It looks like 8-year-old Jake Gulledge of Tampa may have a bright future as a business consultant. His parents, Nicole Zizos Gulledge and Jason Gulledge, have him to thank for their venture, a store offering safe, high-quality outdoor home playground equipment.
Both parents were looking for a change after successful business careers - Nicole in real estate, Jason in sports entertainment and game operations. Having a toddler son got them thinking of children's play equipment, which resonated with Nicole's New-Home Sales background as well as with Jason's skills as a do-it-yourself handyman. The result: Woodplay of Tampa Bay, Inc., which celebrated its grand opening on March 31, 2001.
The Indoor Showroom & Retail Store, which is located at 3744 W. Lambright St., sells several dozen different Playsets, Playhouses, Hideouts, Castles, Pirate Ship, Clubhouses and Swingsets, all made of high-quality 100% Cedar, and also carries a full line of Trampolines, Basketball Hoops, Play Homes, Rubber Mulch (recycled tires) a safety surfacing for under the playset for under the playsets. Nicole oversees sales, marketing and administration, with Jason in charge of delivery, installation, customer service, and warehousing.
The Gulledges' entrepreneurial spirit is backed up by impressive business backgrounds. Nicole has been one of the Tampa area's top real-estate figures for 17 years, most recently as director of sales and marketing for a top homebuilder. Jason - a rabid sports fan who serves as the Pirate mascot for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers - is the owner of Edge Marketing, which consults for such teams as the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets and Tampa Bay Lightning.
"The Tampa area is the perfect place for our kind of store," says Jason. "The climate allows for year-round outdoor play, there are plenty of families with children, and people who are hungry for quality playground equipment with eye-appeal that's safe for children, built to last and fun to use."
In January of 2016, Woodplay of Tampa Bay, Inc. became Playground King, Inc. Playground King now offers Rainbow Play Systems a wide variety of residential playsets, swing sets. Rainbow Play Systems playsets are made from 100% Cedar and include a Lifetime Warranty. Rainbow also offers a unique line of Special Order Playsets and Commerical Playground Equipment. If you have any questions regarding why we changed manufacturers, please contact Nicole Zizos Gulledge at 813-875-5500.
