Latest Company News

JULY NEWSLETTER 2026

We’ve smashed summer! Record after record!

We’ve had four months of record sales and counting! After record-breaking results in April, May and June, July has smashed them all with a huge 50% jump in sales.

We’ve been building towards a bigger plan to catapult our growth, and everything we’ve put in place is starting to pay off. To every one of our teams: THANK YOU! We know it’s been an incredibly busy period for everyone, and this just shows what we’re capable of as a business. We’re reaching more customers than ever, and every single department has turned that opportunity into results. Marketing and Sales, Customer and Contracts, Factory, Installers and everywhere in between – your efforts are exactly why we’re seeing these fantastic results.

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout July.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

🤝 A Big Thank You to the Team

Firstly, I’d like to take a moment to thank everyone across the team for their continued hard work and commitment. The effort being put into managing both surveys and installations is not going unnoticed, especially with the volume of orders currently moving through the business. 🙌

We know the workload has been challenging at times, but your professionalism and dedication continue to ensure that we’re delivering the highest standards for our customers.

The good news is help is on the way. As a reminder, we’re actively recruiting, and there is a £2,000 referral reward available for any successful candidate introduced. (terms and conditions apply). If you know somebody who would be a good fit for the team, please put them forward. Thank you to those that’s put some forward already.

On top of the workload, the recent heat has certainly added another challenge. Anyone fitting lantern blinds or roof systems will know exactly what I’m talking about. Hot profiles, scorching rails, and even burnt fingers have become part of the daily battle. It’s not an easy environment to work in, but all of you continue to push through, adapt, and get the job done safely and professionally. Your efforts are genuinely appreciated. 

So, thank you again.

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🧠 Thinking Differently to Deliver Safely

We’re seeing more and more projects that require creative thinking and careful planning due to difficult access, awkward spaces, and challenging site conditions.

A recent example was a project sold by Steve at the Ickworth Hotel in Suffolk, involving 32 Pinoleum blinds at 6.7 metres high. Whilst the height itself wasn’t excessive, the environment presented several challenges, including numerous obstructions, tie bars, chandeliers, and access restrictions.

Initially, a mobile tower seemed like an option, but with both the survey and installation requiring movement around the space, and some surveying taking place overnight, it quickly became apparent that repeatedly assembling and dismantling towers would not be practical or efficient.

Instead, a vertical lift provided the safest and most effective solution. Although slow in operation, it allowed the team to navigate around the obstacles safely while maintaining productivity and minimising disruption to the client.

As it’s a restaurant we can only work through the night, most importantly, the job was priced correctly from the outset, ensuring the client understood the access requirements and allowing us to deliver the project to the expected standard.

To give everyone an insight into the challenges involved, here’s a video from the night-shift survey at the Ickworth Hotel in Suffolk. It highlights the scale of the project, the access restrictions we faced, and why careful planning and the correct equipment were essential to completing the work safely and efficiently.

It’s also worth remembering that equipment such as vertical lifts and other powered access platforms can only be operated by suitably trained and certified personnel. Alongside this, detailed risk assessments and method statements must be completed and submitted to the client before works commence. Whilst this can sometimes add time to the planning process, it ensures we remain compliant, protect ourselves and others on site, and continue delivering projects to the highest professional standard.

This is a great example of how we continue to adapt our approach to suit individual projects rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all solution. Our focus remains on completing installations safely, professionally, and to the highest standard possible.

In fact, I was recently told by an installer working for a competitor that anything above three metres is declined unless the customer can supply and build access equipment, the priority is fitting as many jobs as possible in a day. Whilst every business has its own approach, it’s a reminder of where we sit in the within the industry. 

We don’t focus on quantity over quality. We focus on delivering the right solution, overcoming challenges, and ensuring every installation is completed safely and to the customer’s satisfaction. That’s something the entire team should be proud of.

🎥 Video showcasing the overnight survey, access challenges, planning requirements, and specialist equipment used by the team.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best – Rich.

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New Digital brochures

They’ve been a long time coming, but they’re finally here…

We have created new individual product brochures, which are all available to download from the website:

• Lanterns
• Gables
• Conservatory/Orangery
• Bifold Doors

The other product brochures will be worked on in due course. In the meantime, we have retained our original main brochure for the ‘All Blinds’ option.

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JULY Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in JULY! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

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WeLCOME TO OUR NEWCOMER

We would like to introduce you to our newest team member who joined us at the start of July. Please join us in welcoming Amber, who has come on board as our Content Specialist.

She is taking the lead in showcasing our expertise, talents and dare we say our personality out there to the wider world. We are excited to see the changes come as she settles into her role.

Hello! Thank you all for the very warm welcome! I’m incredibly excited to be on board. My background is in luxury hospitality marketing, where I’ve had the pleasure of working with Michelin-listed restaurants and chefs including Maison François and José Pizarro, leading content creation, social media and PR teams. Alongside that, I’ve built up a diverse freelance career in marketing and business consultancy, helping companies optimise performance through AI solutions, marketing strategy and digital innovation.

The opportunity to join a market leader like Specialist Blinds was one I couldn’t pass up. It’s been brilliant to receive such a warm welcome from the team and I can’t wait to help Specialist Blinds continue to grow and dominate the sector. It also doesn’t hurt that I sit next to the sweets!

Outside of work, I’m always looking for my next hobby and proudly embrace my inner nerd. Whether it’s hiking and history, sword fighting and rugby, painting Warhammer, reading literature or writing for theatre, I’m happy to give almost anything a go. If you’ve got a hobby recommendation… I’m all ears! I am sadly not yet a dog mother but that is the goal for 2026. 

If you see me around the office, please come and say hello.. I’m always happy to have a chat and get to know everyone! 🙂 – Amber

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for July is

Gyanu Chhantyal🥳🥇

Gyanu has worked with us for 18 years now, so it goes without saying what a valued member of the team she is. She is always working hard and cording a large variety of different blinds. Last week was a perfect example of her productiveness as she got through a huge amount of work whilst covering a team members holiday. The pressure was well and truly on towards the end of the week as an earlier manufacturing issue meant we were late getting a job to the cording department, Gyanu worked her socks off and made sure the job went out in time – Ellie Smith-Anderson

WELL DONE AARON👏🏻🏅

Europe Triathlon Duathlon Championships

Congratulations to Aaron Sparks-Carolan on an outstanding performance at the 2026 Europe Triathlon Duathlon Championships in Banyoles, Spain, where he proudly represented Great Britain and secured an impressive 6th place in his age group.

Competing against some of Europe’s strongest age-group duathletes, Aaron completed the championship course in a total time of 2:03:32. His race included a first run of 38:28, followed by the bike leg and concluding run, demonstrating the consistency and determination needed to compete at international level. According to the official championship results, Aaron finished just 13 minutes and 22 seconds behind the age-group winner—a fantastic achievement on one of Europe’s premier duathlon stages.

