Governor Shumlin Celebrates GWD!

As the rain poured down over Vermont last Friday night, nothing could dampen the spirits of the GWD team as we celebrated the grand opening of our new factory and showroom with friends, family and Governor Shumlin! Check out the photo of the whole gang.

It was so gratifying to see everyone having a really lovely time in the new space. I think back to when I was just a little kid running around the old GWD and though our old spaced served us well for 25 years we were bursting at the seams and it was time to move on. Seeing my dad speak about this company that he and my mom built from scratch with the Governor standing by made me incredibly proud.

The food by Sugarsnap was amazing, the wine from Cheese Traders was delicious, the many babies who joined us were angels...all in all I'd say it was a perfect evening!

After 25 Years in Essex Junction, Gordon’s Window Décor is Moving

On February 25^th, after 25 years in The Fort Ethan Allen, Gordon’s Window Décor will be moving on.

“We have loved being in Essex Junction for all of these years.” Says Gordon Clements, President “and having one of the historic Fort buildings provided some “frugal down-to-earth” character. But we have just outgrown our building and the moment I saw the factory at 8 Leroy Road in Williston I knew it was perfect for our new home. It will more than double our production space in both area and height, and with a receiving dock on the east and a shipping dock on the west, we will get much better material flow through the building.

“We manufacture 70% or more of what we sell so it is really important that our production crew have the space we need to make the best possible shade we can.” Say Shannon Partridge and Julie Krebser, Production Managers “The 8 Leroy Road building definitely fits the bill”

So on February 25^th, with some sadness, Gordon’s Window Décor will be closing their doors on 4 Laurette Drive as they make the move over to Williston. “It is kind of the end of an era- I remember helping out as a 6 year old as Gordon’s and I grew up in this building” says Kelly Conklin, Clements’ daughter and the next generation of the company “but it is definitely time and I am really excited and optimistic as I take on the next 25 years of Gordon’s in Vermont!”

The new building at 8 Leroy Road in Williston

Design Solution of the Month!

Today we’re talking with Joan. She has been a designer with Gordon’s Window Décor for 18 years. She recently encountered a job that required some creative solutions!

KC: So Joan, tell us about the job.

JS: Well, the customer has a living room part of which functions as a guest room when she has folks visiting from out of town. What the customer wanted a way to split up the room to offer guests some privacy when they were in their “room”, but she did not want the solution to be permanent so she could have full use of the living room when no one was visiting. AND she was on a pretty tight budget.

KC: Wow, that sounds like a tricky one! What did you come up with?

JS: We thought that a curtain hung on a rod installed with drop brackets from the ceiling would be perfect. This way, guests could pull the curtain across when they want privacy and they can easily open up the curtain to give the customer back her living room.

KC: Perfect! The rod from the ceiling sounds pretty challenging though.

JS: It was absolutely challenging for a couple of reasons. The dimension of the curtain is 206"wide X 103" long so that is a VERY heavy curtain and there are not a lot of rods that can handle that weight nor are there a lot of brackets, especially if the customer is on a budget. So I went over to Lowes to check out their plumbing supplies and found a not too obtrusive copper pipe that would hold the weight of the curtain, was not too heavy itself, and was very affordable. We splurged a little on the brackets, but that was okay with what we saved on the rod and voila! The perfect solution!

KC: That is so creative! We will be installing the curtain in a few weeks and will be sure to post pictures of the finished product then.

Lowe's Stores Recall to Repair Roman Shades and Roll-Up Blinds; Two near Strangulations Involved Young Children

In light of the recent recall of 6 million Roman shades and 5 million roll-up blinds from Lowe’s Home Centers, Gordon Clements, of Gordon's Window Décor would like to discuss his company’s policy on child/pet safe window coverings. Gordon and Dianne moved to Vermont 27 years ago to raise their 3 daughters. And now with 2 grandchildren, are particularly concerned for child and pet safety.

Every year there are too many children whose lives are taken or forever altered in tragic accidents near windows that can so easily be prevented. Parents who replace their older window coverings with new cordless and motorized products can feel more confident about their child’s safety.

Gordon’s, along with the Window Covering Safety Council highlights these areas to address for optimum child safety.

1) Cordless and motorized are the recommended window coverings in homes with young children.

2) Check you present shades for cord loops that a child can get his/her head through; consider replacing any that do. Product origin may help as most, although not all, American manufacturers recognize child safety in their product design.

3) Keep all window pull cords and inner lift cords out of the reach of children.

4) Make sure that tasseled pull cords are short and continuous-loop cords are permanently anchored to the floor or wall.

5) Make sure cord stops are properly installed and adjusted to limit movement of inner lift cords.

6) Lock cords into position whenever horizontal blinds or shades are lowered, including when they come to rest on a windowsill.

7) Utilize Tensioner Devices (available at Gordon's Window Décor) on corded shades.

