Tim Seymour-Smith's Blog

We’re On the Move!

sailshades — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:56:50 +0000

I’ve recently launched our new website which is where this blog will be hosted from now on. The new website is educational by nature, focusing on all things shade and includes the dynamic blog, regularly updated articles and video content, shade product galleries and loads more.

Please visit the brand new WA Young Website at your leisure!

Thank You!

sailshades — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 21:14:35 +0000

A very big and warm thank you to all of our South Australian customers of WA Young who have completed and returned their customer details over the past few days. Your willingness to participate in our new and exciting changes is greatly appreciated.

For those of you who don’t know, my company WA Young has recently launched a new software package that facilitates much better communication between us and our customers. Accordingly, we’ve been updating our records with the many thousands of past customers’ information. Everyone who contacts us with their contact details goes into the draw to win an awesome Shelta San Remo Cantilever Umbrella with Resin Base, valued at over $2,000.

If you would like to join the crew and enter the draw, simply contact us via our website – http://wayoung.com.au – or phone us during business hours on (08) 8276 1111.

Cheers!

Skin Cancer

sailshades — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 09:47:48 +0000

Incidences of skin cancer in Australia have continued to rise over many years.

There is a lot of great information available on the internet about the dangers of skin cancer, and, more importantly, the simple things we can all do individually to protect ourselves.

There is an excellent article available from the Skin Cancer Council (SA) which you can download by following this link.

Shade structures – including natural shade covers such as trees – form a vital component in the mix of things we can individually do to assist in the prevention of skin cancer.

Shade Sail Design Tip #1

sailshades — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 06:11:07 +0000

I’ve spent the better part of today working with a great mate of mine here in my office, who is helping me set up a new computer and contact manager system. We were shooting the breeze earlier over a chai tea and he asked me what I thought was the best thing you could do to create a “sexy” looking shade sail structure. Clearly, the computer work was boring us a little…..

Anyway, from a design perspective, the answer is simple – create vast differences in the heights of your fixings, and the sail will look totally unreal. Typically we work on diagonally opposite high and low points, which effect an architectural “twist” in the shade sail, and of course the greater the difference in height from high point to low point, the greater the visual aesthetic (or “sex” as my mate would put it!!).

When you have the opportunity to create multiple sails in a single structure, effecting nice variations in height helps build a sensational overall look. This is a pretty good example:

Shade Sail Structure, Adelaide

Planning your Shade Sail – Direction of the Sun

sailshades — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:23:00 +0000

I’ve been designing shade sails for so long now, that I take it for granted that the movement of the sun is the first consideration to take into account when the initial plan phase commences. And it’s also pretty easy for me in my home town to orient my north south east west directionals, purely on experience. But the sun’s movement is different in the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere, so here’s a pretty basic method for working it out relative to your situation.

Pick 4 different times of day – say, 9am, 11am, 2pm, and 5pm – and have a look at exactly where the sun is each time. It rises in the east and sets in the west no matter where you are, so you can work out your east and west pretty easily.

At the height of summer, the sun will be virtually directly above you at around 12pm. However, remember that the sun only reaches this position for a short time, and then moves back in the sky away from you as you move towards autumn. In the northern hemisphere, this means the sun is moving north as it gets into the hotter months, and south for the cooler months. Here in the southern hemisphere, it’s the exact opposite.

So why do you need to do this? Well the shade sail is required for shade, and shade is generally needed in the warmer months, and for the hotter times of day. Orienting a high post on the western most part of the structure will mean that the sun beats in underneath the sail at the hottest late afternoon time of day. Plan your positioning and sail layout knowing the sun’s movements, to ensure that the sail is effective in casting shade for as long as possible, during the months when it’s most needed.

I’ve written the “Complete How-to Guide” for DIY Sail Structures, which is available for FREE download from my website at Sail Shade World Australia or if you are outside Australia, from our international website at Sail Shade World International. Check it out for more tips and tricks.

Catch you next time!

Blogging the Outdoors – Shade Sails the Video!

sailshades — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:27:00 +0000

The first and foremost step is simple. Let’s watch a short movie that shows some of the shade sail structures that I have created through my company here in South Australia:

Now I’m hoping you are starting to appreciate just how magnificent and versatile the shade sail product really is. Don’t be daunted by the size of some of the structures you saw; we’ve been doing these things for a while. And believe me when I tell you, they are not that difficult. Yes, there are design considerations. Yes, there are structural engineering implications. And yes, there are implementation and installation implications. But they are not insurmountable, and with my DIY system for developing these products via our DIY website http://sailshadeworld.com.au if you’re in Australia, or http://sailshadeworld.com for those in other countries, I know you can do it yourself too.

I have a company in South Australia, that has grown it’s business significantly on the strength of the shade sail product. If you’re interested, and want to learn more about me, simply visit http://wayoung.com.au where a world of shade structures awaits.

In my next blog, we’re going to have a look at the principles and issues behind the design of shade sails and sail shades – or at least, commence the process – and discuss one of the most important factors, being directional movement of the sun.

Looking forward to catching you then!

Blogging the Outdoors – Shade Sails

sailshades — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 06:46:00 +0000

So here we go, the journey begins. Welcome to the world of shade sails and sail shades, the joy of creating magnificent outdoor areas that add the WOW factor, not to mention value, to your home and enjoyment of the outdoors. I begin this journey with a monumental sense of adventure, and of humility, and hope that I can provide you with some useful information that I have learned during my 16 years designing, manufacturing, and installing shade sails in South Australia.

Why do I have such a passion for shade sails? Hopefully you can tell me that yourself over time. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure if there’s any specific answers; but having played a part in the very early development of the shade sail product as a genuine outdoor shade alternative in Australia, I know that the product is so great, it speaks for itself. Cost effective, very cool, protection of our kids and friends from skin cancer, creating enviable outdoor areas that increase our standard of living, adding value to our homes – what more can I say?

Perhaps even more significant, however, is the unequalled opportunity that the shade sail offers to ANYONE who wants to create a unique outdoor entertaining experience. They’re simple. My job is not rocket science; rather, it’s simple application of some very basic design and structural principles that I have learned through my many years of hands on experience – principles that you can learn for yourself, implement, and save a truckload of cash by following.

The hardest part in your quest to design and install your own exclusive shade sail structure? Digging the holes and installing the fixing points. You need to know a bit about what you’re doing. But sit down for a minute, because it gets easier than that. I’m willing to guess that you hire, or know of, a half decent tradesman – a handyman – who does know what he or she is doing. Substitute handyman for handyperson if you wish. You may even be handy on the tools yourself (believe me, I’m not!). But the point is – present a tradesman with a plan, and they’ll be able to do it for you.

So this blog – and all of the accompanying information on my website http://sailshadeworld.com.au for us Aussies, or http://sailshadeworld.com if you’re outside Australia – is intended 100% to help you create that plan.

So welcome aboard; I look forward to working with you. Let the journey begin………