How Shade-A-Rella came to be

Hello all! I am excited that you found your way to this site. I have been wanting to get my Shade-A-Rella product out to the public for sometime now but life seems to have taken me in different directions. I have a Master’s degree in theatrical lighting design from UC Irvine and briefly worked for Disney. I had been a scenic carpenter and electrician as well as Scenic and Lighting designer for years. Got married and we opened a Waterjet cutting and Laser engraving business in Orange County California where we got to create some pretty amazing stuff for some really talented people. Having these great machines and a creative mind, I started making products that solved problems that I had at home or at work. The Shade-A-Rella was born from the need to shade a small Japanese Maple tree that I really wanted in my front yard planter. But, alas, my front yard gets sun all day long and the little tree would have just died if I had planted it there with no shade. I had known about shade cloth but it comes in big rolls or large sails meant to be stretched between three points high off the ground. Many outdoor seating areas will have the shade sails hung over them. There was no way I was going to hang an ugly shade sail in my yard! So I thought, why not cut a frame on the waterjet that can sandwich the shade cloth and be placed right over the plant and look like it belongs in my garden? And be sturdy and withstand the sun and wind. Shade-a-Rella was born! The original design had a hard plastic top that soon faded in the sun so that part of the design has changed, as well as how it is assembled and a far simpler ground receiver. The Shade-A-Rella will come in many designs and sizes and will also incorporate LED lights underneath once we partner with a great manufacturer. At the moment though, I am assembling each Shade-A-Rella by hand.  I welcome your feedback and if there is a design you really want in your yard, tell me about it and maybe I can create a new Shade-a-rella design for you.