Great news! We’re building shades again! Our beautiful state of Vermont seems to be past the worst of the pandemic, and some businesses are being allowed to resume operations while still following CDC guidelines for safety.
What that means for us is, we can have a limited number of people in the building at any one time producing and shipping new shades. Yay! We’re going to make the most of this, with multiple shifts and smart planning, and it should allow us to catch up on orders within a matter of weeks.
As we adjust to this new way of doing things, we should quickly get a feel for more specific time frames for each order, and we’ll provide additional updates as this occurs.
Once again, thank you so much for the amazing support we’ve received throughout this unusual period. We’re thrilled to be one step closer to delivering beautiful new shades to our faithful Symphony friends!
As promised in my last note, I am reaching out because there has been a new development in our situation. On Friday, we received the great news that Vermont’s numbers for Covid-19 cases are tracking better than predicted in the best case scenario! This is largely credited to our state’s “Stay Home – Stay Safe” policies. In order to continue the trend and beat this thing completely, our Governor has decided to extend the order through 5/15, at which time we expect to be running full speed getting shades built and out the door to you!
I understand that this extension can be frustrating for some of you. And believe me, all I want is to get my team back to work just as quickly as it’s safe to do so! I truly appreciate the outpouring of support we have received from clients like you.
The fact that you show such caring for this small Vermont manufacturer and are willing to work with us through this uncertainty makes me confident that all of us will make it through this… together!
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. I am here for you.
The state of Vermont has recently issued a directive to temporarily close all non-essential businesses. We believe these closures will help get our nation back to normal more quickly, and so in our efforts to be a part of the solution are complying with the directive.
What this means is that our admin staff will be working from home and here to help as normal! We can answer questions, get you an estimate, and take orders. What we are not able to do at this time is guarantee a delivery date for your shades. However, we absolutely commit to above-average communication as we navigate these next few weeks. We will keep in touch to let you know the status of your order.
We’ll also post new announcements at our website as our status changes. In addition, feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns – or to have company updates personally emailed to you. We would love to keep in touch and to know that you are safe and well during this unusual period. In all sincerity, we’d be happy just to chat if you’d like somebody to talk to!
Thank you for your patience and understanding, and for the outpouring of well-wishes our small Vermont company has already received. You are in our thoughts, and we hope for the very best for each of you as we all pull through this together!
I hope everyone takes a moment to take in some Sun and delicious fresh air when you can.
My name is Kelly Clements, and I am the president of SymphonyShades.com. Our company is a small manufacturing business based in the green mountains of Vermont, where we have been passionately building custom window coverings since 1986. I care deeply about my team and each of our valued clients. As such, I have been working hard to do what’s right to keep our entire team healthy during this time, while still building and shipping our clients’ shades in a timely manner. As of now, our production team is keeping up with demand, and using staggered shifts, we are able to maintain appropriate social distance.
Our customer service and admin teams are working from home and here to assist you as always… or even just to chat!
We’ve had clients ask about the safety of the packaging once they receive their shades, and according to the World Health Organization “the risk of catching the virus that causes COVID-19 from a package that has been moved, traveled, and exposed to different conditions and temperature is low.”
We are extremely confident you can order, receive and install your shades safely from the comfort of your home.
I will reach out again as the situation changes. Until then, please stay safe and healthy, and know that we are thinking of you and sending a smile your way.
It’s a strange, new world we are in. Who would have thought 2020 would result in this…a global pandemic. It’s like Mother Nature just sent us all to our bedroom to think about what we’ve done.
If you’re one of the lucky ones, you are now working from the safety of your home. YAY! But you’re navigating uncharted waters. You’ve moved your computer screen 8 gazillion times in one day, avoiding the relentless glare. And it’s STILL not right.
Is this YOU? We can help.
Perhaps, you’ve even muttered to yourself, “How did I NOT know how BLINDING the Sun is?”