Representing Team GB at a European Championship is an achievement in itself, reflecting the dedication, training and commitment required to qualify and compete among the continent’s best athletes. Finishing sixth in such a competitive field is something to be immensely proud of.

Well done, Aaron! Your performance in Banyoles is a testament to your hard work and perseverance. Wishing you every success in your future races—we look forward to seeing what you achieve next while wearing the Great Britain colours.

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Help Tom Support Momentum Children’s Charity

24 Hours of Gaming for a Great Cause

On 15th August, Tom and three of his friends will once again be taking on the challenge of a 24-hour non-stop gaming marathon to raise money for Momentum Children’s Charity.

Momentum supports families across South West London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or another life-challenging condition. The charity provides practical and emotional support to help families through some of the most difficult times in their lives.

The marathon will run for a full 24 hours without a break and will feature a mixture of video games and board games. While it might sound like fun, staying focused and gaming continuously for an entire day is much tougher than it looks!

Every donation, no matter how big or small, will help Momentum continue providing vital support to children and their families.

If you’d like to support the challenge, please consider making a donation via the JustGiving page:

https://www.justgiving.com/page/tom-whitehead-1785335247712

Thank you for your generosity and encouragement—it will make a real difference to families who need it most.

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JUNE NEWSLETTER 2026

Growing Together: A Record-Breaking June

It’s been an incredibly busy few months, and June has been one of our strongest yet.

So far this month, we’ve processed 1,393 leads, compared to 699 leads in June last year – an increase of almost 100%. The momentum is continuing too, with this week already proving busier than last week, and its only Tuesday! Last week alone saw a peak of 478 leads.

Thanks to a continued increase in customer enquiries, we’re expanding our team across the business.

We’re currently recruiting for roles in Sales, Installation and our Office Team.

If you know someone who would be a great fit for our company, please encourage them to take a look at our vacancies. Recommendations from our own team are always appreciated, as you know better than anyone what it’s like to work here.

All current vacancies are available on our website, so please help spread the word among your friends, family and professional contacts. https://www.specialist-blinds.co.uk/careers

Thank you to everyone for your hard work during this busy period. Your efforts have helped us continue to grow, and we’re excited about the next chapter as more people join the team.

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout June.

What’s Happening: Installations

🛠️ Installations

✈️ Stansted Watch Tower: Blinds, Background Checks & Bizarre Airport Facts

We’ve just completed a rather elevated project at London Stansted Airport’s operations watch tower, installing 11 powered shaped roller blinds that glide neatly down the tower’s sloping glass. They’re transparent enough to keep visibility, clever enough to cut glare, and stylish enough to make the refurbishment look intentional rather than “we’ve just painted over the old problems”.

A huge shout‑out to Howard and James, who handled everything from the first sales visit to final commissioning with the calm professionalism of two men who now know far more about airport security than they ever planned to.

Speaking of security, getting into the watch tower is not your average Tuesday. You don’t go through the main terminal like a normal human. Oh no. You’re escorted through a discreet trade entrance, after a background check so deep it probably knows what you had for lunch in 2009.

Once inside, you hear some cracking stories. For example:

• Any aircraft in UK airspace that shouldn’t be there gets grounded at Stansted. No exceptions.
• When President Trump visited, snipers were positioned on rooftops. He also brought his own fuel plane to refuel Air Force One, because apparently popping to the local Jet A‑1 pump is beneath a world leader.
• And if the airport facts weren’t wild enough, here’s one more from the installation itself. At one point, the electricians on site turned off the power… except for one lonely industrial‑sized extension lead with a single plug in it. As we went to move it, everyone suddenly froze like they’d spotted a bomb in a film. Turns out that one plug was powering the security cameras. If we’d unplugged it, police and security would have descended on the tower instantly and all hell would have broken loose. So yes, we very calmly put it back down and pretended we’d never touched it.

The final installation looks fantastic, works flawlessly, and gives the tower team the perfect balance of shade and visibility. And yes, there’s a video of the finished job, proving that even blinds can have a cinematic moment.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best – Rich.

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Social Media Content Leaderboard

Thank you to the installation team for your continued effort. We really appreciate you all taking the extra time at the end of a busy day to supply great marketing content!

Our top contributors this quarter are…

Please also remember to take photos/videos when you go to service calls. This is a fantastic opportunity to get some great footage in a fully furnished room, rather than the empty space you saw at installation. Thanks to Martin for these lovely inspirational shots – they will be posted across our socials in the next couple of weeks.

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NEWCOMERS

Welcome to our new team member!

Welcome to our new team member!

Jason Cordrey – Sales Team

We are thrilled to have you onboard and look forward to working together. Your skills and enthusiasm will be a great addition to our company, and we’re excited to support you as you settle in. Here’s to a successful journey ahead!

Welcome back Derek!

We’re delighted to welcome Derek Kay back to the Sales Team. It’s great to have you with us again, and we’re looking forward to working together once more. We’re excited to have your experience and expertise back on board and wish you every success as you settle back into the team.

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JUNE Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in June! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Sean Jones – Operations Manager

We are delighted to announce that Sean has been promoted to the position of Operations Manager.

This promotion is thoroughly deserved and reflects Sean’s hard work, dedication, and significant contribution to the business over the years. His experience, commitment, and extensive knowledge of our operations make him ideally suited for this role.

As Operations Manager, Sean will play a key role in overseeing the day-to-day running of the business, supporting our teams, and driving continuous improvements across all areas of the company.

Please join us in congratulating Sean on this well-earned promotion and wishing him every success in his new position. 👏🏻

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Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for June is

Ganesh Buramagar🥳🥇

Ganesh is June’s employee of the month. I’ve seen a great improvement in Ganesh over the last few months as I feel he’s taking more initiative and responsibility in his supervisory role. This month we’ve also had some challenging blinds including some test models to work on. This is not always straightforward, and I appreciate the care and consideration he has brought to these projects- Ellie Smith-Anderson

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Good Luck Aaron🍀

Aaron’s 2026 European Duathlon Championships

We’d like to wish Aaron the very best of luck as he prepares to compete in the 2026 European Duathlon Championships in Banyoles, Spain in a couple of weeks. Qualifying for an event of this calibre is a fantastic achievement and reflects the dedication, discipline, and determination that Aaron brings to everything he does.

Representing Great Britain on the European stage is a testament to the hard work he has put into his training, and we couldn’t be prouder of his accomplishment. We know he’ll do himself, his supporters, and his country proud. Everyone here wishes him every success in Banyoles and looks forward to following his journey and celebrating his achievement.

Good luck, Aaron – we’re all behind you! 🇬🇧🏃🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️🏃🏻‍♂️

MAY NEWSLETTER 2026

Highlights

Summer is definitely here…

With our first official heatwave of 2026 and record-breaking temperatures recorded over the bank holiday weekend, it seems like we’re in for a very warm and sunny summer! 🥵

Stay hydrated and don’t forget to apply sunscreen or a hat! 😎

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout May.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

⚠️ Crimewatch – Where the Industry Falls Short

“In every sector, there are leaders and there are followers”

In ours, the difference is visible, painfully visible, in the quality of installations happening across the country.

