Throwing Shade: Come rain or shine, a Basil Bangs brolly has your back

If you’ve ever clocked a striking, arty umbrella on an Australian shoreline (or poolside at a fancy hotel) – the kind that makes you go ‘I want that!’ – there’s a good chance it’s a Basil Bangs. Founded by Krista Huebner and her husband, Mike Durante, the Australian outdoor homewares brand is best known for its beautifully engineered umbrellas, rugs and other outdoor essentials (sign us up for a deck’s chair!) designed to make time spent outside in the Aussie sun last longer, look better and feel just that little bit more luxe.

For 17 years, Basil Bangs has built its reputation on quality, longevity and craftsmanship, working directly with Italy’s top textile mills to create products made to withstand sun, salt and time. Mike’s Italian heritage underpins the brand’s deep respect for traditional manufacturing, material integrity and design that values endurance over trends.

Now, Basil Bangs is asking harder questions. As the business pursues B-Corp certification and actively evolves its sustainability practices, Krista is open about the reality of building a values-driven brand that challenges disposability culture, examines every part of its supply chain, and balances ideals with the realities of being a small business. She shares what it means to grow, question and do better – all while staying grounded in family, community and a lifelong love of the outdoors.

Take us back to the beginning: what made you and Mike go, “We’re making umbrellas!” What had you been up to before this ‘eureka’ moment?

At that time, we were spending a lot of time at the beach with friends (it was pre-kids). I’m someone who burns quickly so ‘hanging out’ for long periods at the beach wasn’t really something I enjoyed from that perspective, and Mike wanted to be able to surf longer… so a brolly was a win-win. But it took our friend looking for the ultimate unique wedding present [of a vintage beach umbrella] to really kick things off! (The ones they found looked great but weren’t functional, and vice versa. Mike recognised a gap in the market and had the skills to fill it).

And then, how did you go about making sure that what Basil Bangs offered was different from other options on the ‘outdoor accessories’ market?

Mike is trained in Industrial Design (aka Product Design) so he approaches everything from quite a rigorous ‘design thinking’ perspective, always interrogating how things can be improved and what problem we’re trying to solve. So there was a lot of research into vintage beach umbrellas, the current market and where the clear space was. From there, we developed our patented ‘Basil Hinge’, bespoke prints and durable, fade-proof fabrics – all things that were important to people (including ourselves). No-one else was doing premium beach umbrellas at that time – we were first – which was both exciting and slightly scary.

As a quick aside… Where does the name ‘Basil Bangs’ come from?

People often ask who the ‘real’ Basil is, and I love telling the story because it captures the soul of everything Mike and I do. When we started, we didn’t want a brand that felt corporate or cold; we wanted a character who lived the life we imagined for our products. Basil Bangs is a fictitious 1970s French free-surfer with a taste for the finer things and permanently sandy feet. He was (and still is!) our creative North Star. Whenever we’re designing a new print or a structural detail, we still ask ourselves, ‘Is this something Basil would have poolside?’ It’s a bit of a wink and a nudge to our customers, reminding everyone that while we’re incredibly serious about the engineering and the UV ratings, we never want to lose that sense of fun and vintage charm that Basil represents.

17 years on, what are some of the key lessons you’ve learned about doing business – and life?

Every stage of business is such a learning curve and can be a real roller coaster. What I’ve learned is that it comes down to consistency and reliability; showing up and doing what you say you will. For us, that’s trying to live our values – putting people at the heart of everything we do, being genuinely committed to quality, and doing good work. So many of our customers have been with us since the beginning, and customers come back to us, that’s something I’m tremendously proud of.

What I’ve learned is that it comes down to consistency and reliability; showing up and doing what you say you will.

Many of your designs have been playful, from the very first Le Pixel brollies to your collaborations with artists like Ken Done. Why is colour so important to you? Is there a piece of art or a visual memory (maybe from childhood) that still inspires you today?

We both love colour, print and texture and love the clash and playfulness of mixing things up. Colour has the power to move you, calm you, energise and inspire. We both come from deeply creative families of keen makers, do-ers, linguists and musicians. With a heavy dose of immigrant ‘make do and mend’ mentality. Lots of projects in the garage on the go at any one time (Mike), or sewing and painting projects (Krista). Personally, I was always encouraged to ‘do it myself’ and be creative. It took poor dad about eight coats of paint to get rid of my fluoro pink walls and mural that I did when I was 13. Dad almost never swore, but he definitely did that day!

