This umbrella is particularly special because it was created by Rachel Max, a woman I met through Hackster.io. She had posted a question about the flow of LED strips on the FLORAbrella and I just happened to respond. We had a good laugh as she never imagined she would meet the creator online. Anyway, her umbrella is a success, with its glorious rainbow LEDs and color matching sensor. Notice how a purple scarf makes the perfect accessory!

Rachel is currently doing research at University of California, Davis and is very excited by her new love of hardware.

After taking coding classes and an electronics class, my focus is shifting towards Digital Media and Industrial Design to explore ways in which sensor technology, product design, and physical computing can improve emotional wellbeing.

You should definitely check out Rachel’s work, including her EL wire bike sash which provides safety, as well as a convenient pocket for valuables. I’m sending extra big high-fives to Rachel for her celebratory completion of this project. If you would like to create your own LED umbrella for spring flings, check out our FLORAbrella learning guide. This is an intermediate project that will transform your street into a Burning Man fest.

Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!