This month I thought I’d title it Crimewatch Not because it’s about cheap shots. It’s about industry accountability. Because what we’re seeing out there isn’t just poor workmanship; it’s a pattern of corner‑cutting that undermines customer trust and damages the reputation of the entire blinds sector.

Misaligned systems. Under‑spec’d hardware. Installations that ignore basic engineering principles.

These aren’t isolated mistakes; they’re symptoms of an industry where “fit it fast” has replaced “fit it right”.

And that’s exactly why Specialist Blinds stands apart.

Where others compromise.

Where others accept “that’ll do”, we insist on precision, load integrity, product longevity, and professional finish.

Where others rely on luck, we rely on process, expertise, and engineering‑led installation standards.

The examples below aren’t included for drama, they’re included because they highlight a truth the industry rarely says out loud:

quality isn’t common. Leadership is.

And leadership is what we deliver every single day.

These real‑world cases show what happens when companies chase speed over skill, price over performance, and convenience over craftsmanship. They also show why customers come to us when they want the job done properly, and why our standards continue to set the pace for the industry.

Their Way vs Our Way

Their Way

• “Fit it fast” instead of “fit it right”.
• Cheapest components, minimal testing, and no consideration for long‑term performance.
• Installations that look acceptable on day one but fail under real‑world use.
• Corners cut to protect margins, not customers.
• A mindset built around volume, not value.

Our Way

• Engineering‑led installation, not guesswork.
• Components chosen for durability, load integrity, and lifecycle performance.
• Systems fitted with precision, alignment, and finish as non‑negotiables.
• Processes designed to protect the customer, not the bottom line.
• A mindset built around leadership, not shortcuts.

Why This Matters

For years, we’ve highlighted the difference between true craftsmanship and the poor practices we see across the industry, especially from the company beginning with H, whose work appears all over Facebook. Their output makes one thing clear: they don’t prioritise the full customer experience. They prioritise the bottom line.

Our approach is the opposite. And that’s why customers trust us, why our installs last, and why our standards continue to set the benchmark for the industry. Something we should all be proud of.

Real‑World Example: Toddington Services, M1 Southbound

These photos were taken at the coffee bar inside Toddington Services on the M1 in Dunstable. If you’re ever heading south, it’s worth stopping in, grabbing a coffee, and looking at the roof lantern blinds installed there.

Because the installation tells its own story.

The blinds have been fitted using plastic side shelves, which are not designed to carry the load of a roof lantern system. As a result, the installers have had to suspend supporting wires from above just to hold the weight, a workaround that highlights the weakness of the original specification.

When I asked the staff member behind the counter how well the blinds helped with heat and glare, his response was immediate: they’ve never worked properly. One of the blinds at the end no longer moves at all, leaving the space exposed and offering no benefit to the people working beneath it.

This is exactly what happens when products are under‑engineered, under‑specified, and installed without long‑term performance in mind. And it’s exactly why our standards, and our engineering‑led approach matter.

📱 Social Media Complaints

✍️ Final Thoughts

Taking both examples together, highlights in this Crimewatch review point to persistent behavioural patterns within parts of the industry, including inconsistent installation practices, weak customer communication, and limited operational oversight. Unless these underlying behaviours are addressed, similar incidents will continue to surface across the sector. These cases reflect issues specific to the organisations involved, rather than the wider professional landscape. “Us”

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🧩 Blind Space Boxes

Blind space boxes are one of those topics that resurface every now and again, in fact, we discussed them at the National Sales Meeting last year. To put them into context, these boxes are very expensive, and the cost can escalate quickly depending on the specification.

Recently, we had a customer absolutely set on having blind space boxes throughout their project. The challenge is that these boxes come in multiple sizes, and the correct size depends entirely on what product is being installed inside them.

For simplicity:

• Roller blinds now follow the industry standard 135mm x 135mm box size. This applies to all rollers, including heavy‑duty versions. They require a 20mm open slot for the weighted bottom rail to pass through.
• Cellular blinds are different. Here, the stack height must be specified accurately, as it determines the required box depth.
• Bauhaus Aspect blinds require even more precision. These projects must be managed differently, with exact measurements and careful coordination to ensure the system performs as designed.

To illustrate the scale: we recently quoted a customer who wanted over 50 square metres of blinds, a mix of rollers and Bauhaus Aspect blinds, all housed within blind space boxes. The boxes alone cost the customer over £12,000, not inc. fitting by their builder, Anything larger than the standard 135mm x 135mm size is classed as a special‑made box, which carries an additional premium.

Blind space boxes can be a fantastic solution, but they must be specified correctly, engineered precisely, and budgeted realistically. Here’s a few photos of a project we’ve helped manage which has ultimately helped us cement the order.

We’ll give you a further update once the project ends later in the year.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best – Rich.

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Professional Video/Photoshoot

We’ve recently enlisted the help of a new videographer Chris to cover installs further south. He has just visited the family home of the founders of Babycham, where Rob S installed 24 motorised English pinoleum roof blinds. This stunning property overlooks the Solent and the Isle of Wight. We’ll be creating videos and posting clips across the website and socials in the coming weeks, but here’s a sneaky preview…

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Supporting local fundraisers

We were contacted by Great Chart Primary School in Ashford who are just down the road from the factory, asking us to help sponsor a stall at their forthcoming fundraising event. They are raising funds to allow them to invite external visitors/speakers into the school, enhancing the curriculum and providing pupils with a more diverse and engaging learning experience.

So, if any locals fancy a game of ‘play your cards right’, head down to their Summer Fete on Saturday 20^th June.

MAY Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in MAY! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for May is

Kerry Hollingsbee 🥳🥇

Kerry is one of our newer employees having only joined the company back in February. She has really taken to her work in the fabric department, quickly becoming a valued member of the team. She also excels in communicating well with other departments which is something we really value. Kerry was employed as maternity cover but we are pleased to say she’s here to stay as she has been moved to a permanent contract – we wouldn’t be without her now – Ellie Smith-Anderson

AND FINALLY…

a Decade of Service and Customer Loyalty

This month, we’re highlighting a special project that reflects both our company’s longevity and our commitment to customer care. One of our longstanding clients, who originally had manual roof and side blinds installed ten years ago, is now updating her system to a motorised version.

The initial blinds were sold by Arnaud and installed by Ryan at the time. Recently, the same client reached out to reorder her entire setup, choosing to upgrade to motorised blinds to make her daily routine easier. Her husband has recently passed away, and she has expressed difficulty operating the manual roof blinds by pole.

Arnaud went out to consult, and Ryan is now installing the new motorised blinds, bringing the project full circle.

It’s a poignant reminder that, despite the many changes over the years, our team’s dedication and consistency remain strong. Not many blind companies can boast about having the same staff for over ten / twenty years, which makes this story even more meaningful.