Then….as we all begin feeling cut off from the outside world, you decide to move your makeshift desk closer and closer to the window, to see the trees, the birds or a neighbor waving across the way….but MAN! Then you feel it. Ice cold air. “Where is that FREEZING cold draft coming from?!”
Soo…you run, grab your favorite blankie & wrap yourself up like a burrito.
BUT how do burritos type?! They don’t. Well, not successfully.
We want to help you with ALL of this.
Our Energy-Saving Sidetracks will nip those ice cold draft in the bud! Your windows will be snug as a bug!
5 Reasons You Need New Cell Shades for Your Makeshift Home Office
That glare on my computer screen is unbearable.
You didn’t realize how hot/cold it gets when you sit at the window for hours.
The “top-down” feature provides just the right amount of light & privacy.
If I have to see that window all day, it might as well be gorgeous.
They’re on SALE right now! Wait, why isn’t this number one???
You’re home. Staying home, staying safe, but you’re feeling the lonely creep in. You’ve Zoomed, you’ve FaceTimed with family and friends. But it’s just not enough. Check this out, people are learning NEW ways to connect with their community. Check out these neighbors in Leeds, England.
Ok, ok …head back down, get your work done. Our Top-Down/Bottom-Up shades are THE best when it comes to adjusting light and protecting your privacy. With these amazingly adjustable shades, YOU decide how much light you want from the top of the window while keeping the bottom portion covered. Also known as “duofold,” this multi-directional function can be applied our Standard, Smoothy, and Cordless Symphony shades!
Now if you need an activity break, OPEN your Symphony Shades and challenge your neighbors to a dance OFF, just like these guys did!!
Conference calls, OoOoOoPFH, amirite? That’s a whole OTHER new reality that we are all trying to navigate. Our Symphony Shades do offer a bit of sound buffering. But what they REALLY do, is create privacy from the outside world, so you can focus more on what your coworker just said.
Or you could just play ‘Conference Call Bingo’!
Ok, back to work. Not only will our Symphony Shades insulate you from the outside world, they’ll help you focus, they’ll protect your privacy, they’ll make your home office oh so stylish and get this…they’ll help you SAVE energy.
Together, we can make your home office stylish, insulated and private. All you have to bring is the productivity! We’re all in this together. Need to chat? Give us a call.
COLOR: STACCATO, Double Cell Light-Filtering. Photo taken at Night. Thanks to our customers in South Dakota!
AFTER: The very large and numerous windows are now insulated with our superior energy-efficient double cell Symphony Shades. A combination of Standard-Cord and Smoothy-Cord operations. Amazing privacy created; no longer living in a ‘fish bowl’.
Some parents know exactly how they want to design their new roommate’s room. Some have no idea. We’ve created a ‘cheat sheet’ of sorts, a list of must-haves and “OMG DON’T DO THIS”!
Don’t do this-advice from parents who know:
Do NOT style your baby’s room to be super GORGEOUS but not so functional. EEK! Make SURE wherever your changing table is…EVERYTHING you could possibly need is within arm’s length(or agile toe-grip) away. This happened to me with my first born. I had the changing table STOCKED with wipes and fresh clean diapers. It looked SO CUTE. But that’s it. Little did I know I would desperately need burp cloths, FRESH clothes, (because man oh MAN did my little man have a gift of covering himself with poop!) hamper, changing table covers, and I cannot stress this enough: a poop bucket with lid, a pacifier, books or favorite toy to occupy this poop monster while you clean up the aftermath. UGH.
Decor for the walls. Are you thinking of beautiful wallpaper or paint? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD make sure whatever you select is WASHABLE. I mean, there are times you wish you installed a drain in the center of the room and could just hose it down with hot water and disinfectant.
Don’t get suckered into ‘crib sets’. For the first one to two years there should be NOTHING in your babe’s crib. NOTHING but a fitted sheet, oh and the baby. *wink*
Babies are small. And their rooms should be too. They don’t need a lot of room. More room, means more possibilities of shenanigans. Believe me. BELIEVE ME.
