passed an ordinance banning the distribution of plastic bags at the point-of-sale for all retail establishments in Manhattan Beach in July 2008. After being on hold for a few years due to a lawsuit brought by the “Save the Plastic Bag Coalition,” the City’s plastic bag ordinance will begin implementation on January 14, 2012.”

Stores in the community will have until April 14th, 2012 before the ban is officially in place to allow for transition. Shop owners are asked to encourage their patrons to bring their own reusable shoppers for purchases.

Why the ban the plastic bag all together? Research conducted by the City of Manhattan Beach was presented as follows;

“According to the California Integrated Waste Management Board, approximately 6 billion plastic bags are consumed in Los Angeles County each year. That means that the average Los Angeles County resident takes home 600 plastic bags in one year.  According to the US EPA annual Municipal Solid Waste Report (MSW) from 2005, less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled in the United States. And, since plastic bags are lightweight and easily caught in the wind, they make up a significant amount of the litter found in storm drains that lead directly to the beach and ocean.”

Wow! Over 600 bags? Yikes! It sure makes one rethink their whole shopping experience. Thankfully the successful rise of popularity in reusable shoppers is making them easy to come by and fans are offered more and more designs and selections to customize their shopping needs! Have you checked out our selection of reusable shoppers on TRAY6.com?

What are your thoughts on the plastic bag ban? Do you use reusable shoppers? Do you think the ban will catch on in your hometown?

Every year Pantone names a color of the year. This year Pantone has named Tangerine Tango as the color of the year and we’re bound to see it emerging among all the spring fashion trends. Alongside this vibrant color, Pantone has also named a few other colors that we’re sure to see gracing catwalks and store displays. Some of the other contenders include Solar Power, Driftwood & Sodalite Blue – and we must say; they’re all fabulous!

Over here at TRAY6, we’re excited for the launch into spring fashion. To get everyone in the mood we’ve paired up some of our favorite TRAY6 pieces with some of the hottest colors coming off the runway:

Tell us what you think! Do you think you’ll be sporting any of these fantastic new fashions or adding any of the new Pantone picks to your wardrobe??

At TRAY6 we deal with umbrellas on a daily basis. You probably encounter umbrellas on a daily basis as well – even if they are just stored away for a rainy day. So we thought we’d release some fun little facts about the good ole umbrella that you may not have known before! Here’s a little history on how the umbrella got its name!

An umbrella or parasol is a canopy designed to protect against rain or sunlight. The term parasol usually refers to an item designed to protect from the sun; umbrella refers to a device more suited to protect from rain. Often the difference is the material; as some parasols are not waterproof. Parasols are often meant to be fixed to one point and often used with patio tables or other outdoor furniture. Umbrellas are almost exclusively hand-held portable devices; however, parasols can also be hand-held.

The word umbrella comes from the Latin word umbra, meaning shade or shadow (the Latin word, in turn, derives from the Ancient Greek ómbros [όμβρος].) The word “umbrella” evolved from the Latin “umbella” (an “umbel” is a flat-topped rounded flower) or “umbra,” meaning “shaded.”

Now you can impress your friends with some fun new trivia!

source

Everyone at TRAY6 wishes you a happy & safe New Year’s Eve!

May it be as fabulous as you!

2011 was a big year for TRAY6. We launched a brand new website, brought our social media outlets to life & got this blog off the ground. So we thought we’d take a look back before we enter 2012 with a bang!

A Review of TRAY6′s Blog Stats for 2011:

Our blog kicked off in June 2011 with a New TRAY6 blog! 

The busiest day on our blog was November 3rd, 2011 in response to our post What’s Currently Inspiring Us. However, the busiest month for blog traffic has been December 2011 by far! The most popular post views from December have been our gift guides.

The following websites have led people to discover our blog: Google, Google Image Search, Facebook, TRAY6.com, Twitter & AOL Search.

People have stumbled upon our blog using these search phrases:

• Umbrella Basil
• Holiday Umbrellas
• Best Umbrellas for Travel
• Rain Umbrellas
• Crazy Woman’s Rain Jacket

When you work with accessories that follow closely to fashion trends, we often look ahead at what might become the latest style & trend to hit the streets. This dictates future inspiration and designs that make their way into the TRAY6 design lab. Since fashion & accessories are often changing, we thought we’d make some fun predictions towards what 2012 will bring our way!

