In August 2000, I founded Bumbershoot, Inc., a full-service writing and editing company.

Many people have suspected that the word “bumbershoot” was a British slang term for “umbrella,” but nothing could be farther from the truth. According to Merriam-Webster online, the term is actually American slang that became popular in the 1890s. Although the specific origins of the term have been lost to history, the fun part is to consider how the word was crafted from its different parts.

It appears that “bumber” was modified from the “umbr-” in “umbrella” (with the initial “b” added for emphasis) and the “shoot” was altered from the “-chute” in “parachute” (since an umbrella looks somewhat like a parachute when it’s opened). The important thing here, though, is that this word was specifically created to serve a purpose.

At Bumbershoot, Inc., this is what we do – word-crafting. We take disparate parts of an idea, outline, document, website, etc. and we turn it into something that helps you communicate well with your clients. Editing, too, is a form of word-crafting. Here, we take your existing text and rearrange, correct, and fix it up so that your message is received loudly, clearly, and cleanly.

A bumbershoot is a handy tool that covers a lot of area, and we pride ourselves on being just that. No matter what you need, we do have you covered!