Blog

We are proud sponsors of local football team Grainger Park Boys – and yesterday they tasted the sweet taste of glory winning the Cup Final of the Bluefin Sport Amateur Cup – against Leam Rangers, from Gateshead.

The winning score was 3-2. Easter Monday 12.00 kick off. At Purvis Park, Percy Main.

Staff at A1 Blinds took part in “The Big Sleep Out” in Newcastle city centre to mark “World Homeless Day” on Friday 10^th October 2014. This was to raise money for “The Homeless” of Newcastle upon Tyne.

One staff member said “We have a huge heart for helping the Homeless and felt we wanted to do something positive, although spending one night sleeping rough on the streets does not emulate being Homeless, it does non-the-less give an insight into how hard it must be to survive on the streets”.

Our staff raised over £1,600 in sponsorship and donations, helping supply the Homeless with hot food, clothes, rucksacks, sleeping bags and the essentials needed to survive living on the streets.

Emblazoned across the top of the page in today’s Chronicle newspaper*, the Grainger Park FC side can be seen – wearing their new strips we provided.

We are thrilled to be sponsors of such a noble bunch of lads, whom were playing against Longbenton on Saturday. (in the Northern Alliance League, Division Two).

* (page 38 – Tuesday, August 26)

As part of our 2014 Expansion & Growth plans we are expanding our Blaydon Showroom to offer our customers a greater selection of Blinds, Fabrics and Services to make your browsing experience an unforgettable one.

We believe our showroom will be one of the most modern and high tech in the country, we are leading the way in offering a greater choice for our customers. As well as having a larger selection of traditional fabric books we will have the latest ipads to browse our virtual sample books as well as tv/video/audio screen samples.

We will also have displays of full size Patio/French Doors & Windows, as well as having example’s of Conservatories & Conservatory Roofs so you can see a selection of blind types and fabric samples in situ to give a better idea of how they will look in your home.
Our showroom will also offer a greater selection of roman, vision, wooden blinds and plantation shutters.

Our expansion also includes having new offices built to accommodate a new larger Call Centre incorporating the latest IT and communication systems.

We would like to apologise to our Blaydon Branch customers for any inconvenience caused during this work but we hope our expansion should be completed by 1st August 2014 and we look forward to welcoming you to the opening of our new showroom.

A new Standard, BS EN 13120:2009 (Internal Blinds – Performance Requirements Including Safety) will assist businesses in manufacturing and supplying products which are safe for consumer use.

As of 17^th March 2014 all products manufactured by A1 Blinds will comply with the New Child Safety Laws BS EN 13120.

All blinds with operating cords or chains will be fitted above the height of 1.5 meters or be fitted with the appropriate Child Safety Device.

The steps we will take:

1. We will attach a warning notice to the product, the safety device and the packaging.
2. We will provide and fit a device to keep cords and chains or similar out of reach of children.
3. Where the sale is for “supply only” we will include instructions for fitting the blind, the safety device and its proper use.
4. Where the product requires a looped operating mechanism, we will provide a means to limit the risk by incorporating it into the design or by an appropriate device supplied with the product.

Advice to domestic customers:

1. Cords ending in a loop are particularly risky. Where possible operating cords, chains and tapes or similar should be kept short.
2. Cords should be kept out of the reach of children. Where possible replace cords with curtain or blind wands
3. A tension device can be used to pull the cord tight and secure it to the floor or wall
4. Never put a cot, bed, high chair or playpen near a window or patio door where a child can reach a curtain or blind cord
5. Keep sofas, chairs, tables, shelves or book cases away from windows to prevent children climbing up and reaching curtains or blind cords. People in charge of children are ultimately responsible for following the safety instructions provided by the manufacturer

Advice to Commercial customers:

If you have premises where children under the age of 42 months are present or likely to have access you must install blinds which are compliant with the child safety requirements of EN13120.

We believe this applies to all public buildings and the publicly accessible areas of all commercial buildings.

We are proud to announce the opening of our new Showroom at Station Road North, Forest Hall NE12 9AD. This store is now fully stocked with the latest collection of beautiful blinds and with our new children’s play area you can browse at your leisure in our fabulous contemporary showroom. To celebrate the opening we have some fantastic special offer’s that you won’t want to miss, but these are only available from this store.

As mentioned in the News at the end of May, we are proud to be sponsors of Longbenton Junior Under 11’s Football Team. We are delighted to announce that the new kits have been manufactured & are now in use. It is undeniable that these colourful strips certainly catch the eye. We wish them the best of luck for the new season.

A recent pic: Wearing poppies in respect to the fallen.

We have just begun running a new radio advert for our special Summer Sale. It is currently being played on Smooth Radio (FM 97.5 MHz) – why not tune in & listen out for the offer, OR if you can’t wait & you’re keen to hear what it’s all about you can listen to it via the link on the right. The offer ends the 30th of June.

A1 Blinds are proud to be sponsors of Longbenton Junior Under 9 Football Team.

As sponsors we will be supplying their full Football Kits including training coats and various other items they need. A1 Blinds is committed to giving 100% support to Longbenton Juniors as we believe in supporting the youth of the North East to develop talent, skill, commitment & competitiveness. Being successful is important, but what’s more important is development of ability & potential. Often children just need a chance to prove themselves and we want to help offer that opportunity to as many local children as we can.

We will be working with Longbenton Junior Under 9’s over the next two years and we look forward to being a part of their development and growth.

We have lately been successfully accredited & joined the Constructionline pre-qualification scheme – the UK’s largest pre-qualification database.

By becoming pre-qualified in this manner by both the CHAS scheme in February & now Constructionline, acknowledgment has been shown that we meet industry & Government standards. It’s a great tool for us to select quality suppliers; promote our services and gain new work opportunities.