Many customers are pleasantly surprised to hear that the same team will be dealing with their new project, so this project, and many others like it, exemplifies our ongoing commitment to building lasting relationships with our clients and adapting to their evolving needs. Well done to everyone involved in making this happen!

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APRIL NEWSLETTER 2026

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout April.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

📐 Long and Wide

This month the team took on a seriously impressive installation, a single-piece roller blind measuring over 14m², all housed neatly within a 120mm fascia.

The window itself stands at 5 metres high, and to keep the look clean and seamless, it simply had to be one blind. Taylor, one of our newest sales people, secured the order, and James carried out the installation with his usual precision.

The customer was absolutely over the moon. They found us online after struggling to find anyone else who could manufacture at this scale and offer a full 5‑year guarantee. A great win and a brilliant showcase of what sets us apart.

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🛜 Zigbee

This month we’ve had several orders requiring Somfy Zigbee motors, and it raised a good question: what exactly is Zigbee?

Zigbee is a protocol (a type of language) used for smart‑home communication. Unlike RTS or WT, it’s typically only used when a customer has a specific requirement or need their blinds to integrate with an existing home automation system such as Home Assistant, Apple HomeKit, Crestron, or Control4.

One of the key things that makes Zigbee different is that it creates its own mesh network. A mesh is a system where all connected devices communicate with each other, passing signals along the chain until they reach the hub. Because each device acts as a repeater, the overall range can be extended far beyond what a single hub could normally achieve. In simple terms: the more Zigbee devices in the home, the stronger and more reliable the network becomes.

Another major benefit is that Zigbee networks are self‑healing. Should a motor or device in the chain go down, the system will automatically find another device in the mesh to route the data back to the hub. This keeps the network stable and ensures communication continues without the customer even noticing an issue.

At present, Somfy has only released a limited range of Zigbee‑compatible motors, but interest is growing. Seb will be completing his first Zigbee installation this week, and Jeff has a separate Zigbee order scheduled for early June.

This could be something we expand into our product range in the future if demand continues to rise.

If a customer requests Zigbee, please speak with Ian and me before agreeing the sale. This ensures we can price it correctly and confirm the setup will work with the customer’s system.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best – Rich.

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URGENT request for ‘before / after’ shots

You’ll probably all remember Martin’s inspired video showing a competitor’s blind before he finished his install. We’ve used this in various ads across socials which has achieved A LOT of interest and enquiries. Thank you Martin!

However, we urgently need more shots like this please! So whenever possible, please film the old blinds before you start the installation and then film the new blinds as a comparison. Extra bonus points if you can film the blinds side-by-side as Martin did 😊

Alternatively, we received this enquiry from a customer earlier this week, clearly using a parasol indoors to protect their plants from burning. @salesteam @installteam: If you see any other improvised solutions while customer’s wait for their blinds, please send them over to us (with the customer’s permission of course).

@Howard, you have this enquiry so it would be great to get some daytime shots please…

WeLCOME TO OUR NEWCOMER

Welcome to our new team member! We are thrilled to have you onboard and look forward to working together. Your skills and enthusiasm will be a great addition to our company, and we’re excited to support you as you settle in. Here’s to a successful journey ahead!

Nick Whitehead – Sales Team

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for April is

Charles Rush🥳🥇

Charles has had an immediate positive impact since joining the company in February. Being that our pinoleum department is a small but busy department, we couldn’t be happier to have his skill and dedication here. It is testament to Charles’ excellent work ethic that he has won this award in just his second month with the business – Ellie Smith-Anderson

APRIL Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in April! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

MARCH NEWSLETTER 2026

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout March.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

With the weather improving and the year off to a strong start, I felt it was the right moment to revisit what truly sets us apart, it’s been a few years, and a clear, sharp reminder is well overdue.

🔥 The Specialist Blinds Difference, Unmatched. Unrivalled. Unavailable Anywhere Else.

When you choose Specialist Blinds, you’re not choosing “just another blind company.”

You’re choosing the only company in the UK that designs, engineers, manufactures, and tests its own blinds from the ground up.

💡 Innovation You Can’t Buy Off the Shelf

We don’t assemble blinds from generic parts; we create the parts.

Springs, rails, guides, profiles, components, power systems, even our own manufacturing tables… all designed and built by us for one purpose:

To deliver the best‑performing blinds on the market.

🛡️ Built to Last! Whatever the Season

Our blinds are engineered to handle UV, heat, cold, damp, and daily use without failing.

Every system is tried, tested, refined, and tested again.

Longevity isn’t a hope, it’s a guarantee.

🏠 Designed for Real Homes, Real Challenges

Lanterns, gables, roof spaces, awkward angles, where others struggle, we excel.

We don’t “adapt” blinds to fit these spaces.

We invent blinds specifically for them.

🎯 Precision from Start to Finish

Our surveys use advanced tools and CAD checks.

Our installers bring craftsmanship, professionalism, and deep product knowledge.

Every detail, from hidden cables to colour‑matched finishes, is executed with care.

🚀 Your Blind, Built for You

Once you’re in our system, your blind begins its journey through our bespoke manufacturing process.

Every component is made specifically for your order.

Nothing is generic. Nothing is mass‑produced.

Everything is Specialist.

After seeing the difference, it really comes down to this: do you want a blind engineered to last, or a cheap shortcut that fails when you need it most.

Choosing anything cheaper isn’t saving money, it’s wasting it.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

Thank you for all your hard work and commitment – Rich.

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Because of you, our online presence keeps growing stronger, louder, and more engaged every day. Next stop: 100K followers! Let’s go! 🚀

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Social Media Content Leaderboard

Thank you to the installation team for your continued effort. We really appreciate you all taking the extra time at the end of a busy day to supply great marketing content!

We’ve used photos/videos from most of the team over the last 3 months. Please keep up the good work. Our top contributors this quarter are…

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WeLCOME TO OUR NEWCOMERS

Welcome to our new team members! We are thrilled to have you onboard and look forward to working together. Your skills and enthusiasm will be a great addition to our company, and we’re excited to support you as you settle in. Here’s to a successful journey ahead!

Charles Rush – Pinoleum Department

Taylor Crow – Sales Team

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Just Married – Ryan and ElizabetH 💒

“We got married on 07/03/2026 at Cripps Barn in the Cotswolds, and it was absolutely amazing—we loved every single second. Huge thanks to my best man, James Misselbrook, who did a fantastic job (even if I couldn’t resist reminding him about a few mis-measured blinds in front of my Dad)😆”- Ryan

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Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for March is

Laura Berry 🥳🥇

Laura works so hard day in, day out. Her job is often one that goes unnoticed by the staff but she is tremendously important to the workflow of the factory, all whilst liaising with the installation team on a daily basis. Over the past few years Laura has taken on more responsibility in the office, including CAD drawings. She now regularly completes complex drawings for gables and unusual shapes. I know this has been a challenge but she’s really pushed herself and is now confident in this area – Ellie Smith-Anderson

March Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in March! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

SPECIAL SHOUT OUT🔥

FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER 2026

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout February.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

✈️ A Slightly Bonkers (But Brilliant) Order at Stansted Airport

This month we took on a project that sits in the “you don’t get this every day” category: shaped roller blinds for Stansted Airport’s air traffic control tower. Yes, that tower, the one that keeps the entire airport moving.

