Under the Influence: A Conversation with BLUNT’s Greig Brebner on Redesigning Rain.

In an era when most umbrellas are built to surrender, BLUNT stands as an act of quiet defiance. Conceived in New Zealand by Greig Brebner, an engineer with a poetic streak and an allergy to mediocrity, BLUNT emerged from a deceptively simple question: why do we tolerate objects that fail us precisely when we need them most?

The result is less a rain shield and more a study in emotional durability - a tool designed not just to survive a storm, but to change our relationship with it. Brebner’s vision collapses the false divide between design and empathy, between form and feeling. Every BLUNT is a case study in resolved tension: precision-engineered geometry rendered with the tenderness of a handmade instrument.

Engineered for elegance, tested by tantrums from the sky.

It’s no coincidence that design critics have compared BLUNT’s philosophy to the “emotional ergonomics” movement that has shaped 21st-century product design - where the ultimate test of success is not how an object performs, but how it makes its owner feel. Brebner speaks of umbrellas as if they were companions: extensions of trust, presence, and care.

The result is a brand that occupies a rarefied intersection between industrial design and intimacy - one that treats resilience not as rigidity, but as grace under pressure.

From its modular, repairable anatomy to its cult following in design circles from Wellington to Copenhagen, BLUNT is rewriting the lifecycle of an everyday object. It suggests that good design, when truly complete, is not about novelty or noise - it’s about quiet dependability in life’s most exposed moments.

What follows is a conversation with Greig Brebner that ventures well beyond the weather forecast. It’s about craftsmanship as philosophy, the ethics of longevity, and what it means to build beauty that endures — not just in the marketplace, but in memory.

You’ve frequently spoken about designing for “life’s vulnerable moments.” If a downpour is a metaphor for challenge, how do you see BLUNT as a kind of resilience tool - not just an umbrella, but a mindset? 

At BLUNT we hold a deep interest in the emotional experience and connection that people can have with the physical things in their lives. We believe when a product design is fully resolved it should have the ability to make people feel the same emotions that we feel for other people when certain behavioural qualities are met. To own a tool that consistently shows up for you, especially in the most challenging of times, can give you the same feelings of security, confidence and joy that you feel with a solid human relationship. By shooting for this level of trust we know once people experience BLUNT they will never go elsewhere - it's very powerful.

Your modular, repair-not-replace philosophy is almost heretical in a throwaway world. Has there been a point where you had to consciously resist the pressure to cut cost over longevity?

Greig Brebner: We are continuously walking the fine line of producing a product that is compatible with the modern world of product manufacturing while staying true to our values. Our approach is very bespoke in an industry where most initiatives are typically refined for cost efficiency with quality coming a distance second. There is always pressure to cut costs especially in developing markets where we have an up hill battle establishing the brand amongst a plethora of cheaper offerings. We know however that once a market has an understanding of the true value we offer over time the conversations around cost change dramatically. For our genuine fans the premium price point is gladly accepted as they know this initial outlay is long forgotten as they travel along their life journey with their beloved BLUNT protecting them.

The BLUNT tip itself is iconic. How did you land on that as your structural differentiator - and were there earlier tip designs that failed spectacularly?

Greig Brebner: The BLUNT tip design is a winner primarily due to its simplicity. Umbrella design is inherently difficult due to the high number of non-negotiable constraints - there is very little scope for innovation. I tried many concepts for the tip however to meet the requirements of function, geometry, weight, cost, manufacturability it took a very simple concept to meet the challenge. The BLUNT tip is made from a polymer moulding that has 6 integrated hinge points that together work to create a mechanism to do the job. This inexpensive and compact device serves multiple tasks - spreading the tension evenly into the canopy, reinforcing an inherent umbrella weak point, no more dangerous spikes for the eyes and not least they give us our iconic BLUNT canopy shape.

There’s an emotional dimension to your products: the sound of rain, the taut, reassuring canopy. How much of your design process is engineering first, and how much is sculpting emotional response?

Greig Brebner: The design process for me has to be wholistic - like trying to solve a huge puzzle with only one solution. Always looking for win win opportunities - discovering more positive results from fewer inputs. For me if a product is well engineered then it will inherently offer a superior consumer sensory experience. People are more attuned to this they give themselves credit for and inherently know if the complete feeling has been reached. An elegant design solution is often difficult to describe in words - needs to be experienced.

You grew up in your dad’s workshop, and that hands-on, craft sensibility seems woven into BLUNT’s DNA. As BLUNT scales globally, how do you guard that sense of craft and connection in mass production?