8) Don’t forget about your pets. Window covering cords can be dangerous for curious cats and dogs.

Make your windows beautiful for you as well as safe for your children and pets. Most custom window treatment companies offer an amazing variety of product to meet every need as well as on staff designers to assist and offer advice. Some, like Gordon's Window Décor manufacture locally so in addition to following safety protocols, as much as 80 cents on the dollar stays in Vermont. We hope that this article will help keep our children and pets free from needless and tragic accidents.

Color is our Most Affordable Luxury

Color can be a scary thing. There is so much science out there telling us what colors make us happy, which make us eat more, which bring us harmony and on and on it is easy to see why committing to a color can be a daunting task.

But color truly is our most affordable luxury. When a new media center or family vacation is out of the budget making your home a private get away can be and color is the key. Window treatments are one of the simplest ways to get some color into your décor. Painting the walls a new color can be messy and time consuming. New flooring is expensive and can take ages. Window treatments are affordable, easily installed and can make a huge impact on the room.

Now you know you want your window treatments to provide that splash of color your room is missing, but how do you figure out what color is the right color? There are a few things to take into consideration which will all affect the colors you choose. Which direction is the room facing? What do you want the mood of the room to be? What is the natural light in the room like? What is the goal of the window treatment?

Once you have answered some of these questions bring some fabric samples home. Color changes in different environments so the color you fall in love with in the store may be the color you hate when it is in your home. Our designers are experts at helping their clients discover the colors that will work for them and their home.

Getting color into your home can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be! With the help of one of our designers you will not only end up with a gorgeous treatment that fits your budget and speaks to your style, but you’ll have a blast doing it!

Child Safety and Window Treatments

One of the largest concerns in the window covering industry is child safety. Today’s recall of 50 million roller and roman shades from stores such as JC Penney, Wal-Mart and Target ignited a frenzy of conversation online.

We at Gordon’s Window Décor are committed to window treatment solutions that are safe for your family. Here’s the run down on child safety, window treatments and what you can do to make sure your family is safe.

1. Motorized window treatment solutions- Almost all of our window treatments can be motorized making raising and lowering shades easy and safe!

2. Cordless window treatments- No cords, no hassles! There are a variety of types of shades from cellular EcoSmart shades to Romans that have a cordless option.

3. Conversion possibilities- Because we are the factory our talented production team can convert shades that may pose hazards to the children in your life into shades that are beautiful and safe.

4. EcoSmart Cellular Shades- Our standard operating EcoSmart shades come standard with a breakaway cord equalizer, and our continuous cord shades have a hold down that is screwed to the wall. Cordless and motorized upgrades are available on all EcoSmart shades.

If you have any concerns regarding the safety of your shades give us a call or bring the shades into our showroom and we’ll be happy to look it over.

We are confident that our window treatments will keep your family more comfortable and safe for years to come!

Gordon Clements, President

Buttoning Up for Winter!

The cold winds of winter are fast approaching and with it memories of the furnace working over time and those frigid zones surrounding our windows - freezing our feet and making it impossible to sit in our favorite sofa.

So how do we improve the insulation of our windows to temper that difference and reduce those cold differentials?

Storm Windows

In my old home we did an energy audit and per their recommendation I installed storm windows. That extra layer of glass was very effective at creating an additional layer of dead air space, significantly improving the insulation at our windows and reducing the cold. And they did not affect our view in any way.

It became part of our fall family ritual when, after that last leaf raking, my wife and I, with our three kids, would spend a day bringing out the tall ladder, retrieving the windows from storage, cleaning them up, tighten up the attachment clips, and install the storms.

We tried to make it a fun event - even cleaning out the eve troughs since we had the tall ladder out. Once done, we sure noticed the difference, as the house was tighter and warmer. And miraculously over the many years we had those storms none were broken in the process or over the summer!

EcoSmart Insulating Shades

For our new home, where the winds are even more severe, we elected a less expensive option - to install insulating cellular shades from GordonsWindowDecor.com. They are referred to as moveable insulation - so you can pull them up so they are virtually invisible when not required, and lower them for insulation when needed. We can take advantage of passive solar gain, vent our space when necessary, or create cozy privacy, all in a matter of seconds.

We installed the shades with side tracks and found them to be every bit as insulating as the storms - if not more so because there is a double layer of insulation within the shade AND the dead air space between the window and the shade. (A side benefit we discovered is that we really appreciate the shades almost more in the summer to reduce the heat gain as we do not have central air in Vermont.)

The ultimate luxury - since this option gave us a few dollars to spare, and we are lazy in the morning, we motorized our bedroom shades. With the remote at bedside, my wife can lift the shades to check the weather when still snuggled under the covers.

As for the family ritual – well the kids are thrilled that they no longer need to pull out the big ladder (don’t even ask me about the gutters!). We found that EcoSmart insulating shades really are a great way to solve the heat loss problem and make our home comfortable.