Getting to the tower was an adventure in itself.  After navigating airport security, we found ourselves driving alongside the runway, an experience that feels a little too close to the action when planes are taking off and landing right beside you.

Once inside the tower, the real challenge began. Measuring the windows meant weaving around screens, equipment, and enough tech to launch a small satellite. To make things even more interesting, the windows aren’t just angled, they also lean outward, so being that high up looking at the ground felt uneasy.

Our installations and manufacturing teams have since put their heads together to engineer a solution. Because the blinds will run directly over glass, we’re adding small wheel guides to help them glide smoothly. The blinds themselves will be made in a transparent, glare‑reducing fabric, so the controllers can still see the skies without being blinded by them.

“We’ll keep you all updated following the finished Installation.”

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best, Rich.

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Spotlight on Innovation

Precision-engineereD NORDIC DRAPES MACHINE

The factory has achieved another industry first in the UK with the introduction of the cutting-edge TST 3000, a fully automated solution dedicated to the production of our Nordic Drapes.

As the only machine on the market capable of manufacturing sheer vertical blinds in a completely automatic cycle, the TST 3000 sets a new benchmark for efficiency, precision, and product quality. From start to finish, the system seamlessly manages each stage of production — cutting fabric to size, applying stiffening tape to the upper edge and, where required, to the lower edge for enhanced compactness and rigidity.

Precision-engineered for exact alignment and consistency, the machine delivers a clean hem finish at both the top and bottom of every vane. Its advanced ultrasonic welding technology ensures superior strength and durability, while slimline hangers are welded discreetly inside the vanes to create a seamless, invisible appearance when installed.

Designed for performance as well as quality, the TST 3000 can produce complete fabrics in under thirty seconds, offering exceptional speed without compromising on craftsmanship.

With this latest investment, this reinforces our commitment to innovation, manufacturing excellence, and delivering premium Nordic Drapes to our customers.

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WeLCOME TO OUR NEWCOMERS

Welcome to our new team members! We are thrilled to have you onboard and look forward to working together. Your skills and enthusiasm will be a great addition to our company, and we’re excited to support you as you settle in. Here’s to a successful journey ahead!

Kerry-Marie Hollingsbee – Fabric Department

Damiso Springer – Roller Department

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for February is

Glenn Pheiffer 🥳🥇

“Glenn only joined the company last September but he has had a huge impact already. Pinoleum blinds are not easy to build, yet Glenn has picked up the process incredibly quickly. He is dedicated, efficient and meticulous, ensuring only the highest quality blinds go out the door. The pinoleum department is currently the busiest it’s ever been and Glenn has dealt incredibly well with the pressure of this. He is regularly nominated by his colleagues, and this month received the most nominations from the team.” – Ellie Smith-Anderson

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FEBRUARY Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in February! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

SHOUT OUT

JANUARY NEWSLETTER 2026

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout January.

What’s Happening: Installations

Update from Rich Jones

🛠️ Installations Update – January Meeting Highlights

Our first Installations meeting of the year took place on 22nd January, and it was brilliant to see such strong engagement from the whole team. The session was extremely well received and gave us the perfect opportunity to celebrate an exceptional year while looking ahead to the exciting developments on the horizon.

⭐ Exceptional Performance

One of the standout achievements was our remarkably low remedial rate.

Across 14,182 blinds manufactured, we recorded an error rate of just 2.9%, an extraordinary result when you consider this represents around 57,000 individual measurements taken throughout the year. This level of precision reflects the skill, consistency, and professionalism of the entire Installations team.

⚡ Innovation: 12v Roof Motor System

We also introduced the upcoming launch of our new 12v roof motor system, enabling us to supply and install conservatory roof blinds with a fully integrated low‑voltage solution. No other company in the industry is offering this technology, giving us a clear competitive advantage and keeping us years ahead of the market.

🧠 Interactive Quiz & Team Engagement

The team took part in an interactive online quiz focused on time management and the exceptional service we deliver every day. It sparked great conversations and was one of the most positively received parts of the agenda.

🔗 Smart Home Integration Training

To support our continued growth in smart home integration, we delivered updated training on the Connector home automation hub, covering:

This ensures the field team has even greater confidence when setting up customers’ blinds on the app.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best, Rich.

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What’s Happening: Factory

Improved Direct Drive Roof & Velux Blinds

We’ve recently made some adjustments to our Direct Drive roof blinds and motorised Velux aiming to reduce service calls. They are now corded similarly to our lantern blinds but the components vary due to the different moving rail.

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Update on Linea Facia End Plate Design

Our Linea facia’s have been selling so well since their introduction at the of 2024. We’ve recently come to the end of our first run of 90mm end plates and we wanted to take this opportunity to alter the design.

The photos above show the prototype from our supplier. You will see the back edge is chamfered at the top to allow for easier fitting of face fix blinds. This also allows the back edge of the endcap to rest against the wall, stabilising the blind.

These will start coming out on jobs in the next month and we will copy this design to the 70mm end plates once we run down stock of the existing design.

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Installation Team Meeting

At the meeting last week, we’ve asked the team for their help in obtaining more videos that we know works across our social channels. We need to ensure that we continue to post videos that our followers engage with so that they save/share our posts, and ultimately message us when they’re ready for a quote. Keep an eye on our socials to see what they achieve…

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WeLCOME TO OUR NEWCOMER

We would like to introduce you to our newest team member who joined us at the start of January. Please join us in welcoming Laura, who has come on board as our Associate Director of Marketing.

Laura has already made a great impression through her enthusiasm, dedication, and collaborative approach, and we are excited to see the positive impact she will make as she settles into her new role.

“I’m pleased to be starting my new role here at Specialist Blinds.

For the past 10 years I have headed up the marketing function for high end interiors products, manufacturing and construction brands, selling to a variety of markets. I particularly like to work with incredible quality products and services with a technical or specification approach and refocus them towards design-led audiences and ensure that the quality really gets chance to shine! 

I’m an avid netball player (guess which position) and a big fan of yoga and whatever weird and wonderful exercise trend is in at any given time (out: rock climbing, in: reformer pilates). I’m currently in the rather slow process of redecorating my house; much to the dismay of the ginger cat that lives there.  

Thank you for welcoming me.” – Laura

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🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for January is

Laura Aldridge🥳🥇

“Laura is our first employee of the month in 2026. Laura is always willing to take on a new challenge and has recently been learning how to make lantern blinds. She has been proactive during this quieter period of the year, asking for more jobs and beginning to work on free hanging blinds. This attitude is great to see, well done Laura!” – Ellie Smith-Anderson

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JANUARY Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in January! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

DECEMBER NEWSLETTER 2025

Message From Ian Baxter

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everybody in the company for their valuable contributions across the year. It may be obvious, but everyone plays a vital part in the process of making us the Specialist Blind Company.

