Coastal Products LLC DBA Coastal Canvas Products
1674 Chatham Parkway Savannah, GA 31405 - Opened in 1975
We manufacture and install shade and storm protection products such as awnings, metal canopies, shade sails, motorized screens, storm shutters, and much more.
What inspired you to start your own business?
Andrew and I purchased Coastal Canvas Products in 2012 and were fortunate to inherit a solid foundation that began in 1975. For us it was an inspiring opportunity to breathe some new life into a local company and modernize it with innovation and technology so that we have the capacity to service customers well beyond our city limits. Today we are thriving, bigger than ever, and grateful for every customer that we have the honor to work with up and down the Atlantic and throughout the USA.
What inspires your work and what sets you apart from everyone else?
Every project at Coastal Canvas Products is custom and unique and we are inspired by the endless possibilities that can be created by our team. If your project can made out of metal or fabric, we can build it! We have several members on our team that have been with us for over five to fifteen years. The best technology + human experience really makes our products better.
What is your background and how did you develop the skills to start your business?
Andrew and I met in Atlanta in the early 2000’s where he worked in sales then became a licensed General Contractor and Realtor. My eductation and career began in Interor Design. When we got married we not only joined households but also merged our careers and assembled all of our professional skills to open our own business where we designed and built modern residential homes in the Atlanta area for many years. The decision to move to Savannah and purchase Coastal Canavs Products was a natural progression and fortunately in our wheelhouse because of our knowledge of design and construction. It has allowed us the opportunity to focus one one aspect of architecture and perfect that element.
What has been your biggest success to date?
The purchase of our beautiful and spacious facility on Chatham Parkway in 2017. We are so grateful to have a showroom where customers can come and see our products and observe in person how they are made right there in our facitily. We are also very fortunate to have tons of parking and plenty of work space for each of our employees which is now more important than ever.
What has been your biggest challenge?
To try to improve on every aspect on every project.
To answer these questions, how can we do this better? What can we learn from this job?
Which small businesses are you inspired by?
All of our local restaurants and retail businesess. It is challenging to keep your doors open during this pandemic economy and we feel honored to be able to work with them; to help them create their brand identity so that they stand out and attract new business.
If you could go back to the beginning knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?
We would have moved to our new facilty right away. No question about that.
What’s your best advice for someone who wants to start their own business?
Our advice would be to always be able to evolve with the ebb and flow of your industry’s trends. For example, in our current day situation city streets are closing for pedestrian travel and restaurants are wanting to create immediate outdoor seating options so that they can accommodate social distancing requirements. We want to be able to create solutions for these immediate needs for solar and weather protection so that estauarants can capitalize on this much needed extra revenue.
Andrew and Ellen Barber, owners