About Us
We're Not a Factory. We're Tradespeople.
GP Shade Sails is the online division of GP Motor Trimming — our family business in Andergrove, Mackay QLD. Every sail sold here is cut, stitched and finished in our own workshop, by the same hands that have been making and installing shade sails across the Mackay region since 2011.
You're not dealing with a call centre or a warehouse. You're dealing directly with Geoff and Paula — the people who make the sails.
How it works: online orders are supply-only. We make your sail to size and ship it Australia-wide, ready for you or your installer to fit. Installation, removal and refitting are things we do locally around Mackay, through GP Motor Trimming.
Proven Locally. Available Nationally.
GP Motor Trimming Since 2011
We're Geoff and Paula Schick — a husband and wife team running a family business from our workshop in Andergrove, Mackay. Outside of work we're kept happily busy by our five boys, which probably explains why we don't stop.
We live the same lifestyle our customers do. North Queensland summers, weekends on the boat, days outside with the kids, BBQs that start before lunch and end after sunset. We know what the tropical sun does to anything left out in it — and we build shade sails for people who actually want to use their outdoor space, all year round.
Every GP Shade Sail leaving our workshop has our name on it, and we take that seriously. We launched GP Shade Sails to share that same workshop quality with customers we can't reach locally — remote areas, interstate DIYers, and tradies who just need the sail made right.
We stay active across the broader trimming industry too — constantly exploring new fabrics and testing materials and methods in our own workshop. What we learn across marine canvas, automotive and industrial work feeds directly into how we build shade sails. It's one of the reasons our sails have evolved into what they are today. We care about everything that leaves the workshop, and we want our customers getting the best value we can give them.
Every installation photo on this website is a real GP job. No stock photos, no AI renders.
The Trade Behind the Sail
Geoff entered the motor trimming trade in 2000, at a time when the apprenticeship covered everything — car interiors, marine canvas, boat covers, tarps, and shade sails. Training regionally in Mackay meant he learned it all. During his apprenticeship he was named Queensland Apprentice of the Year twice — first in 2002, then again in 2003 in his third year.
That breadth of trade is gone. Modern motor trimming apprenticeships focus on automotive and marine upholstery — shade sails and canvas work are no longer part of the formal curriculum. And there's no dedicated shade sail making apprenticeship in Australia either. Geoff learned his craft at a time when the trade still covered everything, under formal training that no longer exists in that form. There's no formal pathway to learn shade sail making the way Geoff did. That window has closed.
That's why GP Shade Sails are made differently. Every sail leaving our workshop carries decades of trade knowledge in every seam — the kind of judgement calls about thread, stitch, fabric tension and corner fittings that only come from a tradesman who learned it properly. Geoff checks every roll of fabric before it's cut, every material before it's used, and the sail itself as it comes together. That's not something a production line is set up to do.
You can't see most of it once the sail is up. You notice it years later, in what hasn't gone wrong.
Licence No. 15347127
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Made By Us. Installed By Us.
Every shade sail below was made in our workshop and installed by GP Motor Trimming around Mackay. Real jobs, photographed on site — no stock photos, no AI renders.
Residential, commercial and community installations across the Mackay region.
Ready to Get Started?
Browse our standard sizes, or send us your measurements and we'll price a custom sail. Just after general information? Get in touch.