Welcome - Grace note

It’s been challenging to write a year-end editorial for 2020. There have been years in the past that we all wished would come to an end due to business or personal hardships, but 2020 takes the prize. None of us have been untouched by the sweeping pandemic in some way.

It leaves us to reflect on 2020 and ask ourselves, how did this affect us, what did we do and, most importantly, what did we learn about ourselves and the world? Despite the hardships, there’s always a silver lining in GRACE some aspect of our lives. Consider the initiatives and bravery demonstrated by those in our NOTE industry: from Sandra VanSickle founding the Facebook group Mask America, where dozens of industry professionals made and donated masks to those in need, to Polar Shades producing PPE, gowns and masks for health care professionals and first responders. So many people in our industry stepped up to the plate to help. In many cases, it brought out the best in us.

The stay-at-home mandates also created an opportunity for our industry, as people have had the chance to really pay attention to their home environments and spend their discretionary income on home improvement versus things like travel and transportation. Did it force us to do business differently? Yes, in many ways, but it also made us look carefully at how we run our companies, giving us the opportunity to change and streamline operations and look for new avenues.

At Window Fashion VISION, it has helped us expand our mission to be the communication and education vehicle for the window covering industry. Hearing from many of you, we know that there is an even greater need for education and learning, so we are expanding our

Don't miss our fantastic article on hardware trends on page 30. Photo featuring Merrill Y. Landis's floating drapery panel rods provided by Shrawder Restorations/Sheffield Furniture.

Window Fashion Certified Professional (WFCP) program and creating the WFCP Academy. The Academy will offer many new one-hour seminars and educational opportunities in business, marketing, fabrication and motorization in a convenient, ondemand format.

With motorization interest growing exponentially, we will be including a series of “Motorization Initiatives” in the magazine and online. In addition, watch for many virtual opportunities.

We’re here for you, so let us know what you need.

Wishing you all the best holiday season possible!

Grace McNamara Publisher grace@wf-vision.com