Perth winters have a habit of catching you out. Blue sky at breakfast, sideways rain by lunch. If you're going to carry an umbrella from May to September, it may as well be one that makes you smile at the bus stop.

Enter the Original Duckhead duck umbrella. You've probably spotted one already. The carved wooden duck head handle is hard to miss, and once you've seen it, you start noticing them all over Beaufort Street.

What makes a duck umbrella worth $70?

Fair question. Cheap umbrellas are a $15 lesson in disappointment. One decent gust off the coast and they're inside out in a bin on William Street.

Original Duckhead builds theirs differently. The frame is high strength steel, designed to flex in the wind and pop back into shape rather than snap. The canopy is made from nine recycled plastic bottles with a non toxic waterproof coating. The handle is a single piece of sustainably sourced birch, carved into that unmistakable duck. It opens with one button, weighs 350 grams, and slips into a handbag or backpack. There's a two year warranty behind it, which tells you how long they expect it to last.

The brand is a London based, woman owned B Corp, and they donate 1% of revenue to environmental charities. A brolly with a conscience.

One of the biggest ranges in Australia, in Mount Lawley

Most shops carry a handful of colours. We went a bit further. At Olivia & Grace you'll find nearly 30 designs, from classic solids like Red, Mint and Olive to prints like Palma, Leopard and Arty Cats, plus limited edition collaborations with Meri Meri, Coucou Suzette and Peanuts, featuring Snoopy himself.

And for the little ones, the Duckling range. Same duck, same quality, scaled down for small hands. Matching umbrellas for the school run are entirely acceptable. Encouraged, even.

Where to buy a duck umbrella in Perth

Visit us at 672 Beaufort Street, Mount Lawley, or shop the full Original Duckhead range online. We're a family run local business, orders ship the same day on weekdays, and standard shipping is free over $149. Perfect timing, because the forecast says rain.