Custom Draperies versus Package Draperies

I was recently speaking to the owner of another St. Louis Company, Forshaws Furniture, who has been in business even longer than us at Sunshine. Joe Forshaw who is a very nice and down to earth man was telling me about his business and said something that reminded me of why I am in the business of selling custom window coverings. He was telling me that in his business with patio furniture, he often hears of customers who paid less and went to a big box store to buy their furniture. A year or two later, those same customers come back and end up buying from him. Why? Well, the old saying of "You get what you pay for" really is true. The less expensive furniture did not hold up and ultimately the customers realized that his furniture would last longer. In the custom drapery, blind, shade and shutter business, this is also true - especially for draperies. I must admit that the “packaged” draperies have come a long way in terms of the fabrics. But, this is where it all ends - there really is no comparison. Custom draperies are made to fit your window. No window is standard. We have customers who come in and say they have a standard window. We kindly teach them that there is no standard window. In our business, we measure a lot for inside the window when it comes to blinds, shades, and shutters. A quarter of an inch makes all the difference in the world. In terms of draperies, we make all of our draperies to go exact to the agreed upon specifications. If you buy a package drapery, they come in certain exact sizes in terms of length. They also come as a width to each panel. Some windows are so big and require more than a width of draperies, so ready made panels need to be pushed together. With custom, the draperies are sewn together and professionally done. [singlepic id=116 w=320 h=240 float=left]Lets say the customer wants a nice valance to go over the panels. This is where custom absolutely makes the difference. We have a multitude of styles we hand create in our very own workroom. If the customer for example wants to add a button to the treatment, then we do it. If they want something that closely matches their furniture, we can do it. Or lets say we want to contrast line something. You just don’t have these choices in ready made products. Does custom drapery have to be expensive? Its all relative..what one customer thinks is expensive may not be to another.   However, we at Sunshine Drapery have one major competitive advantage over most people and businesses in Missouri and Illinois. We have our very own workroom with our own seamstresses. We are hands on and every drapery is made by our dedicated employees. We do not sub draperies out. Thus, when a decorator designs something, they are talking fact to face with our sales support team and seamstresses. Also, all of our orders are installed by men and women who are certified in training. With a ready made package, the consumer hangs the draperies. Ready made packages may be less expensive, but remember that custom made draperies will last a long time and you’ll save money in the long run. Its like having furniture for your windows!