"Established in 1979, Umbra’s head office is located in Scarborough and they export millions of dollars worth of housewares worldwide ranging from clocks to garbage pails"
"Umbra is a leading manufacturer of housewares with 70% of sales to the USA."
"Umbra, built its reputation for well-designed, well-priced plastic dustpans, garbage cans, and picture frames through the 1980s. Next, it entered into plastic furniture, which had been largely neglected by the Canadian industry because of the requisite expensive machinery and tooling."
, "Umbra, one of North America's premiere housewares manufacturers, designs for casual living. Such lowly products such as blinds, garbage cans and soap dishes become chic best-sellers. Recognized for its sophisticated use of colourful plastics, Umbra also manufactures in aluminum, ceramic, glass and wood.
In the seventies, the graphic designer Paul Rowan designed catalogues for his friends Les Mandelbaum, owner of THC (Trans Canada Hardware), Toronto, a manufacturer of metal cases for rock band equipment. Rowan convinced Mandelbaum that there was an untapped market for decorative paper window shades. In 1979 they founded Umbra Shades, which sold to independent stores like Urban Mode in Toronto. The firm quickly expanded sales to the U.S.
In the 1982 recession, Umbra moved into plastics by persuading underutilized automotive component manufacturing plants to produce their household products like swing-top garbage cans (Umbra's best seller). In 1984 Umbra moved part of its operation to Buffalo, New York. Private labelling became a major revenue source for the company, and supplying coasters for Starbucks was one of its earliest contracts.
Umbra re-energized the drapery market in 1992 with cash-and-carry kits featuring linen panels and decorative hardware. In 1999 it began producing furniture, including side tables and chairs.
Paul Rowan trained as a graphic designer at Toronto's George Brown College, graduating in 1973. As vice-president of design, he runs an in-house department with the staff designers David Quan, Henry Huang and Liz Crawford. Independent designers who have shaped Umbra's product line include Helen Kerr, Miles Keller, Karim Rashid, Scot Laughton and Paul Epp. Mandelbaum manages the client base, which includes Pottery Barn, Bed Bath & Beyond and Crate & Barrel, all in the U.S. The $100 million company exports 85 per cent of its products to the U.S."