Supplier Profile - Factory Blinds

Tasbuilt are proud to introduce you to - Factory Blinds - one of our great team of suppliers!

Factory blinds

Tell us a little bit about Factory Blinds and the products you offer?

The business’ four key product groups are roller blinds, curtains, honeycomb blinds and plantation shutters. We manufacture most of our finished goods in our own workroom. By manufacturing in-house, we have a better and more consistent standard of quality control, we are able to find a solution for those tricky jobs and we’re not limited or restricted to product ranges offered by the finished goods wholesalers. As a business, we select and support Australian based national brand wholesalers as our first option. We purchase brand name products from suppliers such as Rollease Acmeda, Uniline, Shaw Fabrics, Louvolite and Texstyle Fabrics for our internal blind systems. For our external patio blinds we manufacture the Ziptrak patio blind system and prefer to use Vistaweave screen fabrics. We support Wilson Fabrics, Nettex, Basford Brands, the Dunlop Group, Slender Morris, Warwick and the Charles Parsons group with curtain fabric ranges while SAN supply our curtain tracks and accessory ranges. In our smallish population area we need to cater to the full market but we do mostly focus on the domestic market of new home builds and renovators

What is your top piece of advice for a client selecting window furnishings for their new home?

The best piece of advice that I can give is to firstly think about what it is that best suits you and your family’s needs. If you have a young family you probably want a more practical, robust, easy-to-clean window furnishing or if you have an older family or are empty nesters then you probably will be more fashion and trend conscious and be prepared to spend a bit more on a product that makes a statement and represents your personality or you may simply be working to a budget and require advice on a best value for money option.

Consider the practical aspect of window furnishings, do you want daytime privacy but still be able to enjoy the views, do you need to protect carpets, upholstery and bedding from UV or is insulation to protect against heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter more important. Is condensation a concern?

Launceston is in an enviable position with the window furnishing industry at this point in time. There are many well-established businesses with long-serving staff and long serving business owners who have a wealth of knowledge and experience. Talk to them, they are specialists in their field. Don’t be lured into online shopping just on price.

What are the most interesting trends you have observed over the last little while in the building industry?

Internally the trend remains with double roller blinds, or day/night blinds, and this product group continues to outsell every other product group. They are cost effective, decorative, practical, fashionable and offer very good levels of insulation. A product that is hard to beat.

The big movers for the internal furnishing market are motorisation, sheer curtains and honeycomb blinds. For the external market the explosive growth is in the outdoor entertainment market and the need for patio blinds with additional demands for external folding arm awnings and roller shutters.

Motorisation of blinds, awnings curtain tracks is showing the strongest growth. At Factory Blinds we choose to supply Alpha Tubular motors which are offered with a 7 year manufacturer’s warranty, one of the biggest warranties on offer. The motors can be operated by hand held remote control, phone apps, home automation or voice activation with Google, Amazon and Apple systems.

The sheer curtain combined with a continuous blockout lining is bringing softness back to our home décor. The sheer curtain drapes well, has a broad range of colours and styles, is cost effective and softens the look and feel of a room. Then when privacy is required draw the lining across behind the sheer for a modern trendy look.

The Ziptrak® tensioned patio blind system is an Australian designed product. It is like adding another room to your outdoor area only far cheaper. Enclose your patio area for sun, wind and rain protection and all year round use.

What are your top 3 picks for 2020/2021 from the range of products you offer?

Double roller blinds remain top of list closely followed by wavefold sheer curtains and Ziptrak® patio blinds. All made here in Launceston in our workroom. And an unexpected bonus is that all these products can be motorised with an Alpha motor and be linked on a common home automation system.

Tasbuilt is proudly Tasmanian, so we have to ask – what do you love about living and working in Tasmania?

Family and lifestyle is always the big drawcard for remaining in Tassie. Over the years I have had many opportunities offered to me to transfer or move to the mainland but I’m not a lover of the big cities. I prefer the quieter life style available in Tasmania where we’re 30 minutes from anywhere, the beach, the bush, the mountains.

Where can our clients learn more about Factory Blinds?


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