Despite a challenging market, your efforts have enabled us to consolidate our position as leaders in the UK blind industry.

The Sales Team recently met in the Ashford Showroom, keeping everyone up to date with recent innovations and developments. In addition, we spent a significant amount of time on how we could improve our individual and team performance to achieve the highest order value going forward. We discussed best practice within the team (with many helpful tips from Howard Prince) and how to set ourselves apart from companies providing inferior products and services, and frankly offering low and ridiculous pricing.

During the meeting we looked at Appeal Home Shading – historically one of our main competitors – who have experienced a significant decline over the past three years, including millions in lost sales and a substantial loss of hundreds of thousands in 2024. This reinforces an important truth: low pricing ultimately leads to weakened performance and reduced long-term viability

The following day, I received a call from Arnaud Keat, who said he had enjoyed the meeting. However Arnaud highlighted an important point: starting negotiations with very low pricing leaves little room for movement and didn’t understand why some of the team started their negotiations at a very low price. He noted that whether you begin at £11,000, £10,000 or £9,000, the initial reaction from customers may be surprise or shock, but it rarely impacts the final outcome or conversion rate. What it does influence is the achievable order value and overall profitability – benefiting both the salesperson and the company.

Two days after the meeting I received a call from Steve Locker as he was driving home. He said that he had taken on board what Howard Prince and I had said at the meeting and just left a customer with a quote for £4,000 with significant room for negotiation, as the customer already had an appointment the following morning with John Lewis, providing a quotation for Luxaflex (Hunter Douglas) roller blinds. As Steve was in the area, the customer agreed that he could return at lunchtime to conclude business. The John Lewis – Luxaflex price was £3,618. Steve took the order at £3,800 by including a Home hub, which was the cherry on the cake for the customer. He wanted to buy from us because he was really impressed with the company, with Steve and in particular because he loved our exclusive 90mm linear fascia.

The moral of the story is that by starting with a higher price, you are likely to achieve a healthy order value – start with a low price and you can guarantee a low order value! Steve started high, negotiated with the customer and achieved a price that they were both happy with – the customer got value for money for a superior product and Steve got full commission on the order- a win/win! 

So, the challenge is on for the Sales Team in the coming Year – take a leaf out of Howard’s, Arnaud’s and Steve’s book – work smarter, not harder!

Finally, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy New Year.

Best Wishes,

Ian

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Message from Richard Jones

MESSAGE FROM KEVIN, TOM & ELLIE

Thank you all for your hard work this year. The last 12 months have been a time of change within our industry, and we are pleased to finish this year with a very busy December after the hard start we had.

To all those who have been with the company for many years now, thank you for your patience and resilience during the harder times, and to those we have welcomed this year, we thank you for the fresh energy and enthusiasm you have brought to the team.

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the time off and we look forward to welcoming you back in January.

From Kevin, Tom & Ellie

🎄 DECEMBER Festivities 🎄

Contracts Team Annual Christmas Get Together

This year we put on our best frocks (or was that just Sean?) and ventured out with our better halves, on a very wet and windy night in Ashford. A great night of laughter, fantastic Italian food and a modest amount of alcohol! Perfect night to kick off celebrations for the festive season.

Christmas Jumper Day ☃️

We don’t need an excuse to be festive (or is that just Sean again??) so always participate in the annual Christmas Jumper day. A proper rogues gallery!

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FaCTORY RAFFLE

As the year draws to a close in the factory, we held a staff raffle to distribute gifts from our suppliers. This year’s top prizes included a deluxe hamper and the much sought-after TOIL hours. Thank you to Jayne for arranging many of our prizes.

We gathered together afterwards for tea and cake for those who couldn’t make our company bowling night at the end of November.

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ALAN Becoming Santa for a Day

This all came about through the gym I’ve been attending since February. A few weeks ago, one of the instructors asked if I’d be willing to play Santa at a children’s Christmas party, as he was unavailable for the day and the gym owner needed someone to step in. I’d gotten to know the owner quite well, so I was happy to help, especially as it was for the kids at Christmas.

It turned out to be the owner’s family’s annual festive gathering. He usually plays Santa himself, but some of the older children had begun to realise that “Santa” was actually “Uncle Mike,” so he wanted someone new this year. He provided a very professional Santa suit – far more authentic than I expected.

While the children were in a private room at a local soft-play centre, I changed in a store cupboard and made my surprise entrance with their presents. A few of the older kids looked genuinely confused, especially with “Uncle Mike” standing there taking photos instead.

It was a heartwarming and fun experience, though wearing the suit was a workout in itself – I was absolutely roasting. I’ve no idea how anyone manages a full shift dressed as Santa! 🎅✨- Alan Dawes

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Secret SANTA GATHERING

December brought plenty of festive cheer to the Head Office as the Contracts Team made their annual trip up to Ewell for our much-loved Secret Santa gift exchange. The office was soon filled with laughter as gifts were unwrapped, bringing plenty of smiles and a great sense of festive fun as everyone enjoyed seeing what surprises were in store. 🎁

Of course, no Christmas get-together would be complete without festive snacks, and the spread did not disappoint, giving the team a chance to relax, catch up, and enjoy some time together.

It was a lovely way to mark the end of the year, celebrate the season, and enjoy some well-earned Christmas cheer with colleagues. 🎄

We would like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our colleagues for your hard work over the past year. We look forward to the new year ahead and will be back in the office on Monday 5th of January.

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ✨

Thank You From our chosen charity

Just a quick email to say thank you very much to you and everyone at Specialist Blinds for supporting us again this year! We really appreciate your donation – and the shout-out on social media too, which helps us reach new potential-supporters as well as spreading word of our work.

I hope you and your team have a lovely Christmas, and thank you again!

Robert Eyers

Fundraising Manager

Letter from the CEO

Dear everyone at Specialist Blinds,

On behalf of all the staff and volunteers at York Road Project, we would like to say thank you for your very generous Christmas donation of £250.

Your kind contribution means a lot to us, and enables our team to provide essential services to those experiencing homelessness in Woking, Waverley, and nearby areas. This ranges from us providing emergency and outreach services, to transitional support for clients so they may secure longer-term accommodation and independence.

We’re very grateful that you chose to support York Road Project in this way. With your support, we can defeat homelessness together.

Best wishes,

Cherisse Dealtry

Chief Executive

DeCEMBER Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in December! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

🎉Congratulations🎉

Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for December is

Andrew Murray🥳🥇

I’m pleased to announce the employee of the month for December is Andrew Murray. Andrew always keeps his head down and gets on with his work as well as going out of his way to help other departments with deliveries. Andrew had several nominations from the team, showing his hard work is recognised by his colleagues as well as the management team.
– Ellie Smith-Anderson

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER 2025

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout November.

