Such a busy week we’ve had. It started with a Lunch and Learn hosted by Pacific Resources Group at their Scottsdale Design District location. If you haven’t been there yet, you should pop in. Mark Erwin and Dan Shanahan really pulled out all the stops. It’s bright, airy, and packed with wonderful new products as well as your long time favs.
Our speaker of the day was Gary Pederson, sales representative for Paris Texas Hardware and The Finial Company, both out of Dallas, Texas. Paris Texas Hardware prides itself on paying obsessive attention to product details and since 1992, has devoted its efforts toward featuring nothing but one-of-a-kind products to the trade. Fleuron Enterprises, Inc. is the parent of The Finial Company, founded in 1996 and Paris Texas Hardware, founded in 1992. This company takes great pride in operations from a craftsman perspective, environmental standpoint, as well as employee satisfaction as evidenced by a staff of 90 long-term, employees.
Hypothetically speaking, because we know this would never actually happen. You are getting ready for an install and then yikes! You realize no one ordered the hardware for the window treatments. No worry, no more. Your custom ordered hardware can be shipped within 10-15 business days. Yes I did say custom. Paris Texas Hardware boasts three distinct lines: Portfolio, Traverse, and Quick Ship.
Portfolio has 30 custom finishes and is available in 5 pole diameters and Traverse Systems are available in both corded systems and motorized systems. Their Quick Ship program ships in 1 business day and has a combined 13 finishes in its Metal, Luxe, and Wood and Resin Styles.
Both Gary and Richard Muhlsteff, Territory Manager for RM Coco, chimed in to say they have never had a problem with availability of product. So how do they do this? For starters they have their own kiln and do not rely on mother-nature for dry times. All their wood comes from Michigan and the wood poles are milled in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Texas-based group can truly call itself a made in America brand with its use of domestic steel products. Your clients benefit from ready availability, quick delivery, and quality finishes.
The Finial Company is known for its 40 different finishes and perfect stain/paint matching capabilities. Their samples are shown on both fluted and smooth models. I know you are probably thinking this could be a pricing nightmare with all these paint, stain, and finish options. Stop thinking. All finishes, stains, paints are offered at the same price. They can also do a perfect match with any paint manufacturer’s colors and will match any other hardware manufacturer’s finish; even if it takes 5 layers. There is a custom finishing fee for finishes outside of the 40 standard finishes.
Custom solutions don’t stop there! If you don’t see just what you envision in their catalogs, simply explain what you want or provide detailed drawings and they will do it. Now that’s customer service.
Taking the team player genre a little further, they’ll help you promote your work when finished. When you have a chance check out their website, specifically their blog, Studio Scoop. Gary invited designers and workrooms to submit images of finished projects using their products and they’ll post and push out to Houzz, Pinterest, and Facebook. A little B2B marketing never hurts!
And there’s more! Not only will they shout out your fabby work, they’ll help you become better at your craft with their extensive Tools and Tips. Bookmark this page so you can do some light reading while waiting for the installers to arrive. Or have your intern spend 20 minutes a day improving their skills while you take that phone call. Tools and Tips is packed with videos, templates, and articles. Everything you “need when measuring, specifying and ordering window drapery products.”
From there Gary went on to give us a tip for hanging heavy drapery. Make special modifications to lengthen or widen standard brackets to ensure they don’t dig into the drywall. The Finial Company will help you with this for a nominal charge. As well as a rosette adorned, quite clever metal band that slides on the pole to hold panels in place rather than having to use Velcro or double-sided tape.
If you can get your hands on a copy of the Suggested Retail Price List, do. It contains valuable information about depth of ring drops on different poles and sizes required for mitered corners. The Suggested Retail Price List contains templates for special situations such as bay windows and mitered corners that are not 90 degrees. Mitering can be done for wood, metal, and traverse rods. Think of the applications with poles that go up to 24 feet without a splice. Perfect for today’s oversized windows.
According to Gary, The Finial Company is the only company that offers teardrop rings. What a great look for a rustic or equestrian space. We know it’s all in the details! With over 39 ring choices, you will not find this product in a big box store.
Gary, being the thorough sales rep that he is, brought along samples of wood and resin options and rosettes. The pictures do not do this product justice. Absolutely gorgeous. The light emitted from the faceted glass rosette was simply stunning and the finishes on the poles, finials, and rosettes were fabulous.
Speaking of fabulous. Walking through the catalog Gary directed our attention to the Modern Artforms by Design proprietary line. This particular line has an acrylic pole that comes with screws that won’t scratch and metal rings with plastic inserts. Talk about making a statement. Absolutely spectacular!
If your clients want to spruce up their outdoor spaces for entertaining this Fall, The Finial Company is definitely a go-to-source with an amazing collection of outdoor finishes, that are UV, salt spray, and humidity resistant. Guaranteed not to rust or fade for up to 5 years. Are you sure TFC? That’s quite a promise for our brutal sun.
We certainly didn’t leave empty-handed. Besides product catalogs for both Paris Texas Hardware and The Finial Company, we managed to score the Suggested Retail Price List for both companies, as well as some more great tips:
- Heavy duty ball bearings are all you want to use for fabric for long-term use. Make your clients very happy by not making them call you back in 2 to 3 years for malfunctioning traverse rods.
- All remotes for the motorized Traverse rods come in factory mode for easy programming with detailed instructions that can also be found on their website.
- You can schedule conference calls with your installers to walk them through the installation process. And their staff is always ready to help you over the phone.
Although taking on a quieter role, Richard Muhlsteff, Territory Manager for RM Coco, was there to represent and field questions for their product. RM Coco is a large distributor of Paris Texas Hardware and The Finial Company and has a beautiful selection of fabrics, linings, trims, as well as their own workroom through their Custom Creations program.
Sneaking over to the RM Coco website to check out Custom Creations I found they offer a full-line of workroom services including: draperies, bedspreads, top treatments, cornices, and upholstered headboards. Custom Creations accepts both RM Coco and COM fabrics.
RM Coco also welcomes the creative designer and will enthusiastically help create that something special. Striving to make ordering custom designed products simple, “The knowledgeable representatives are familiar with the processes involved in design, development and fabrication of custom treatments.”
Just a little tip. All three of these sources need to go in your contact file. And as befits Texas hospitality, when in Dallas stop in to the factory and get the cook’s tour.
All orders for Paris Texas Hardware, The Finial Company, and RM Coco can be sourced and placed with Pacific Resource Center.
Head on over to our Facebook page to check out photos from this amazing event! Don’t forget to like us while you are there, so you can keep up to date on all luxury news and events!
Image Sources: Paris Texas Hardware, The Finial Company, Flueron Enterprises, Inc., Pacific Resource Group, RM Coco
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