Bamboo and thread in the SHENGHE workshop

The artwork on a SHENGHE umbrella is only one view. Underneath, bamboo ribs radiate from the shaft and coloured threads are worked between them. Their spacing and pattern change the view you carry beneath the canopy.

A reporter visiting SHENGHE’s Shigu workshop in March 2026 watched bamboo ribs being smoothed by hand and red and green threads passing through the frame. Xiangtan University’s later visit recorded mortise-and-tenon joinery in the bamboo structure. These are details observed in this workshop, alongside the four-piece paper canopy.

Choose the structure as well as the artwork

Our current catalogue lists an 84 cm canopy with 28 ribs and a 100 cm canopy with 32 ribs. Both sizes offer partial and full lacing. Full lacing uses more rows of holes for a denser pattern; partial lacing leaves more space between the threads.

The current specification also includes thicker, hand-smoothed ribs and a shaped handle. Together, the frame, threadwork and handle define how the finished umbrella looks from below and feels in the hand.

When choosing your umbrella, consider both sides: the artwork across the canopy, and the bamboo and lacing beneath it. They belong to one construction and one design.

Further reading: Hunan Daily workshop visit, March 2026 · Xiangtan University workshop visit, July 2026.