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Guest Editorial

Hard Is Soft
Hybrid treatments have created a market that will continue to grow and improve.

by Craig Robinson

The ’90s saw the birth of revolutionary product categories, the melding of hard and soft window coverings. Initially, these hybrid hard window coverings were slow to capture the attention of window covering consumers, as they were such extraordinary designs. However, millions of satisfied fabric window treatment consumers had pent up demand for simpler, easier to operate fabric treatments. The past generation’s drapery treatments were out of favor.

Clearly, the overwhelming positive attributes of function within a fashionable product are too good to pass up. Fabric products with adjustable privacy levels are now possible. Major fabric products introduced within the last few years have focused on this functionality. Whether they are called window shadings, privacy sheers or Venetian shades, they all answer common concerns at point of sale: adjustable light control with a soft, warm ambiance only available from Mother Nature (who wants to live in a dungeon?); various textures; panoramic views; and privacy when needed.

Traditional fabric products such as roller shades, pleated shades, cellular shades and custom Roman or balloon shades answered a few of these concerns, but are always operated up or down. These new products offer practicality. Who better to fulfill this demand than the massive hard window covering distribution channel?

PRACTICAL YET SOFT

Retailers apprehensive of the nuances of a custom drapery treatment could fearlessly sell a simpler fabric blind or shade. These hybrids create the soft illuminations inherent within traditional drapery treatments without intruding on the aesthetics of the home environment. Yet, elegant enhancements can be a welcome auxiliary to the practical side of these hybrids.

Window shadings install with an advanced operating system that brilliantly controls a fabric shade . . . ah . . . blind . . . ah . . . shading. The shading products act like a blind but appear like a shade. Larger vane sizes, new textures and room-darkening options have kept window shadings fresh in the retailer’s mind.

Literally turning window shadings sideways created a product often known as privacy sheers. An industrialized version of a sheer installed on a vertical blind, privacy sheers seized interest in combining the best practical features of a hard vertical blind with the softness of a sheer drapery. Myriad suppliers jumped on the bandwagon to supply variants of this product. These hybrids typically slipcover a vertical blind with seamless sheer panels. Texture, color and room-darkening attributes were introduced into the market.

Featuring simplified operating and distribution systems, the industrialized Roman-style shades from the hard window covering manufacturers grew from within the custom drapery channel. Hard window covering fabricators have been able to exploit their channels of distribution to dabble on the soft side. A concise range of fabric options within a simplified operating system formed an effortless to sell and install custom Roman shade.

Another difficult-to-describe product, SoftView Venetian Shades, is somewhat of a hybrid between a window shading and a two-inch blind. SoftView is a two-inch fabric slat made rigid by inserting petite stiffening rods into pockets on the front and back edges of the slat. Woven of polyester, luxurious textures and opulent colors are created. Venetian shades diffuse sunlight into soft, natural illumination like any true fabric product; yet influence it with the same practicality as a two-inch blind. Like window shadings, SoftView is not a shade, nor is it a true blind.

A concern regarding durability and washability with any fabric product is foremost in the consumer’s mind at point of purchase. These happen to be two of SoftView’s positive features. The fabric’s elements are polyester, PVC and fiberglass. All three are impervious to moisture, producing a washable product. The stiffening rods create incredible elasticity. The shade can be fabricated in continuous widths up to 12-feet wide. Venetian shades are quite similar to a two-inch wood blind in terms of operation, installation and cost.

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

The overwhelming positive characteristics of “soft” hard window coverings create demand for these categories of window coverings. Each was created outside existing boundaries, however within a common theme: translucent fabric. The secret of translucency is a glimpse behind the scene, an expansion of the room by offering a hint of what is beyond.

Shadings, privacy sheers, Venetian shades all answer common concerns from the consumer: practicality. Traditional fabric products, such as roller shades, pleated shades, cellular shades and custom Roman or balloon shades are always up or down. These new products offer more versatile functionality with the fashion of higher quality woven fabrics.

As these categories continue to mature, new colors, textures, sizes, motorization and hardware/operation options are sure to keep them fresh. Tremendous resources within the window covering channels ensure evolutionary, potentially revolutionary innovations reach the consumer level. The consumer today has more choices than ever before. The opportunity for the window coverings retailer is finding those products that fulfill the consumers’ needs with the least amount of price pressure—a profitable formula for success.

The successful trend of window shadings, privacy sheers and Venetian shades can be attributed to their practicality . . . ah . . . fashion . . . ah . . . the best of both worlds—fashion with function.