Largest collection of Umbrella Covers

Have you taken pride looking at   the mundane stuffs   of everyday.   Do you derive wonder   in the simplest   things of   life.  If your answer to both these question is negative then we believe you must contact Nancy Hoffman. The   Umbrella Cover Museum   in   the Peaks Island, Maine   is a  museum  that pays tribute to   umbrella  covers. The museum was created and is   curated   by Nancy 3. Hoffman, who has collected more than 600   umbrella covers from over 30 countries.

The idea for the museum came when Hoffman was cleaning out a closet and came across seven umbrella covers. The museum began in Hoffman’s kitchen and was moved to a larger location as the collection grew. The museum’s collection ranges in size from a two-and-a-half-inch  Barbie Doll  cover to a six-foot patio umbrella sleeve. It has also hosted special exhibitions including “People and Their Covers” and “New Umbrella Cover Fashions.

The museum supposed to be  the only one of its kind boast of  over 700 umbrella covers  from nearly 50 countries. The museum is not only about collecting umbrella covers. It's about finding a way to slow down and see the beauty in what may on first glance appear to be a mundane or silly item," says museum founder Nancy 3. Hoffman,    who opened the museum in 1996.  Hoffman, who recently authored the book, "Uncovered And Exposed, A Guide to the World's Only Umbrella Cover Museum," says umbrella covers (also known as sleeves or slipcovers) are being replaced these days with plastic covers instead of traditional fabric. 

  She believes this is why the museum's unique recycling/preservation approach is becoming increasingly important.  An eclectic mix of umbrella covers adorns the museum's walls and ceiling. They range from a Japanese mini-spa cover with an internal massaging pod to a cover made from discarded gum wrappers. Most of the covers that   have found their way in to the museum have  been donated by people  who have heard or visited the museum.

In the process Hoffman attempts to  make  an ordinary look like an  extraordinary .It  was about understanding the essence  that even small things can make a big difference.

The Largest collection of Umbrella covers  counted to more than 700 and was set by Nancy Hoffman at Peaks Island, Maine, United States of America on July 3,2012.