HUNTER DOUGLAS WINS MOST AWARDS EVER IN ESTEEMED WCMA PRODUCT COMPETITION
For the 18th consecutive year Hunter Douglas has won more awards than any other company in the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) Product Awards, the benchmark of industry excellence. This year the window fashions leader out did itself, capturing an unprecedented 34 honors out of the 56 conferred.
Hunter Douglas also earned the coveted Product of the Year for the 13th year as well as the prestigious Judges’ Award reserved for a submission selected by the panel that exhibits measurable benefit or standout aesthetic appeal to end-users. The company also swept two product categories and won 10 out of 13 Merchandising Awards.
“We’re very pleased that the Window Covering Manufacturers Association independent panel of judges has given such a strong endorsement of our innovative products and programs,” said Marv Hopkins, Hunter Douglas President and CEO. “We’re grateful for these honors and look forward to providing our many exciting new products and programs to our loyal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada.”
Product of the Year went to the PlatinumTM App for Hunter Douglas motorized window treatments. Offering precise control from a mobile device, this free App provides a user-friendly interface with a personal touch. You can move all the window coverings in the home or a room at the same time or one at a time, in real time. Or use the timer feature to schedule it for later. Customized slider bars for each product style make operation slide-to-set simple. Choose to operate by scene (activity), by room, or by time. The Platinum App is a taste of home automation, with design style to boot, at a fraction of the cost. The App also garnered Most Innovative Overall Concept in the Motorization Category.
Honeycomb Shades Collection
In the Cellular Shades Category, the 2013 Duette® Honeycomb Shades Collection was named Best Style Concept. The industry’s largest and most comprehensive offering, the collection includes five new highly insulating Architella® fabrics with the cell-within- a-cell construction. New Duette Architella TrielleTM is the most energy-efficient Hunter Douglas window covering with its unique construction that creates five pockets of insulating air in a new 1 1⁄2” pleat size. RenewalTM boasts more than 25 percent recycled content. Batiste Semi-Sheer is the first view-through honeycomb in Architella. India Silk is a luxuriously woven fabric with a subtle texture paired with a slight shimmer. OpalessenceTM is highlighted with mica in copper, silver and gold hues. The popular Elan fabric also has an expanded offering. In addition, there are exciting new options for covering skylights and specialty shapes as well as enhancements to the VertiglideTM design option.
Honorable Mention for Best Style Concept was awarded to new fabrics for Alustra® Duette® honeycomb shades. Intriguing textures mixed with innovative construction, Alustra Duette honeycomb shades feature two new fabrics that offer unique solution: Architella MaconTM, a woven, textured sheer layered over a color-coordinated inner cell that creates dimension and style and enhanced energy efficiency, and Architella MystTM with a subtle metallic sheen that coordinates beautifully with the exclusive Alustra hardware finishes. Not surprisingly, Duette® Architella® TrielleTM walked away with Most Innovative Overall Concept in the Green Products – Energy Efficiency Category. This new proprietary product provides similar light New SoleraTM Soft Shades was honored with Best Innovative Overall Concept in the category. These shades combine a soft look with added dimension and a unique cellular construction. Solera shades flow over the window in a cascade of soft pleats that beautifully filter light while adding drama and sophistication to a room. The on-trend fabrics in the collection are available in both light-filtering and room-darkening opacity. The cellular shape allows for increased energy efficiency and the color continues inside each cell to give the shades added depth. It features Hunter Douglas- proven lifting systems and internal lift cords ensure there are no exposed cords on the back of any Solera shades for enhanced child safety and a clean look from outside the home. transmission as original Duette Architella shades, but with 20 percent more energy efficiency by adding an additional cell within a honeycomb cell, creating six fabric layers and five separate air pockets for insulation.
Solera Soft Shades
Best Style Concept in the category was awarded to KoolblackTM Technology from solar fabric leader Mermet, a Hunter Douglas company. This technology enhances solar reflective properties in dark color fabrics. Fabrics made with KoolBlack reduce solar heat gain by more than 20 percent versus common dark fabrics.
Another Duette Architella fabric, RenewalTM with over 25 percent recycled PET, won Best New Style Concept in the Green Products – Sustainability Category.In the Green Products – Health and Environmental Safety Category, Most Innovative Overall Concept went to Vignette® Modern Roman Shades TieredTM Top-Down/Bottom-Up with LiteRise®, which offers safe and convenient performance with a touch of a finger. The product neatly stacks from the top, the bottom or anywhere in between with no loops or pooling cords. Unlike traditional Roman shades, a clean back exterior free of cords and grommets further enhances child safety.
Best New Technical Innovation in this important category went to Applause® honeycomb shades with SimpleLiftTM, the perfect solution for those desiring a Hunter Douglas product with cordless operation at an opening price point. It features intuitive operation with a contoured, integrated bottom rail.
Duette® honeycomb shades with SkyLiftTM, a new skylight shade available in manual, battery-powered and hard-wired motorized options that covers larger window openings than previous systems – up to 80 square feet, captured Best New Technical Innovation in the Specialty Applications and Miscellaneous Products Category.
Best Style Concept in the category was awarded to Duette® honeycomb 1 1⁄4″ and 1 1⁄2″ Pleat Sizes on Specialty Shapes. These new arches, circles and angles offerings allow an entire room to be completed with a 1 1⁄4″ or 1 1⁄2″ pleat size.
Specialty Shapes
Honorable Mention for Best Style Concept went to Alustra® Screen Shades, which redefine traditional solar screens and are available as Alustra Roller Shades and Skyline® Gliding Window Panels. There are two new fabrics, Bolero reflecting a subtle damask design that softly filters light and provides a unique look at the window and Samba, an exquisite light-filtering textured weave inspired by rhythmic heritage,
Hunter Douglas swept the Roman, Roller and Pleated Shades Category, winning a total of six awards. Vignette® Modern Roman Shades TieredTM Top- Down/Bottom-Up with PowerRise® 2.1 PlatinumTM Technology walked away with two accolades in the category: Most Innovative Overall Concept and Best New Technical Innovation. This product offers easy, motorized operation with a touch of a button and for ultimate, precise control, it can be operated using the Platinum App. The product neatly stacks from the top or the bottom with no pooling cords or loops.
Design StudioTM Roman Shades with UltraGlide® earned Honorable Mention for Best New Technical Innovation. Unlike anything available from a custom workroom, the cord-forward, retractable UltraGlide system offers easy, click-and-walk-away operation, delivering Roman shade customers enhanced child safety and unprecedented functionality in soft window fashions.
Honorable Mention for Best New Style Concept was awarded to the new “modern meets classic” Hunter Douglas Pleated Shades Collection. It features an all-new fabric collection with a smaller 20mm pleat size, updated hardware and proven lifting systems.
Hunter Douglas also swept the Shadings and Sheers Category, winning Best Style Concept for the 2013 NantucketTM Window Shadings Collection. This refreshed collection introduces an entirely new fabric and proprietary lifting system. The East BayTM fabric smartly combines a colored front sheer with a linen-printed vane fabric. Nantucket with LiteRise® enhances views with child-friendly, cord-free operation. Last, but certainly not least, ParklandTM Wood Blinds received Honorable Mention for Best New Style Concept in the Wood and Faux Wood Blinds Category. Parkland wood blinds eliminates the need for dealers to select between two wood blind programs. It provides one single offering with the finest wood blind quality, operating systems, premium upgrades and wood species on the market, while maintaining competitive price points along with higher-end selections and oak and cherry options.