1. Purples are on their way out. Nipping at their heels are oranges. We think orange will play a big role in 2012 – in fashion and accessories. Prepare to see oranges, tangerines, & sunset making their debut everywhere.

2. Big bags are making a come back. While we’ve seen adorable clutches taking over the last year or so – the big bag will continue to reign king. A woman needs a place to store all  her goodies, as well as making a fashion statement wherever she goes.

3. Business casual is going to find itself far from the office. We’re predicting blazers continue to make their re-entrance to both the office & fashion world. Paired over a cute dress or even jeans and cute tee – your outfit is automatically taken to the next level. Add some bright red lipstick and you’re ready for a night on the town, or an all-nighter in the office.

4. The return of furs & leathers. Call it a tribute to our viking ancestors if you will, but we’re definitely seeing an increased trend in furs (faux of course!) and leather jackets being paired with sweet baby doll dresses making their way through the fashion magazine. We’re betting we’ll see longer & longer jackets as this trend rises – as well as tassels & fringe on matching bags & accessories.

5. Long is long gone. The era of the floor length maxi dress & gowns are gone. We predict in 2012 the hemline will continue to get higher & higher. Formal or fresh & casual – you’ll see these adorable above the knee dresses making their arrival known. More & more dresses are being made to pair to with shoes that can be shown off, instead of being hidden under a floor gracing gown.

During this time of year a lot of thought goes into giving back. There’s someone we need to keep in mind this season; Mother Earth. Without her, we wouldn’t have such a wonderful place to celebrate the holidays. So we’re ready to offer up some GREEN holiday tips to help everyone do their part in reducing, reusing and recycling. If everyone just partakes in one or two of these tips, we’ll all make an impact!

1. Carpool: There are often a ton of holiday festivities happening around this time of year, whether it’s a work party, family get together or even just a group of friends gathering for a night out on the town. Think  about carpooling this season. Reducing the amount of diesel and fuel emissions going into the atmosphere helps everyone! Going to a lot of the same shin-digs as your friends or family? Create a carpool roster so everyone has a chance to drive!

2. Reusable Gift Wrapping: Every year tons of paper and gift bags are thrown out after they unearth the goodies that are inside…Yikes! This year, why not use a gift wrap that can be reused? Such a reusable shopping bag! Not only are they great for placing gifts inside, they’re a gift within themselves. They also allow the recipient to cut down on using plastic bags when they’re out shopping. Plus it saves you the hassle of measuring and taping and cutting all that wrapping paper. Reusable shopping bags come in some many fun and colorful colors now adays you’ll be sure to find just the right one for the recipient you have in mind!

3. E-cycle: Getting a lot of nifty new gadgets this season? Are they to replace some of your more out of date, no longer functional electronics? Instead of just tossing those out of date iPods or laptops or cellphones – consider e-cycling. The EPA reports that in 2005 approximately 2 million tons of e-waste were generated in the United States, of which around a mere 350,000 tons were recycled. Sites like Buymytronics.com offer the chance for you to cash-in while e-cycling. They’ll buy back certain generations of electronic goodies and if they’re no longer working or worth anything, you can still send them off for recycling (and they’ll pay for shipping)! It’s a better alternative than just tossing it out.  So let’s keep all those old electronics out of the landfills this holiday season.

Fashion plays a large part in the inspiration behind the designs in our umbrellas. We often draw from styles we see gracing magazines and runways, as well as every day fashion. We then pull out all the aspects that we love and create some truly unique and exciting patterns that end up on our umbrellas. But occasionally its hard to go in the reverse order – how can you make your TRAY6 umbrella work for your fashion needs? With holiday weathering often leaning towards needing an umbrella to get you from venue to venue, don’t fall back on that bland and boring old umbrella you have laying around. Be fierce with fashion and check out some of our fantastic holiday party looks that work around some of our favorite printed umbrellas. Take a peek!

The Romantic Holiday Party featuring the Love Love Love Stick  Umbrella

The Black Tie Holiday Party with the Black Pinstripe T6 Umbrella

The Unforgettable New Years Eve Holiday Party with the Perch Crimson Stick Umbrella

The Punk Rock Holiday Concert with the Pinwheel Stick Umbrella

Which look will you rock this holiday season?? 

Remember: We are currently offering FREE Shipping on orders over $75 from our site! Order by December 16th for Christmas delivery!