by Jim Langdon  

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Number 018 | May 5, 2000
© 2000 Designer Blinds

New Country Woods™ Rustics: 
Just How Rustic Is it?

New Rustic Woods in the brand new Country Woods™ Select sample deck bring the random characteristics of wood to blinds in a beautiful way.  Due to the random character of wood, it isn't possible to guarantee just how many "natural characteristics" such as knots or discolorations will be in any particular blind.  Here are some rules of thumb that will help you understand and communicate to your customers what to expect from the Rustics:

• Like wood, the Rustic Woods look is totally random. There is no way to specify how many knots, marks, discolorations, or other blemishes will occur on any blind —or on any slat deck sample.

• An attempt was made by Hunter Douglas to have at least one of the Rustic Wood colors in the sample book have some indication of the knotty/rustic look. This might be an actual "knot" or it may only be a streak of discoloration. Some sample decks, though, may show fewer of the natural characteristics.

• This makes it important to use the dramatic photography in the new sample book and Point-of Purchase card to illustrate what Rustic Wood blinds will look like and what to expect. 

Since some samples may show very little of the rustic characteristics, if a customer places an order based on what the sample deck shows, he or she could be very surprised with what they actually get. 

• The randomness of the knotty/rustic look will prevent blinds from necessarily having the same pattern or same degree of natural characteristics. In fabrication, there will be an attempt to move slats around in a single blind so the pattern is random and somewhat distributed over the blind. 
  
  The true beauty of the Rustic Blinds comes from its random nature —so blinds should not be expected to match perfectly.

Chances are that the slats for the Rustics on your Country Woods Select sample deck aren't quite as rustic as these.  Be sure your customers are aware that the random characteristics of natural wood will be on their blinds. 

Use the photography from the Country Woods Sample book and Point-of-Purchase card to show your customers an example the natural, random look they will get from the Rustic Woods.