👷🏻On Site This Month

We’re always receiving feedback from our installers about what they see on site, and it’s a powerful reminder of why our standards matter. One recent example came from a customer who asked us to supply and fit real wood venetians in a seven-part bay. They already had venetians in their lounge bay and wanted us to match them in the daughter’s bedroom.

Following our installation, the installer went downstairs to look at what another company had previously fitted, and he was shocked. The gaps were huge, fascias weren’t mitred in, and no child safety cleats had been fitted.

This kind of comparison highlights the difference Specialist Blinds makes. Where others cut corners, our team delivers precision, safety, and care. It’s not just about fitting blinds, it’s about protecting our reputation and giving customers the high-end, personal service they deserve. 

I’m 100% sure this customer will now be looking at their downstairs bay wondering why they accepted such a shoddy job!  Our installer managed to get a sneaky shot to show the unaligned gaps!

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

All the best, Rich.

Greg was issued the lead and in his own words – It’s not a window design I’ve seen in 37 years of doing this!

On meeting the client, they mentioned to Greg that a company from Bristol, confirmed as Appeal, cancelled their appointment having looked at a photograph as it wasn’t possible for them to do it. 

The customer had received similar responses from other companies or no response at all, who clearly chose not to visit. The customer were pleased Greg had even just come to have a look!

Greg’s solution was to plan two manual shaped roof blinds pulling horizontally across the triangular windows to the LH and RH. Having sorted these two odd shapes, the remainder is covered by two motorised inverted gables and three freehanging side blinds, all using our Pure 10 12v motors linked to mains power by our Pure Max 5 transformer.

The client’s brief was a dim-out solution in a neutral colour so SuperCell Haze Desert with white hardware was selected.

Martin is booked to install in January so watch this space to see Greg’s innovative solution come to life and provide the coverage the client requires, that everybody else shied away from!

Customer FEEDBACK

Email from an existing customer from 2003

Dear Arnaud,

Firstly to thank you very much for taking the time to visit yesterday. It was a pleasure to meet you again after all the years since the last time we replaced our blinds. It was very helpful to talk through options and see samples insitu.

Thank you now for your quotation. We can see that it is so very much higher than the price we paid for the same product (crushed Parchment) on the same 14 windows (conservatory & kitchen) back in 2011. On that occasion we paid £1,500. Further back, in 2003, you installed our first set of blinds – in crushed light peppermint green. On each occasion we have been so happy with the wonderful service and great look of your blinds. We would love to repeat the custom but hope you can consider our loyalty to come to a better price point for us.

On considering the two blind style samples we have here (single and double skinned) Dave and I have decided, should we go ahead, it would be the single-skinned lower-priced ‘Solar Design Crush’ for which we would opt. We await the sample of the Duck Egg Blue to consider colour choice and confirmation that the factory are willing to make that one slightly longer, yet narrow, end blind.

I do hope we can come to a mutually acceptable price and look forwards to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Sian (and Dave)

November Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in November! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

OCTOBER NEWSLETTER 2025

Here’s a round-up of exciting updates, highlights, team wins and competitor insights from across the business throughout October.

🧬 Installer DNA: Built on Pride, Precision, and Purpose

Installation isn’t just a job, it’s a mindset. Every day, I see it in action: quiet determination, zero compromise, and a deep pride in doing things right. It’s not written on a wall, but it’s etched into every bracket, every angle, every finish.

We’re not the loudest about what we do, and sometimes, self-praise doesn’t come easy. But that’s exactly why it matters. Because the standard we set, the care we take, and the pride we carry deserve to be seen, shared, and celebrated.

SO………….

This month, I asked some our team to pause and reflect, not on the tools they use, but on the values they carry. What drives them? What defines their craft? What does it mean to be part of a team that installs with purpose? I asked them the below questions.

🔹 What does pride look like in our craft? It’s the signature we leave behind. Our team doesn’t chase praise, they chase perfection. Whether it’s a complex roof lantern or a sleek bay window, every install is treated like a personal signature. 

“I want the customer to walk in and say ‘Wow.’ That’s when I know I’ve done my job.”   - Martin Evans

🔹 What does it mean to ‘do good’ on-site? It’s more than getting it done. It means showing up early, solving problems calmly, and leaving the space better than we found it. It’s about respect, for the customer, the home, and the craft.

 “We’re not just fitting blinds. We’re representing the brand, the team, and ourselves.”  –  Jack Wesson

🔹 How do we define precision in our installs? Angles. Levels. Tolerances. Our installers don’t guess, they measure, adjust, and refine. Precision is our quiet obsession. It’s why our remedial rates stay low and our reputation stays high.

 “If it’s 99% right, it’s still wrong. We go for 100.”  – Lex Allen

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🔍 Installer Challenge of the Month

Take 60 seconds. No tools, no tape measures, just you. Ask yourself: “What did I do this month that made someone say ‘Wow’?” If you’ve got an answer, own it. If you don’t, chase it.

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🧠 Quote of the Month 

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🙏 A Personal Thank You

To the entire Installations team, thank you. Your pride, your precision, and your professionalism never go unnoticed. I see the effort, the care, and the quiet excellence you bring to every job. You set the standard, and I couldn’t be prouder to lead this team.

All the best, Rich.

What’s Happening: Sales

Sale of the month

Congrats to Andy Cruse for this sale, comprising 35 blinds across 10 rooms, for a new build in the leafy village of Bouton on the Water, for the tidy sum of £21783.00.

The client was trying to play hard ball and saying he would go elsewhere for a cheaper package, but Andy knew this was not true as some of the elements he required wouldn’t not have been possible from alternative suppliers. After a few weeks of delaying the client finally conceded that we were the only ones that could supply his vision but stated the order was dependant on being complete by his moving in date! Not an easy commitment with our lead time being seriously affected due to their delays! Thankfully common sense prevailed, and Jeff was able to organise a survey to give the factory sufficient time to manufacture, to enable installation around their moving in date and the client is happy with proposed dates.

Andy has specified several different blind types across the rooms, from our Linea 90 Roller blinds with Pure Power 30 Mains motors to span wide sliding doors in the living and dining areas, to Bauhaus Pure Power 40 battery Dimout Duette blinds to the main bedrooms and SmartCord and button fit tension blinds to spare bedrooms and gym areas.

Watch this space for completion photos.

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The Building History….

Camden Town Hall, known as St Pancras Town Hall until 1965, is the meeting place of Camden London Borough Council.  Previously housed in the vestry offices in St Pancras Way, the offices were found to be inadequate, so civic leaders elected to construct a purpose-built facility.

