Eight People. 205 Years of Experience. One Leicester Factory.
Most people assume we're much bigger than we are.
More staff.
More vans.
More locations.
More departments.
In fact, one of the things we hear most often from customers is:
"I honestly thought there would be a lot more of you."
The truth?
There are just eight people behind Barlow Blinds.
Eight people helping customers choose, manufacture, measure and install blinds across Leicester and the surrounding areas.
But here's the part most people don't expect.
Those eight people bring more than 205 years of combined blinds experience to every project.
And that's something we're incredibly proud of.
Does Company Size Really Matter?
When you're choosing a blinds company, what matters more?
The number of people on the payroll?
Or the experience of the people actually working on your home?
Because when you think about it, the people who influence the outcome are surprisingly few.
The person who answers your phone call.
The person who helps you choose the right product.
The person who measures your windows.
The person who manufactures your blinds.
The person who installs them.
Those are the people who determine whether everything goes smoothly.
And at Barlow Blinds, many of them have spent decades doing exactly that.
Sandra Started Here in 1972
The longest-serving member of our team is Sandra.
She joined Barlow Blinds in 1972.
That's more than five decades helping customers find the right blinds for their homes.
Think about how much has changed since then.
Different fashions.
Different homes.
Different products.
Different manufacturing methods.
Different generations of customers.
Sandra has seen them all.
Today, she still plays an active role in the business.
She also happens to be my mum.
Like many family businesses, Barlow Blinds has never been just a workplace.
The people here become part of the story.
And many stay for decades.
Experience You Can't Learn From a Manual
Walk into our Leicester factory and you'll meet Ady.
He's been with us for 29 years.
Alongside him is Brad, who represents the next generation of manufacturing expertise and has spent the last 7 years mastering the craft.
Together they help manufacture all of our roller, vertical, allusion, pleated and perfect fit blinds we still produce locally.
What they know isn't something you can learn from a training course.
It's knowledge built over thousands of blinds.
Thousands of challenges.
Thousands of customer homes.
It's the kind of experience that helps spot problems before they happen and maintain standards that only come from doing something for years.
Why Experience Matters at the Window
Steve C has been measuring and fitting blinds for 22 years.
Steve H has been doing the same for 19 years.
Between them, they've seen just about every window shape, awkward recess, unusual installation and unexpected challenge imaginable.
And that's important.
Because fitting blinds isn't always as straightforward as people think.
A badly measured bay window.
A hidden obstruction.
An awkward conservatory roof.
The wrong product chosen for the wrong room.
These are the kinds of issues that can turn into expensive mistakes.
Experience helps prevent them.
When our fitters visit your home, they're not simply measuring windows.
They're drawing on decades of experience to spot details others might miss.
The Team Behind the Scenes
Of course, every successful installation relies on more than manufacturing and fitting.
Anita has been part of the business for 19 years.
Lorna, our Accounts Director, has been with us for 22 years.
They help ensure appointments are arranged, products are ordered, deliveries stay on track and customers are kept informed throughout the process.
It's not always the most visible part of the job.
But it's often the difference between a stressful experience and a smooth one.
Five Generations of One Family Business
I joined Barlow Blinds in 1993.
Today, I lead the business as Managing Director and represent Barlow Blinds on the British Blind and Shutter Association Management Committee.
But our story began long before I arrived.
Barlow Blinds was founded in Leicester in 1887.
When E.A. Barlow retired in 1927, the business was purchased by my great-grandfather.
Our family has owned and operated the company ever since.
That's nearly a century of continuous family ownership.
The values that guided the company back then still shape how we work today.
Honest advice.
Quality products.
Doing what's right for the customer.
And helping people choose the right blinds for their home rather than simply selling them whatever happens to be most profitable.
Why Customers Say We Feel Different
Perhaps that's why customers often tell us we don't feel like a typical blinds company.
We don't operate a call centre.
We don't pay commission.
We don't manufacture overseas and pretend it's local.
We're simply a small team of experienced people who care about doing the job properly.
And while there may only be eight of us, those eight people bring more than 205 years of combined experience to every blind we make, measure and install.
Not because it's an impressive number.
But because experience helps us get the details right.
And when someone trusts us with their home, those details matter.
About Phil Coleman
Phil Coleman is the fifth generation of his family to run Barlow Blinds, a Leicester business that has been making blinds since 1887. With over 30 years of hands-on experience, Phil has played a leading role in shaping industry standards including being part of the team that wrote the only NVQ qualification for blind and shutter installers. He also serves on the Management Committee of the British Blind & Shutter Association (BBSA), helping to set best practice across the trade. Under his leadership, Barlow Blinds has remained true to its founding principle: “It’s not our job to find customers for our blinds, it’s our job to find the right blinds for our customers.”
