About Gator Blinds
Gator Custom Blinds has one of the most experienced staff in Florida. If you are shopping for Blinds in Gainesville, Blinds in Ocala, Blinds in Lake City or Blinds in north central Florida, Gator Custom Blinds is your window blinds authority for custom made window treatments such as wood blinds, faux wood blinds, cellular and honeycomb shades, pleated shades, roman shades, roller shades, woven woods, vertical blinds, mini blinds, shutters and so much more. For the best price in quality custom window shades, window blinds, shutters and custom window treatments, as well as free in-home estimates and installation, call Gator Custom Blinds today and let one of our friendly window treatment profesionals help you with all your Custom Window Coverings needs.
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Please meet our extremely accessible management team: The Owners of Gator Custom Blinds have been selling and installing window coverings in the central florida area since 1985 with experience in all facets of the industry including sales, installation, manfacturing, repairs, customer service and management. Our experience is what sets Gator Blinds apart from the competition with our expert knowledge and professional business practices as well as our years of business in the North Central Florida area. |
Gainesville: 352-375-1995 Ocala: 352-867-0448 Lake City: 386-752-7250
Articles:
"Designed for the way you live"--this has been Graber's motto for their blinds and window treatments as long as they've been in business. Graber's blinds and shades are well made, stylish, and energy efficient. The goal for any window treatment company is to combine form with function. These considerations are equally important when it comes to choosing a window covering.
Founded by John Graber in 1939 as The Graber Co., Springs Window Fashions has become a leader in window coverings and drapery hardware. The Graber Co. began with John Graber's invention of the drapery crane marketed as the Badger Crane, which was manufactured in Middleton, WI.
After WW II, the Graber Co. introduced traverse rods and became the first company to use nylon slides. The innovations continued and by the late 1960s, shades and verticals were added to its extensive drapery hardware line.
In 1979, Springs Industries acquired the Graber Co. because the brand name, quality window coverings were an ideal fit with its consumer product lines. This large textile manufacturer helped launch the production of Graber's pleated shades in 1983. In 1989, Springs acquired Bali, a market leader in horizontal blinds. Nanik, the premier leader in "Fine Furniture for Windows" joined Springs Window Fashions in 1995.
Springs Window Fashions embraces a philosophy of excellence called the Springs of Achievement, comprising seven values: quality, service, creativity, education, personal and family well-being, respect for history and planning for the future.
The late Joe Graber once stated that his father John started the company in 1939 without outside funding, but there was a 0 note which was paid off with "great relief." Joe Graber also recalled hearing his father boast that they would make ",000 the following year." Through hard work and determination, the Window Fashion Division has become an integral part of Springs' Industries billion corporation.
Starting with form, their styles range from elegant Roman shades to warm woven shades and elegant honeycomb shades, as well as timeless classics like Mini blinds and vertical blinds. They remain classic and elegant, yet their designers incorporate the emerging styles and trends in home decorating.
Graber blinds also excel in terms of function. They are easy to operate and durable. Graber blinds are also energy efficient. When blinds are engineered to keep your home cool in the summers and warm in the winters, you can save on electricity and gas bills. Over time, this can add up to a considerable amount of money. Look at your Graber blinds as an investment in efficiency.
Because there are so many blind patterns and colors that are unique to this manufacturer, look for a company that offers the full line of Graber products. Graber, one of the most respected names in window treatments.
Springs Window Fashions has a long, successful heritage in the manufacturing of horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, pleated and cellular shades and drapery hardware, along with many other innovative window treatment products, including solar shades. Our three brand names – Bali®, Graber® and Nanik® – represent a service and product offering acknowledged by contractors and architects for reliability, consistency and quick turnaround.
History
For more than 67 years, Springs Window Fashions has been a fixture in the window decorating industry. The company was founded in 1939 as the Graber Company when John Graber invented the Badger Crane – a bracket designed to hold drapery panels over Venetian blinds. Graber took great pride in the fine quality of his products, seeing to every aspect of his business. His children carried on the tradition of hard work, innovative business practices and the high standards of quality and service that to this day are still synonymous with the Graber brand.
