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SPRINGS SUBSIDIARY ACQUIRES NEW FASHION Sierra Fashion West, Inc., a California-based subsidiary of Springs Window Fashions Division, Inc., Middleton, WI, has acquired the assets of New Fashion Window Coverings, Inc., Los Angeles, CA. New Fashion is a distributor and fabricator of Springs' Graber® and Nanik® window treatments. The two principals of New Fashion will be employed by Sierra, which will continue to operate the business under the name New Fashion. CPFILMS JOINS SOLUTIA INC. CPFilms, formerly Courtaulds Performance Films, Martinsville, VA, is joining St. Louis, MO-based Solutia Inc., a global business producing plastic interlayer for laminated glass, man-made fibers and specialty chemicals. CPFilms will operate as a business unit of Solutia and retain all if its current locations. Headquartered in Virginia, CPFilms also operates from offices in California and the United Kingdom producing window film and window film components. It specializes in the manufacture and marketing of dyed, coated, laminated and metallized films for color control and safety applications. RAINBOW WOODS ADDS WEST DISTRIBUTOR Rainbow Woods Inc., LeCenter, MN, announces the addition of its newest distributor, Mark Window Products, Santa Ana, CA. Mark Window Products becomes the first distributor west of the Mississippi River to market the Tiara Custom Cornice line by Rainbow Woods. INNOVATIVE OPENINGS ACQUIRES DEJA VIEW Innovative Openings, Inc., Louisville, CO, has acquired the assets of Deja View Window Coverings and Interiors, Boulder, CO. Innovative Openings will retain the Deja View name, location and all personnel. Deja View becomes a wholly owned division of Innovative Openings. Deja View operates out of a 2,200-square-foot showroom and retails window coverings, awnings, upholstery and wallpaper products. Innovative Openings, a window coverings and awning retailer and manufacturer, operates three additional retail showrooms in Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins. INSTALLATION, CORNICE CLASSES ADDED The Professional Drapery School, Swannanoa, NC, is adding two new hands-on courses to its curriculum, according to owner Cheryl Strickland. The classes are: Installation 101 and Cornice Board/Headboard Fabrication 101. These intensive, four-day classes will be taught by industry professionals and specialists. The installation program will be taught by Beth Hodges, Elberton, GA, and Jerry Titus, Lexington, GA. The cornice board/headboard instructor will be Amy Burton, Raleigh, NC. Each student will learn many important aspects of the trade including time-saving techniques, step-by-step how-to's, equipment, business operation, trouble-shooting, problem-solving, supplies, suppliers, tricks of the trade and more, according to Strickland. In addition, Strickland announces The Professional Drapery School has been endorsed by the Window Coverings Association of America (WCAA). With this endorsement, Strickland says the school will promote professionalism in the industry and continue the caliber of education it has become known for. She adds that the endorsement comes after a WCAA board member attended the school.

WORKROOM DIRECTORY ON-LINE Kitty Stein's Workroom Concepts, Clearbrook, VA, is launching a Drapery Workroom Directory on its Web site, www.WorkroomConcepts.com. The directory is expected to be on-line July 1, 1999. The site will accept membership from C.O.M. drapery workrooms that fabricate only for interior designers, decorators, retail stores or other workrooms. The listings will be comprehensive to enable potential clients to qualify a workroom before contacting it. The development of the directory is in response to numerous contacts from interior designers and decorators looking for workrooms, Stein says. Workrooms interested in being listed in the directory should visit the Workroom Concpets Web site for membership information, or contact Stein at (540) 667-5939; fax: (540) 667-3170; or e-mail: kstein@WorkroomConcepts.com. BLIND MAKER LAUNCHES PHOTO CONTEST To introduce its new Infinity Cornice line, The Blind Maker, Austin, TX, has launched a "Big Shot" photo contest. Dealers are invited to send a 35-mm color print of their favorite window treatments featuring the Infinity Cornice for chances to win prizes. Entries must be postmarked by September 30, 1999. The contest's grand prize includes a trip for two to Las Vegas, NV, where the winner and a guest will stay at the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino, which features the Big Shot thrill ride. Other prizes include a nomination for a cover story in Draperies & Window Coverings magazine and a new camera. For official rules and an entry form, contact The Blind Maker at (800) 999-5333. EISENHART TEES UP DISPLAY CONTEST Eisenhart Wallcoverings Co., Hanover, PA, is conducting a creative merchandising contest to recognize great display vignette ideas for store environments, model homes and home shows. Retailers are invited to display their talents in presenting the Arnold Palmer Lifestyle collection of wallpapers, fabric and accessories through casual decorating techniques that show off the golf lifestyle to their markets. The entry deadline is October 15, 1999. The Masters Club prize will be a golf vacation adventure to Palmer's Bay Hill Club and Spa in Orlando, FL. Other prizes include a Palmer PHD titanium driver, signature putter, golf shirt, videotape and autographed photographs. INTERNET FORUM CONTINUES GROWTH WindowPro, the on-line e-mail forum and digest for the window coverings industry, is now four-years-old and continues growing in popularity. The on-line group presently numbers in excess of 600 members in 13 countries, according to Rory McNeil, TechStyles Window Covering Products Inc., Oxnard, CA, who started the group (D&WC, December 1995, page 18). WindowPro is a free networking service designed to promote the speedy flow of industry information among its members. Industry professionals pose questions and concerns about issues facing independent retailers and fabricators throughout North America. To subscribe to WindowPro free via the Internet, visit www.window-pro.com, or e-mail RoryMcNeil@aol.com.