First, we have years of experience in the lawn and garden consumer products industry and have seen virtually all manufacturing move offshore. During that time, we have developed lasting relationships with only the best and most capable factories. This resulted after a long process of trial and error in sourcing products.

Unlike much of our competition, we do not simply scour the factory showrooms throughout the world to find the cheapest products in order to deliver the lowest price to our customers. Remember, making a product $1 cheaper often makes it $5 uglier. Instead, we design new and innovative products with the highest quality standards and then work with our factories to lower their costs (without sacrificing in quality or the characteristics which make our products unique) in order to meet very competitive retail price points. We are not simply traders—our innovations and product designs are the value we provide at the lowest possible price.

Our Piece O' Cake assembly design facilitates very easy assembly (18 wood screws) and can be completed in about 10 minutes using only a screwdriver. Assembly instructions are available on our web site. And, since our planters use wood screws rather than crown staples, which are used in assembled planters available in big box stores, our products are much sturdier, ensuring a longer life.

The fact that they are shipped unassembled allows the customer four advantages: factory labor savings, a sturdier product, reduced shipping costs, and peace of mind regarding environmental responsibility. The shipping cost of large assembled planters can often equal the cost of the planter itself due to the "air" that is shipped at least 6,000-9,000 miles per planter.

The wood is Cunninghamia lanceolata, commonly called Chinese Cedar. Although native to China, it is grown in Vietnam and the United States. It is a member of the cedar family and has been tested and compared to its counterpart Western Red Cedar. It resembles Western Red Cedar due to its aromatic scent (which naturally repels pests and fungus). It also resembles Douglas Fir, having a similar grain and texture.

Due to its light weight and its durability, it has been used in China for centuries for house building, ship building, saunas, coffins, fences, decking, and furniture.

All of our products come from responsibly managed forests. There is no old growth wood used--ever. All of our factories are certified and members of the Forestry Stewardship Council, a world-wide organization dedicated to the preservation of woodlands.

While the photoluminescent technology has been around for years (used in emergency exit signs and watches), there are varying qualities of the pigments used.  Our products have been tested to have the highest and longest lasting illumination.  They are guaranteed for 10 years and are environmentally safe.

While the Shadows and Light products will work on less than a full day's sun, to achieve a maximum illumination period they should be in the sun for 8 hours or longer and this charge will yield 6-12 hours of illumination, depending upon the time of year and intensity of the sun.  These products use a maintenance-free high quality solar mechanism to created the coolest outdoor evening entertainment event ever.  Operating instructions and information are contained on our web site.

Again, due to our strong relationships with our factories, we are attuned to new technologies being developed and are working toward new products which will bring the highest value to our customers. For example, one of our factory partners has developed proprietary technology to produce heat treated wood (similar to pressure treated wood, except no chemicals are used) which can provide wood products that will withstand the elements 4-5 times as long as the stained wood which is used in all lawn and garden products. Additionally, this factory has developed proprietary technology for the production of strand-woven bamboo, a process in which the very strong fibers of bamboo (a grass--not a wood) are extracted, mixed with a resin for bonding and heat treated to create a material which is not only impervious to the elements but also beautiful in appearance. Its performance is comparable to the synthetic chemically produced decking material used in the US. But the appearance is that of wood and the use of bamboo (perhaps the most replenishable plant on the planet) gives a whole new meaning to environmental responsibility and conservation.

We expect to introduce several new products using this technology in 2013. And we will be the exclusive suppliers of these lawn and garden products in the US.