For the Graber Company, the 1960s and 1970s were years of growth and acquisitions. Consolidated Food Corp. acquired Graber in 1967 and other smaller window treatment companies to expand its product offerings.
In 1979, Springs Industries, a leading home furnishings manufacturer and marketer located in Ft. Mill, SC purchased the Graber Company. In 1989, Springs purchased the Carey-McFall Corp, Montgomery, PA, and acquired the Bali brand. The two companies were then consolidated into Springs Window Fashions, bringing tremendous opportunities for growth and development. Since that time, Springs Window Fashions has expanded its operations by adding Nanik – a high-end handcrafted custom wood blind manufacturer, as well as manufacturing facilities in Grayling, MI, Reno, NV, Reynosa and Tijuana, Mexico.
On December 30, 2005, Springs Industries separated into two companies: Springs Global, the textile home furnishings business which merged with Coteminas, Brazil, and Springs Window Fashions, the window coverings business. Both businesses now operate independently to maximize their strategies, customers and markets. Both continue to be owned by the Close family and Heartland Industries.
During its rich history, Springs Window Fashions has grown from a metal bender and hardware supplier to a leader in the window treatment industry with over 4,000 employees.
Every successful company has a vision and a mission statement. They must have a strategy, a plan, and a passion for executing this strategy. Hunter Douglas has a tradition and a passion for building blinds and shades that provide practicality and beauty.
A member of both the European and North American market, they have enjoyed many years of success. Considered a top brand in the window treatment industry, their products are consistently ranked at or near the top of the pack for both quality and beauty. They have become a premier name in blinds and shades, and with good reason.
Hunter Douglas is a world leader in window coverings, carrying such products as Country wood blinds, Duette cellular shades, Everwood faux wood blinds, Silhouette, Vignette, Luminette, Celebrity miniblinds, and many more window treatments.
History
In 1919 Henry Sonnenberg founded a machine tool distribution and subsequently a manufacturing company in Germany. In 1933 he moved to The Netherlands and established a machine tool operation, which was moved to the United States in 1940. It was in 1946 when Henry Sonnenberg formed a joint venture with Joe Hunter to produce lightweight aluminum slats for venetian blinds. Not particularly pleased with his name "Sonnenberg", Henry picked the popular name "Douglas" from a phone book, and Hunter Douglas was born.
Hunter Douglas aluminum blinds quickly gained leadership in the American market. They sold custom blinds during the day and assembled them at night. In 1956 the business was sold and concentrated building the window coverings business outside the United States. From 1960 to 1980, Hunter Douglas operations expanded in Europe, Australia, and Latin America. In 1969 the company went public. The company re-acquired its former U.S. business in 1976.
Products
From custom window shadings and sheers to louvers, shades, window blinds and shutters, Hunter Douglas' window treatments are custom built expressly for your windows and manufactured according to the highest standards of quality. Their blinds offer a wide selection of textures and colors for horizontal blinds and vertical blinds. Their shades have come a long way since the days of plain roller shades. Their extensive selection includes highly energy efficient honeycomb shades, elegant Roman shades and uniquely textured woven wood shades. Palm Beach vinyl shutters are a solution ideal for windows exposed to high heat, humidity and other extreme climate conditions.
Hunter Douglas offers a variety of styles including fabric sheers, verticals, Venetian blinds, and more. Hunter Douglas is an Innovator in the blind industry. Hunter Douglas has certain Proprietary products that cannot be sold on the Internet such as, Silhouette, Luminette, Vignette and Trio shades, but there are versions of these products that can be purchased from other window treatment manufacturers. Within their cellular shades, you'll find single, double, and triple honeycomb patterns that offer different levels of privacy as well as UV protection. Their traditional shades are offered in varying textures, in Roman styles as well as pleated shades.
If you are going to shop for Hunter Douglas blinds and shades online, browse as many of the styles available as possible before making your choice. If you are still interested in purchasing Silhouette, Luminette or Vignette shades, you should consider the many alternatives to these products that are available on the Internet.