Is there a dream artist collaboration you hope to realise one day?

Well, we DO actually have a great design collaboration in the works at the moment that I’m VERY excited about, but can’t share just yet.

Given the intensity of the sun in Australia, umbrellas are way more than just ‘nice to have’, and they need to last. What’s one secret design challenge that took you forever to get right, but added significantly to the longevity of your products?

Designing fabric, especially outdoor fabric, has been a really steep learning curve and given me such a deep appreciation for the mastery involved in this process. To get one roll of fabric is a combination of technical know-how and artistry: the combinations of weaves, threads, colours, the actual weaving – there are so many elements to consider that ultimately lead you to the final product.

Why is becoming more sustainable important to Basil Bangs? And what does ‘doing better’ look like for you in the future?

Sustainability should be important to everyone! Personally, we believe that we are custodians and stewards, so should be trying to leave things better than we found them. For us in business, that means minimising our waste and being really conscious of our footprint. Recently, we have redesigned all of our packaging to utilise only recycled cardboard, which is pretty tricky when you’re transporting steel plates that weigh 45kg! Additionally, being really tight with our production processes to ensure we’re only making what we need, working with really high-quality materials that last, and having a repair program for our clients. Because buying well and making it last is one of the best ways to be sustainable.

What questions are you asking yourselves now as you pursue B-Corp certification and evolve your practices? And what has been the hardest part or lesson from the journey so far?

We are early days in this process, so it’s very much about interrogating all areas of the business, from design all the way through to delivery and how our office functions. Some things simply make sense and are good business – such as lean manufacturing – others are things we’ve not necessarily considered and are just how we’ve fallen into doing it. So it’s all a learning process and asking ‘why’ at every step. It’s a deep process and we’re taking it step-by-step, but I appreciate the rigour. If it wasn’t difficult, everyone would have it and it wouldn’t mean anything.

Sustainability should be important to everyone! Personally, we believe that we are custodians and stewards, so should be trying to leave things better than we found them.

You’re also involved with initiatives such as Surfebruary (swimming or surfing every day in February to raise money for cancer research) – why is this important to you?

Surfebruary was an initiative that kicked off with our friends to help raise money for cancer research and treatment at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse. Our dear mate and co-founder, Jenna, was diagnosed straight after having her first child and was thrown into treatment at Lifehouse. It is the most incredible hospital that focuses on integrated treatment for the patient and their whole family. We’re SO lucky to have it in Sydney. In addition to their treatment work, they also do a lot of absolutely incredible, groundbreaking research that is shared with other cancer centres around Australia and the world.

Surfebruary allowed us to shine a light on this and raise money at the same time. It has grown to be their single biggest fundraising event (yay) and has built the most insane community of passionate water lovers. We have had nurses in Wagga swimming in a dam, crazy Danes in Copenhagen jumping in a lake, an absolutely incredible community in Newcastle surfing year after year. It’s been so beautiful and moving to see what is a genuine grassroots event take off. The event got bigger than our capacity so we passed the event over to COBLH to run, but we still support it on a personal level and absolutely love seeing it continue to thrive.

What is your favourite part of being, well, a part of Basil Bangs? What brings you joy?

I really love what we do and love our team. I’m so lucky to get to work with my husband. We get that question all the time, but it’s the best. We work with talented and very creative people who are working on some of the best hotels and homes in Australia (and the world) and that gives me a lot of energy. What brings me joy is so many things – installing custom umbrellas in a new space, designing and developing new fabrics with Mike. On a bigger level, I honestly love that our products enrich connection to nature, being outside, and to each other.

And finally: which Basil Bangs brolly is your personal go-to for visits to the beach?

My go-tos for the beach:

• Weekend umbrella in Steel. It’s light and super easy and quick to put up. I see why people love a cabana, but they’re just SO big and so much effort. I’m all about easy & quick!
• Weekend Tote in sand is always by the door packed with two Ombre towels in marine;
• Lounger (also in Steel) for when we’ll be down there a bit longer. It’s great on the rocks or sand and the ideal partner for a book session.