About Us

An Engineer and steel fabricator from Canterbury, Craig Baker took a job installing aluminium louvre systems and shade products in the Christchurch region. Two years later seeing the potential in the shade NZ shade industry he started his own company, contract installing and taking on new clients in the local area.

That company became Four Peaks Shade, supplying and installing shade products for Johnson & Couzins across the whole of the lower South Island for close to a decade — work that eventually brought him south to the region he now calls home.

In 2016, fresh from his first home reno in Geraldine, Now with a young family, Craig figured the dream backyard wouldn’t be complete without a hot tub. Easy, right? Except every option on the market was either: Plastic and flimsy (destined for landfill by next summer), or Eye-wateringly expensive and shipped halfway across the world.

So, Craig did what Craig does best – rolled up his sleeves and built his own. Stainless steel, cedar cladding and built to outlast the house. It turned out so good that friends wanted one, then friends of friends… and before he knew it, Alpine Tubs was born – one of the first stainless steel hot tub businesses in New Zealand.

Fast-forward a few years to 2019, Craig relocated to Lake Hawea – land of scorching Central Otago summers and winters that make your pipes weep. After building his new family home, Craig went shopping for shade. But once again, the choices were… well… rubbish. The kind of thing you buy, set up, and then watch disintegrate in the nor’wester.

Having worked for many year’s in the shade industry installing Louvre systems, He knew Quality Commercial-grade products existed, but were mostly used exclusively on big flash projects – not the everyday Kiwi backyard. Which got Craig thinking: why shouldn’t regular people get access to the same long-lasting shade solutions as a winery or resort?

After almost a decade supplying shade products with Johnson & Couzins, Craig broke away to source and customise his own range — built specifically for Central Otago and Wanaka’s outdoor conditions, not just whatever happened to be on the shelf.

So, Wanaka Shade was born – bringing the good stuff to his local community.

Word spread. People loved the quality, the customisation, and the fact that Craig was installing shade that could handle Central Otago’s temper tantrums. While Wanaka Shade operates as a hands-on, one-on-one service for people and businesses who want Craig there in person, from quote to install, Craig could sense the bigger opportunity on the horizon. With so much positive feedback already, Craig decided it was the right time to take on a new mission.

Enter NZ Custom Shade – an online store supplying the best shade products in the country, fully customisable to suit every Kiwi home. The same eye for quality that turned away flimsy hot tubs and cheap shade now goes into every product on this site — so you get gear that’s actually built for New Zealand conditions, not just sold for them.

Because when Craig finds shade products worth buying, you can bet they’re the best of the best. He’s done the digging, comparing, and head-scratching over the last 15 years so you don’t have to. The result is a handpicked range of products that are built to look sharp, last long, and never let you down.

Built to last. Made for you.