And I cannot stress this last point enough. Babies do not give one iota of how their room is decorated. They don’t care. They care about a full belly, a dry bottom, quality sleep and endless amounts of love. Remember this.
MUST HAVES:
STORAGE. Think you might have ‘too much’ storage? Uhhm no. Toys multiply like rabbits. And don’t forget clothing storage. And do yourself another favor. LABEL storage containers. When your children become older, instill the joy of cleaning out their clothes and toys for donation. The younger you start this semi-annual event, the more you’ll be impressed with the generous spirit you’re molding.(This means you too, parents! Make it a weekend event and EVERYONE hoes out their closets for donation!)
2. Educational activities. Nope I’m not talking about those expensive trendy monthly pre-boxed activities that arrive by mail, or computer games. I’m talking about color, shape, artistic, spatial relations, digital-manipulation exercises! You are ONE trip to your local hardware store away from your very own ‘Busy Board’, sort-by-color activity, and color wheel activities!
3. Blackout or Room-Darkening CORDLESS shades. You do not want to put your sweet babe down for a mid-afternoon nap without one. You can wrestle all you want, trying to put a silk sleep mask on your precious angel, but it ain’t happening. (DON’T do this, I’m KIDDING!) Be sure to have cordless or motorized blackout shades in every nursery/children’s room. This way, you can darken the room at naptime. And YES, take nap with your wee one. I cannot encourage this enough. Naps are good. Cordless or motorized shades are a MUST. Imagine, lulling your baby to sleep in your great-grandmother’s rocking chair…and you can’t get up to lower the shades. AHA! Remote control shades. BOOM! You’re welcome.
Symphony Cordless Shades come in 2 different operating systems: traditional cordless and cordless top down bottom up, which means you can also lower the shade from the top for extra control of privacy and light. This particular shade is available in double-cell light-filtering, single cell light filtering, and in single cell blackout fabric. If you have any questions regarding child safety or your fabric options, reach out to a member of our design team today!
This is no joke, it’s getting hot in here AND it’s only going to get HOTTER.
According to a continuous study by the NASA’s Goddard institute, the Earth’s average global temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius or 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880.
That may not sound like much…but I feel it, don’t you? Babies, children, pregnant women, and the elderly are all more prone to overheating. Be sure to keep an eye on at-risk members of your family, coworkers, and neighbors.
Make a do-it-yourself air conditioner.
This is SO easy and works like a charm! Put a metal bowl of salted ice in front of a fan, and adjust the fan so that the air is blowing RIGHT over the ice. Or, use 1 or more 2-liter bottles and fill them mostly full of water (70%) and rock salt (10%). Leave 20% of the volume empty for expansion. Freeze the liquid in the bottles, then place them in a large bowl (to catch dripping condensation). Position a fan to blow on them. As the salty ice in the bottles melts, the air around them cools and the fan will blow that air at you. The salt lowers the temperature at which the water freezes, allowing you to make the ice super cold. The water and salt in the bottles can be refrozen every night and used repeatedly. Recycle the CoooOooOoOOL!
How you can keep your cool using water! Here are a few ideas:
This pupper has the RIGHT idea!
1. Drink water frequently. Your body will feel cooler if you are hydrated.
2. Spritz yourself with cool water. 3. Freeze cloth & put it on your neck, forehead, arms, or legs. 4. Quickly run SUPER cold water over your wrists. 5. Wet your hair. Make sure to get the water all the way to your scalp. 6. Fill your bathtub with cool water (and some ice cubes) and get in. 7. Go for a swim.
For kiddos? Try a sponge lei!
Oooh ahhhhh CooOoOooOoOL!
Totally easy peasy to make. It’s a lei made from cut up sponges. To activate the cool, dip it into cold water, wring out the excess and drape it over their necks. It might be a bit wet, but kiddos won’t care! All you’ll need is, a colorful package of sponges. (3 sponges to make two youth necklaces.), a bamboo skewer or knitting needle, a sturdy large needle, some yarn, scissors and BOOM! Stay cool, kiddos! *Safe for adults*
Stock your freezer Not just with your favorite frozen treats. Make your own popsicles! My favorite cool treat? I freeze chopped fruit, such as watermelon & pineapple. Don’t forget GRAPES and berries! Cooling down is a tasty experience. YUMMY!