In the 1980s, the regimen was the more products you had, the more you had to sell. By selling the LHF4 philosophy (one company/four differentiated brands), we are stating that a stronger need exists for customer market differentiation. It is imperative that the industry go with a product/service regimen to differentiate themselves and their product offering from that of the competition. At LHF, we believe that simple is better! We believe in cutting through the confusion by offering a simple selling proposition to the customer.
The fabricator concept has increased quite considerably since its beginnings in the mid-'70s, and LouverDrape has traditionally been our foundation of the fabricator product lines. As a result of creating our Fabricator/Distributor Division, this combination of the two channels allows us to expand our focus to the distributor as well with an offering of Levolor distributed products.
Levolor Home Fashions0 (LHF) was formed in 1994 when Newell Co., owner of industry leader Levolor, purchased Home Fashions, Inc. Joanna Window Fashions, known for its popular roller shades, was acquired in 1995, and the company now features the product lines of Levolor, LouverDrape0, Del Mar and Joanna brands.
LHF provides more focused service, allowing customers to utilize its powerful brands to design unique programs from one source. Each brand maintains its unique market position. Four divisions have been established to handle different aspects of the business: Levolor Home Fashions Retail, LouverDrape Fabrication, Levolor Home Fashions Contract and Levolor Home Fashions Canada/ International.
The persona of Levolor Home Fashions is that we are core specific -- we have brought together companies that represent their industries. For example, LouverDrape is verticals; Levolor is horizontals; Del Mar is pleated shades; and Joanna is roller shades. This gives us full line expertise providing consumers with the best product, expertise and innovation. No other company within the industry has this advantage of core line representation. We also have a resource in Newell being our parent company in that it is a financial horsepower that holds management expertise in transitional markets like ours. No business could have gone through such a monumental process as our recent systems conversion without this strong backing and management expertise to pull off the project successfully.
1907: Charles W. Kirsch invents the first flat curtain rod and founds the Kirsch Company.
1907: C.W. Kirsch invents the first "telescoping" flat rod.
1907: C.W. Kirsch begins packaging his curtain rods, complete with brackets.
1919: Kirsch makes its first foreign shipment.
1923: Kirsch begins construction of a half million square foot plant in Sturgis, Michigan.
1928: C.W. Kirsch invents the first adjustable traverse rod.
1935: Kirsch begins manufacturing wood slat Venetian blinds.
1939: Kirsch rods are used as the only rods in the movie classic, "Gone With The Wind."
1950: Kirsch Sunaire Venetian blinds are featured in the hit film, "Hit The Jackpot" starring Jimmy Stewart.
1953: Kirsch introduces the Superfine? adjustable traverse rod.
1954: Kirsch introduces vertical slat traverse rods and decorative caf? rods.
1956: Kirsch constructs a second plant in Sturgis containing 250,000 square feet of warehousing and assembly space.
1957: Kirsch celebrates its 50th anniversary with 1,800 employees and sales in excess of million.
1960: Kirsch decorative traverse rods are introduced to the nation on the "Today" show.
1962: Architrac?, a professional line of traverse tracks for professional installations, is introduced.
1967: Kirsch introduces the world's first motorized electromagnetic traverse rod.
1980: The Continental? wide pocket curtain rod is patented by Kirsch.
1988: Swag 'N' Tails", a pole set that allows homeowners to turn simple scarves into complex-looking top treatments, is introduced.
1994: Studio Coordinates" mix and match decorative window hardware is introduced featuring one-of-a-kind hand-painted finials.
1995: Several lines of decorative window hardware are introduced including the C.W.Kirsch Signature Series Buckingham" Collection, Design Trends" Wrought Iron Collection and Fashion Trends decorative caf? rods.
1997: The C.W. Kirsch Signature Series adds the Tiffany Collection, featuring hand assembled multi-colored stained glass finials and holdbacks reminiscent of the Arts & Crafts era.
2002: At IWCE, Kirsch unveils an exciting new exhibit designed around the emerging trends in home decor style. Also Kirsch introduces new signature lines of decorative window hardware by Clodagh and Raymond Waites, and the Gallery Kirsch Designer of the Year Program.
