Growing up in Anchorage, Alaska, Todd Stiller had a garage that was almost better than an ATM: It housed his family's window-blind manufacturing business.
"It was always easy if I needed money, to just go out in the garage and work for a while. It was kind of like my allowance," he said.
The same was true for his four older sisters, all of whom helped assemble blinds and window coverings by hand.
Recently, Stiller, 29, teamed up with Gene Rogers, 60 — the man who bought the business in 1996, turned it into a million-dollar enterprise and sold it before retiring to Oro Valley three years ago — to get the family business up and running in a warmer climate. Blinds Unlimited was born.
"We already had, like, a trial marriage," Rogers said, laughing. "I bought his father's business in 1996, and Todd went with it."
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He got bored a year into retirement, he said, so when Stiller called and said his wife was going to medical school in Tucson, Rogers jumped at the chance to open a new blinds business here.
They had an exhibit booth at the October Southern Arizona Homebuilders Association Home Show, and in November, they opened for business.
What sets them apart from other window-covering makers in the area — of which there are very few, Rogers said — is the fact that Blinds Unlimited does not do wholesale business but rather sells directly to the public.
And what sets them apart from big-box stores that sell blinds — of which there are many — is the beginning-to-end service they offer, they say.
"We just try to do everything better than the competition does," Rogers said.
He's got the sales background, while Stiller knows practically all there is to know about making the blinds, and they train all their employees to put service first.
"We can be competitive with the big box, but we offer total service," Rogers said.
Because their supplier is owned by Hunter Douglas — one of the best-known names in blinds — Blinds Unlimited offers a lifetime warranty on all its products.
This means that for Blinds Unlimited customers, a representative will come out and try to repair blinds on site, and if that's not possible, they will remove the blinds, repair them within three days and then reinstall them at no cost.
"Most of the time, we can fix it right there," Stiller said.
Rogers is quick to point out that blinds dealers like big-box stores usually offer a warranty, but the customer could still end up paying $20 to $30 in shipping costs on top of waiting about four weeks for the blinds to come back.
Nogales resident Lupita Mayer saw the Blinds Unlimited booth at the October home show and was impressed with what she heard, she said.
Looking to outfit a second home in Tucson, she wanted new window coverings without removing cornices that were already in place. She had been told by a different company that the cornices would have to be removed, and there was a fee for their removal and reinstallation.
In the end, she had Blinds Unlimited do the work without removing anything that was already in place. And she had the company do more than she originally planned —but still saved money.
"I saved from $1,500 to $2,000 with (Gene)," she said.
She has already called the company back for more work and is planning to call again for another project, she said. She has referred her daughter to the company as well.
Tucson was vacation spot
Blinds or no blinds, it's interesting that both men would end up in the same part of the desert after years in Alaska.
Rogers and his wife, Sandy, had vacationed in Tucson several times along with their daughter Jennifer, now 17. Jennifer had decided that she wanted to go to the University of Arizona eventually, and her parents knew that if they were to move, it would be best for Jennifer if they did so before she began high school.
They let her decide which high school she liked — which turned out to be Ironwood Ridge — and her parents chose a house nearby so she could go there, Sandy said.
"I wasn't going to be up there in Alaska with her down here in the sunshine," Gene said.
Blinds Unlimited
Who: Todd Stiller and Gene and Sandy Rogers
What: Blinds Unlimited custom window-blind manufacturers
Where: 2430 W. Ruthrauff Road, Suite 106
Contact: 408-0658 or blindsunlimited@comcast.net