MAGICAL POWERS OF MINT!
Try a hint of mint. Mint refreshes the skin and leaves a nice cooling sensation. Try it in water with a bit of cucumber. SO refreshing and coooooling! Try a few minty or menthol products to cool your skin. Slather on lotion with peppermint (avoid your face and eyes, of course!), shower with peppermint soap or use a minty foot soak.
Strategic window opening
Yup, totally serious about this. Growing up in rural Vermont, near water, we were VERY focused on cooling our house the old-fashioned way. Fresh air flowing thru your home is good for your plants, your small humans and pets. The most strategic way of keeping your home cool is to only keep your windows open as long as it is cooler outside than it is inside. That is usually in the mid-to late-afternoon. On the hottest/most humid days, we used to close the windows up mid-day, and then open them again in the evening. Depending on the layout of your house, you might have better results by opening only windows on the shady side of your home, or opening windows on the shady side of the lower floor, and the sunny side of your upper floor. You might find that your house would really benefit from shades to keep sunlight out.
Speaking of shades….close ’em! Shutting your shades during the day will help block the Sun’s rays and drastically reduce your solar gain. As soon as the Sun hits your home in the morning, close all windows and keep exterior doors and windows closed throughout the hottest part of the day. Do this until night falls and it is cool enough open the windows at night. For BEST protection, get cellular, insulated Symphony shades.
Feeling the HEAT? I know, right? Our made in USA shades will help!
We all know the pure joy and freedom that is felt, when we ride around in a convertible. The wind blowing our hair, Sun on our shoulders, yet still with the protection of the windshield. It’s kinda the same feeling you’ll achieve with Top Down/Bottom Up shades.
The most versatile way to balance both privacy and light control is a top down/bottom up shade. Or if you’re into the whole brevity thing, TDBU.
This operating system allows you to raise and lower your shades from both the top and bottom. With this system, you have the power to create the most perfect balance between natural sunlight and privacy. It’s effortless. Wanna show off your dancing shoes and keep your identity safe? Want to see what the weather is like, once you step out of the shower, and NOT scare the bejesus outta your neighbors? Then TDBU shades are for YOU!
These shades mount at the top of the window frame, just like our regular shades, but they come with a middle bar beneath the headrail that allows you to lower the shade from the top of the window, as well as the traditional “bottom up” direction.
TDBU is also known as “duofold,” this multi-directional function can be applied to numerous cord/fabric options.
Cordless TDBU shades offer luxury, simplicity, and efficiency all-in-one.
TDBU is becoming one of THE MOST popular operations among all window treatments because of its extreme versatility and is an ideal treatment for a wide range of rooms and lighting conditions.
Soooo..order today and you’ll LOVE letting the TOP DOWN!
If the average night’s sleep is 8 hours, a person sleeps for 1/3rd of their life.
And let’s say, you live to be 75 yrs old, you’ll be cozy in bed, snoooozing for 25 years.
9,125 days.
An average of 25-33 yrs of our lives in bed. WOW!
SOOooo, making yourself and your bedroom as comfortable as possible is super duper important.
After your bed, your bedroom window treatments are the most important choice you’ll make.
Let’s get you sleeping sweetly!
Symphony Blackout Shades have superior light-blocking fabric that we acquire from Comfortex.
Our Blackout Shades were specifically designed to help you enjoy the most restful night’s sleep.
I don’t know about you, but I am SO light sensitive. Sleep masks don’t work. Putting a pillow over my head, makes me feel like I’m suffocating; not sooo calming of a sleep environment.
And think about, sleep deprivation is used as torture. GAH!
