It’s more flexible than wood, more environmentally sensitive than aluminum
or vinyl, and better yet, it’s beautiful
as well. We’re talking about bamboo,
a subject that brings an immediate
glow of enthusiasm to Jason Jia, one of
three co-owners of A-One Blinds in
Richmond.
“Bamboo has been a Chinese symbol
of elegance and grace for
thousands of years,” Jason says. “It is
loved because of its simplicity and natural
calming essence. In fact, Su Dong Po,
the famous Northern song poet, once
wrote: men can live without meat but
not without bamboo, for without meat
men become thin but witout bamboo
men become dull.”
A WINDOW COVERING FOR
THE 21ST CENTURY
“Traditionally, horizontal blinds have
been made either from basswood, ramin
wood, aluminum, or vinyl,” Jason says.
“It takes 20 years for basswood to
become mature enough to be harvested,
and now that Russia limited basswood
export and Indonesia has banned ramin
wood export totally, supplies are becoming
more and more limited. On the other
hand, bamboo takes only five years to be
ready for harvest. More importantly, each
bamboo stalk can be cut down time and
time again without damage to the environment
making it an ideal alternative
for the 21st Century.”
Surprising to most consumers is
bamboo’s flexibility. Jason demonstrates
by taking a slat from one of the display
blinds and bending it into an exaggerated
horseshoe shape. “If you did this
with wood or aluminum, it would
break,” he says. He lets go and the blind
immediately snaps back into a straight
line. “Imagine the damage an inquisitive
child – or an active cat or a dog – could
do even by accident to a more rigid material.
Bamboo’s flexibility gives it a great advantage over traditional materials used
in blinds.”
And there’s more good news.
“Bamboo helps keep a room’s temperature
and humidity constant, it absorbs
harmful UV rays, and it prevents static
electricity build up,” Jason says. He adds
that bamboo’s density is high enough
that it significantly reduces natural light
penetration, so there’s no problem catching
an afternoon nap even on the sunniest
day.
FULL CUSTOMIZATION
“We are the only store in the Lower
Mainland where you can buy a fully customized
bamboo blind,” Jason says.
Bamboo blinds are available in five
colours ranging from white to dark cherry
and in a choice of either one or twoinch
slats. Because all assembly is done
right on site in A-One Blinds’ Richmond
production plant, it typically takes less
than a week to complete an order once
all window sizes have been established.
“If you bring in the measurements of
your windows, we can give you a price
right away,” Jason says. “Measuring and
installing is very easy and we encourage
people to do it themselves. Our website gives instructions on how to measure your
windows accurately, but if you prefer, we
do offer free, on-site estimates and will
install your blinds for $10 a piece.” A-One
Blinds also supplies traditional wooden
horizontal blinds as well as straight and
pleated roller blinds.
A-One Blinds can be found at
106 - 11500 Bridgeport Road in
Richmond. For more information call
604-233-1963, or you can visit on the web
anytime at www.aoneblinds.com.
By Susan M. Boyce
Editorial from March, 2006 Renovations Home Improvement & Design. Contact the dealer directly for current price information.
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