What “Established in 1978” Means for Customers Today
The original Evans Curtains and Blinds storefront, reflecting the business’s long history in window furnishings.
Established in 1978 is part of the Evans Curtains and Blinds story, but the value of that history has little to do with displaying an impressive number.
For customers, it means there is an established business behind the product and somewhere to return when advice, repairs or alterations are needed years later.
Evans was founded by Rick and Carol Evans in 1978, with Rick’s former Myer colleague Vince Raymond later joining them. They built the business and its reputation until retiring in 2013. The business relocated to Frankston in 2014 and is now run by Sam and me.
Different people have carried Evans forward, but the expectation attached to the name has remained consistent: customers should receive informed advice, well-made products and support that continues after installation.
Window furnishings should last longer than the sale
Curtains and blinds are long-term purchases. Well-made curtains can remain in a home for decades, while quality blinds and their components can also provide many years of service.
During that time, fabrics move, parts wear and rooms change. A customer may renovate, replace one damaged curtain or try to match something installed years earlier.
We regularly receive calls from people looking for help with products supplied by another company. When we ask whether they have contacted the original supplier, we often hear that the business is no longer operating or the person will not return their calls.
Sometimes the window furnishing itself is still perfectly serviceable. It may need a replacement component, an alteration or advice from someone who understands how it was made. The difficulty is finding someone with the information and ability to help.
For existing Evans customers, we can access previous purchases and identify the products, fabrics and colours selected in the past. We work with established suppliers and understand the systems we install. If a product requires attention, the customer has a physical showroom in Frankston and a team they can contact.
That is where business continuity becomes genuinely useful.
Long-term support begins with the original recommendation
The advice given before installation often determines what will happen several years later.
Linen curtains are a good example. People are naturally drawn to linen because of its texture and movement, but it is also sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity. It may drop, shrink or move as conditions change.
A linen curtain installed to float precisely above the floor may not remain in that position through several Melbourne seasons. Depending on the window and the customer’s preference, we may recommend allowing the fabric to sit slightly on the floor or adding a lining to protect it from strong sunlight.
The customer can still choose the fabric they love, but they should understand how it is likely to behave.
We apply the same thinking to tracks, motors, curtain headings and linings. The product needs to suit the window, the way the room is used and the level of maintenance the customer is comfortable with. A recommendation based only on how something looks in a sample book can create problems later.
Experience helps us identify those issues while there is still time to design around them.
Knowing how products are made gives us more options
Exploring curtain fabrics, colours and finishes with the Evans Curtains and Blinds team in the showroom.
Manufacturing knowledge becomes particularly important when something needs to be altered.
Many standard curtains are now produced using highly automated systems. This can be an efficient manufacturing method, but the finished construction may allow little room for adjustment if the measurements are wrong or the fabric behaves differently over time.
Working with experienced curtain makers gives us more flexibility. We can examine how a curtain was constructed, assess why it is sitting incorrectly and determine whether an alteration is possible.
The same knowledge allows us to approach windows and spaces that fall outside standard specifications. Curved tracks, unusual openings and difficult installation conditions require more work at the planning stage. The measurements have to account for how each component will eventually be manufactured, transported and fitted.
Customers may never see that process, but they live with the result every day.
An established business still has to keep learning
The window furnishings industry has changed considerably since 1978. Fabrics, coatings, hardware and motorisation continue to develop, and suppliers regularly introduce new manufacturing techniques.
Recently, a fabric arrived in our showroom with a finish I had not encountered in that form before. The supplier referred to a process called calendering. I understood the underlying technique in another context, but I wanted to know how it had been used on this particular fabric and what it might mean for its performance.
So I researched it.
Being established does not remove the need to stay curious. It creates a greater responsibility to understand what we recommend. Customers rely on the knowledge associated with the Evans name, and that knowledge has to remain current.
The meaning has to be maintained
A business history belongs to the people who built it, the people who continue it and the customers who place their trust in it.
For Sam and me, Established in 1978 means respecting the reputation created before we took over while remaining accountable for the experience customers receive today.
It is reflected in the records we retain, the suppliers we work with and the advice we give before an order is placed. It is also reflected in what happens years later, when a customer calls with a question and finds that Evans is still here to answer it.
That ongoing responsibility is what gives the date its meaning.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
David Nuttall
Evans Curtains and Blinds
Helping Melbourne homeowners make informed window furnishing decisions.
Keep learning with Evans
For practical advice, product updates and insights from a team that’s been helping Melbourne homeowners since 1978, join the Evans Curtains and Blinds newsletter.
Evans Curtains & Blinds, locally owned and operated.