Research has proven that sleeping in a dark, quiet room can help manage not only sleep, but also mood and energy. The results of a good night’s sleep include feeling more refreshed and alert.
To encourage a solid night’s sleep, other tips include:
Reduce light(blue light) exposure in the evening Blue light, which electronic devices like ipads, smartphones and computers emit in HUGE amounts, is the worst for sleepy time. Say goodnight to your devices an hour before you hit the hay. I know, I know, but it’s a great habit to start. Your brain will thank us. Reducing light in the evening will have a major impact on your circadian rhythm. When you are exposed to massive amounts of light in the evening, that light is tricking your brain into thinking it is still daytime. EEK! It will actually reduce your natural hormone response of melatonin, which helps you relax, mellow out, chill, and get deep sleep.
Don’t drink or eat caffeine later in the day We ALL love it. Some of us can admit to being addicted to that dark, rich seductress, coffee. A single dose will enhance energy, focus, mood, and energy. Here comes the bummer news, when enjoyed later in the day, coffee, that dark addictive lord, (and other caffeinated products) stimulates your nervous system and stops your body from naturally relaxing at night. In one study, consuming caffeine up to 6 hours before bed, significantly made people toss and turn! Your quality of sleep WILL plummet.
Create a solid sleep pattern you can stick to:
We’ve already talked about your bod’s circadian rhythm functions . Well let’s get them on a schedule, people! Try aligning it with sunrise and sunset. (I know it sounds insane, but keep reading)
Just be consistent with your sleep and waking times. Try it for just a week. Go to bed every night at ___pm. Set the alarm at the same time every morning ___am. This will get you cruising on a super highway of sound sleeping. Ya know, it’s been studied that after several weeks on a schedule, you may not even need an alarm. YIPPPIE!!!!!!
Optimize your bedroom vibe:
When I say vibe, I’m referring to the bedroom environment. Not too warm, not too cool. External lights, outside(or inside) noise factors, and furniture arrangement. Many MANY studies point out that external noise such as traffic, can cause poor sleep and long-term health issues. BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP NOOOO! A study on the bedroom environment of women, around 50% of volunteers, noticed improved sleep quality when noise and light was reduced. Seems obvious to us. Quiet, peaceful = sleepy time! Let’s get your bedroom environment cozy. Minimize external noise, light and artificial lights from devices like alarm clocks. Make sure your bedroom is a quiet, relaxing, clean, and enjoyable place where you want to be. That’s SUPER important.
Symphony Blackout Shades, with our exclusive sidetrack/energy saving system, blocks light from entering along the edges of blinds. The tops of our shades are sealed in by a fuzzy seal to block even MORE exterior light at the top of the shade. The sidetrack system is attached magnetically and is easy to pop off for cleaning the window treatments. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!
Ok so your quality of sleep will improve being in a nice, daaarrrrk bedroom. The energy saving/light blocking sidetracks are also energy efficient! WOOO HOOOOOOOOO! The tracks block air leaks as well as light. These window treatments have an R Value of almost 7.0 when installed over double-pane vinyl windows!
Standard Pull Cord
Standard Top Down Bottom Up
Smoothy Continuous Cord
Smoothy Top Down/Bottom up
Our blackout fabric comes in a variety of colors, and always with the neutral white facing the street. They are best suited for day sleepers, 3rd shifters, baby rooms and home theater rooms, as well as office environments where presentations are made. Annnnd anyone that enjoys a GREAT afternoon nap. *wink*
These shades mount at the top of the window frame, just like our regular shades, but they come with a middle bar beneath the headrail that allows you to lower the shade from the top of the window, as well as the traditional “bottom up” direction.
Let’s get you sleeping sweetly!
A single dose will enhance energy, focus, mood, and energy. Here comes the bummer news, when enjoyed later in the day, coffee, that dark addictive lord, (and other caffeinated products) stimulates your nervous system and stops your body from naturally relaxing at night. In one study, consuming caffeine up to 6 hours before bed, significantly made people toss and turn! Your quality of sleep WILL plummet.
