July 20, 2025: The Shibomi Effect
Have you heard of the Shibomi?
Pronounced Sha-boo-me.
Not long ago, a strange sight began appearing along the shores of Oak Island. Flowing and flapping. Bright blue and gold. These coverings — half tent, half parachute — protect beachgoers for hours.
Shibumi Shade was founded in 2016 by three UNC graduates fed up with heavy umbrellas during Emerald Isle vacations.
So in 2015, they created a prototype using PVC pipe and hand-sewn material. A year later, they tested their first 32 handmade canopies on North Carolina beaches.
And word spread, fast.
In only four years, they left their day jobs to run the company full-time. Today, you’ll find their invention on over 800 shorelines around the world, with more than 300,000 sold.
This afternoon, sitting beneath a similar covering, we looked up and down the oceanfront at a parade of sky-colored fabric whipping in the wind.
A genius idea, rooted in the Carolinas.
Still waiting for a cooler that rolls easily on sand.