Greig Brebner: We guard the sense of connection with our products by putting constant effort into encouraging full product engagement. At BLUNT we believe the more connected people are to how their things are made the better care they will take of them. Our modular design philosophy leans into this belief and can enable even people with low 'hands on' confidence to engage in the repair/upgrade/accessorising of their BLUNT. 

In terms of a human essence in the creation of our products - we know the human care that is required to produce a quality BLUNT canopy. There is a necessity for a high level of genuine craftpersonship in every product made no matter the quantity. Every item slightly unique yet sewn with the utmost accuracy and skill. We are in constant awe of the talent that we partner with to make this happen.

In your voice you often speak of BLUNT being “unbound by convention.” Is there a design taboo you’ve broken (or would like to break) in a future product category?

Greig Brebner: I think the main convention that we challenge at BLUNT is that business success will only come if you can sell more through replacement of product that has a limited lifespan. This mindset we believe is very narrow minded and is the root cause of the excessive consumption problem we have in the world. To approach a product design challenge with the attitude that the product has to give a positive long term experience is very freeing. By focusing on the benefits of the outputs and not the constraints of the inputs  there is far more scope for creating magic in design. 

You’ve hinted at expanding beyond umbrellas in the new brand identity. What’s the first “boring product” you might reimagine next - and why does it excite you?

Proof that Kiwi ingenuity can outsmart both gravity and bad weather.

Greig Brebner: The products that intrigue me the most for design disruption are those that have fallen most as victims of mass production. Generally these products have not evolved in their offering as a consumer experience because all the effort that has gone into them in recent times has been used to make them cheaper. Products that have been static in their form for a long period of time excite me as an opportunity. A slowly evolving category gives time for an updated offering to be relevant long term which is far healthier compared to the rapid obsolescence model of most products today. 

Having said this, currently at BLUNT our excitement for umbrellas has never been higher. We have some very exciting umbrella developments in the pipeline and as our brand grows globally the importance of focusing our limited resource to deliver on one amazing product experience becomes more imperative than ever. Creativity is always burning inside though so who knows what the future will hold!

Sustainability is central to BLUNT’s narrative, yet many sustainable products are still luxury niche. What’s your strategy for making durability and repairability not just premium features, but baseline expectations?

Greig Brebner: The origin story at BLUNT did not have us primarily motivated to create a 'sustainable' umbrella. This is a label that initially snuck up on us purely by being focused on doing the right thing by the consumer. With our products being constructed to last, designed for a high level of human connection and fully repairable, there is a product lifespan potential that is inherently sustainable. At BLUNT we are first and foremost a business that needs to make money for our very survival so our customer experience has to come first. The beautiful thing for us is that we are able to achieve this without any fundamental compromise in staying true to our values and in doing our best to reduce the impact we have on the world around us. The longer we keep an umbrella alive in the care of its owner the better the result for all.

As a brand born in a small country on the edge of the world, BLUNT has international reach. What do you believe New Zealand (and Australia) bring to global design that gives you an edge?

Greig Brebner:I think in this part of the world we love to do more with less. This possibly stems from our ancestors having to make do with what they had in order to survive in such remote and under developed environments. The tighter the constraints you have in a design challenge the more magical the solution will be if you can find it. This is what attracted me to the idea of working on the umbrella project - there was something so pure about the challenge - zero room for fudging it. 

The other attribute that we have in spades is our belief that anything can be achieved - we are not bound by centuries of convention that inflict thinking in most other nations. Our clear mindedness and our ability to see opportunity through the clutter of the developed world is also a unique attribute. We have an inherent restlessness to not accept things the way they are - we always want to be improving.

Finally, when things go wrong (say a blindsiding defect or design backlash), do you prefer to address it transparently, quietly fix, or lean into apology and storytelling? What’s your philosophy around brand fragility and recovery?

Greig Brebner: When things go wrong we definitely panic slowly. In our experience issues are never as bad as they seem on the surface and we need to have a healthy perspective in order to manage a situation effectively. We know that the underlying intentions for our actions always come from the right place and we have no reason to hide from our mistakes. We are only human and the partners we ultimately want in our BLUNT world are very reasonable types with a high level of understanding.  These are definitely the times when the most growth occurs and also the times when the team is bound closer together by a common interest to be better. It's a journey of continual improvement.

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Words and questions by AW.

Answers by Greg Brebner.

Photos courtesy of Blunt Umbrellas.