The new building was designed by Albert Thomas in the neoclassical style. The construction was undertaken by Dove Brothers of Islington, involving a steel frame clad with Portland stone, with construction starting in 1934. The design involves symmetrical frontage along both Judd Street and Euston Road with huge Corinthian Order columns supporting a pediment in the middle of each elevation, giving the building a truly grand appearance. Internally, the principal rooms were an assembly hall on the ground floor in the east of the building and the council chamber and mayor’s parlour on the first floor in the west of the building. The building was officially opened in October 1937 and having gone through several renovations since it’s opening and annexe buildings being adopted for council offices, the town hall was re-opened in 2023, serving once again as the council’s meeting place and events venue.

The Brief…

Having been approached by Butterfield Designs, an architect responsible for works within the event hall, we were asked if we could provide blinds to arched windows and adjacent glazing. Nothing unusual for us but having visited Grant Johnstone established the arched windows were approximately 7 metres from the floor and the windows beneath had a drop of 3800! So, working height was obviously an issue and the drop of the blinds exceeded our specifications! And to further complicate matters there is internal glazing which would need to be temporarily removed to allow installation.

The Result…

Survey took place, with the client supplying scissor lifts, so we could reach the top of the blinds.

Being a commercial project, appropriate health and safety concerns were addressed, and full PPE was worn. In depth conversations regarding position of electrics and a support baton for the arches and blinds beneath were confirmed in writing and with Kevin K having approved the build of the out of spec drops a fit date was booked and manufacture commenced. All blinds had been specified in Duette Cloud Dimout Slate, which is fire a retardant fabric, a requirement for blinds in public buildings, with our Bauhuas profile and Pure Power 40 motors for the very long window blinds and our Pure 10 12v motors for the arches.

Scissor lifts were again in position to get our guys to the working height but unfortunately; despite giving clear instructions regarding removal of the internal glazing and positioning electrics, things weren’t quite ready for our arrival on the 28^th! RJ and James put a long shift to overcome these hurdles and the installation was completed.

An amazing installation in this truly grand building, with our arched blinds fitting seamlessly into the window spaces, to provide a dim-out scenario required for functions and events, with full motorisation for ease of use. Another installation that truly encapsulates who we are and what we can do.

Here’s a beautiful time-lapse capturing the installation in progress:

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DiARY DATES

📅 Key Dates to Remember

🎄 Christmas Order Cut-Off Dates

• Non-Stock/Coupage Duette: Deadline was Monday, 27th October – now passed.
• Stock Duette, Pleated, Roller & SuperCell Orders: Final deadline is Monday, 3rd November.

This is your last opportunity to submit orders in time for Christmas processing.

📅Sales Meeting – Ashford

24th & 25th November
The upcoming Sales Meeting will be held in Ashford.

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SOCIAL MEDIA

We’ve said it before, but we’ll say it again… We’d love to see more videos like these please!
The videos that do well on socials tend to be:

• In a beautiful room (show the room, not just the blinds – people are nosey and love seeing home interiors!)
• Blinds ‘doing a lot’ in a short amount of time (e.g. if it’s a gable then left side up, right side up, both down together, up together. Other blinds need to be the most visually interesting it can be – symmetry, patterns made by moving opposite blinds!)

• Camera still (don’t walk around – it looks too wobbly when we speed it up. We’ve even had people comment about some shaky clips with ‘did you film that on a boat!’)

OCTOBER Birthday Celebrations

Happy Birthday to all our wonderful colleagues who celebrated their birthdays in October! Wishing you a fantastic year ahead filled with happiness, success, and good health. Here’s to many more celebrations! 🎉🥳🎉

Having established the business 30 years ago, his vision laid the foundation for what has grown into the company we are all proud to be part of today. Reaching six decades is no small feat, and we acknowledge the dedication and longevity that has brought the company through three decades of change and evolution.

We wish Peter a very happy birthday and continued good health and success in the years ahead. Here’s to marking this significant occasion and to many more chapters still to come.

🎉Congratulations🎉

Aaron Qualifies to Represent Team GB in Spain!

Back in September, we shared some exciting news about Aaron Sparks-Carolan, who was gearing up to take on the European Olympic Duathlon Qualifier — a seriously tough race made up of a 10K run, 40K bike, and 5K run.

Well, we’re absolutely delighted to share that all of Aaron’s hard work and determination have paid off! 🎉

At the qualifier last weekend, Aaron put in an outstanding performance — finishing third overall and earning himself a place on the podium, which means he’s officially qualified to represent Team GB in his age group at the European Championships in Banyoles, Spain, in July 2026.

We’re all so proud of you, Aaron — what an amazing achievement! Your dedication and drive are truly inspiring, and we’ll be cheering you on every step (and pedal) of the way to Spain. 🏃🏻‍♂️🚴🏻‍♂️🇬🇧

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Congratulations to Dan Watson – Proud Grandad!

We’re delighted to share some wonderful news from Dan Watson and his family! Dan is thrilled to announce the arrival of his 2nd grandchild.

Indie gave everyone a bit of a scare on her way into the world, but thanks to a safe delivery by C-section, both mum and baby are doing brilliantly. Dan tells us he was happily tucked up in bed when he got the late-night call — “I want my Dad!” — sparking a very tense but ultimately joyful night at the hospital.

Now that everyone is home and settling in, Dan is already embracing life as a very smitten grandad and looking forward to many more sleepless nights.

Congratulations to Dan and his family on the wonderful new arrival!

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Factory Employee of the Month

Our employee of the month for October is

Barry Davies 🥳🥇

“Barry is a joy to have in the factory, he’s always got a smile on his face. This year our lantern blinds have been extremely busy and Barry has risen to the challenge at every opportunity. His hard work and good attitude it noticed by everyone, as he has received the most nominations of any winner so far.”– Ellie Smith-Anderson

Office Stories

The Case of the DIY Blind Surgeon

Lesley had quite the entertaining call this week from a builder working at one of our client’s homes. He explained that he’d just installed new windows — a tidy 15mm smaller than the originals — and discovered that the blinds (with our label proudly displayed) no longer fit.

No problem, he thought. He’d just cut them down a bit! 💡🪚

As you can imagine… the results were not exactly showroom quality. In his own words, “they look awful.”

He then asked Lesley what blades we use (as if there’s a magic saw that fixes design decisions!) and whether he could bring them in for us to sort out.

Lesley swiftly passed the call over to Sean — our go-to problem solver for all things blinds — who we’re sure had a few thoughts of his own on this “creative” attempt at customisation.

Sean advised that it would not just be the rails that need reducing and that it is likely he will not achieve the desired results. He was fairly confident that he would, so Sean clarified that he would need to use a chop saw that has a cutting blade that is rated for aluminium, as nothing else will give a clean finish. Sean didn’t get a chance to discuss the fabric!

He advised he didn’t have a chop saw and asked would a window company that fabricates aluminium frames have one? Sean suggested it is likely, but they would not want to be cutting products that aren’t their own. “That’s no problem” he said as he knows a bloke that works for just such a company! We dread to think what the outcome will be!

Moral of the story: just because it looks easy doesn’t mean it is! Leave the blind surgery to the professionals. 😄