September 20, 2023 - Twenty years ago, ShadeScapes Americas was founded with the mission to bring innovative shade solutions to North America. The company was founded by CEO Josephine Moniak Edmondson who had been searching for high-quality and long-lasting shade while designing an outdoor space at her home in Western Colorado. Unable to find anything on the United States market she set out to solve the problem herself.
ShadeScapes partners with world-renowned shade manufacturers to deliver innovative, high-quality, and aesthetically pleasing umbrellas and cabanas to their clients. When Edmondson founded ShadeScapes there wasn’t a market for sophisticated shade. She says the U.S. was behind other countries like New Zealand, Australia, Italy, and Germany which had been producing exceptional outdoor shade solutions for decades. During this time, Edmondson found it was common for people and businesses throughout North America to purchase inexpensive umbrellas and cabanas. These low-cost and low-quality solutions resulted in subpar shade products becoming the norm, costing consumers more in the long run due to the short lifespan of the products.
Over the past 20 years, Edmondson has used her background in sales and marketing to introduce her world-class shade concept to established high-end shade manufacturers in Belgium, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Quebec, and New Zealand, curating a portfolio of the highest quality shade products available in North America. This portfolio has been growing since day one with ShadeScapes constantly searching the world for new and groundbreaking umbrella and cabana designs.
When ShadeScapes was founded, Edmondson realized there was a lack of education on the sustainability that high-quality shade provides, as it was such a new concept on this side of the world. People didn’t understand how purchasing high end umbrellas and cabanas would save them time, money, provide better shade, and elevate the quality of their space. This is a mindset that ShadeScapes has changed.
The company incorporates a series of key elements in their business model that enables them to provide their clients with a world-class shade experience. According to Edmondson, there are many companies in the outdoor exterior design and shade industry, but ShadeScapes stands out because of their easy-to-use website, commitment and personal approach to their clients, and more than 100 years of combined knowledge within the shade industry.
“Our mission from the beginning has been to search the world for the best shade products, we work closely with our manufacturing partners to ensure the durability and functionality of each shade design we offer. We do this to guarantee each of our clients receive a long lasting product that fits both their shade needs as well as their aesthetic” says Edmondson.
When ShadeScapes design consultants begin the customer journey with their clients they take into account every detail of how the products will be used such as the parameters of the space, when the space will be utilized and any other important design elements. Additionally, the design consultants help hand-pick the best solution from the many precision engineered collections for each client, simultaneously educating homeowners and businesses on how to properly manage their shade product and have a proper understanding of how to look after the product, ensuring a long lifetime.
“Designing sophisticated outdoor spaces and optimizing shade is what we love to do. The end result of a well-designed shade setting brings family and friends together to have fun and create long lasting memories in the shade,” says Edmondson.