Better Together: How a Supplier and a Designer Turned a White Apartment into a Warm Home
When Heidi of Fento Interiors needed a window-furnishing partner, she found one within the IDA’s own membership, Stratos of V Custom Blinds. Their collaborations show what happens when a supplier member and a professional design member work as one team. We sat down with both of them.
How did you first connect, and what led you to collaborate?
Heidi: We’d been disappointed with the service from a previous window furnishing supplier, so we wanted to try elsewhere. Stratos was fabulous, efficient and a brilliant communicator right from the start.
Stratos: We met at Heidi’s studio. I didn’t want to simply present our products. I wanted to understand what her team needed from a window-furnishing specialist and what challenges they’d had with other suppliers. Heidi was looking for a reliable specialist who could support higher-end residential work with creative, considered solutions and professional technical management.
What did each of you bring to the project?
Stratos: The apartment was a blank canvas, white throughout, and the aim was to bring in warmth, colour and personality rather than defaulting to neutral curtains. I took the fabric hangers to Heidi’s studio so her team could choose wall colours around them. The curtains, paint, furniture and artwork were considered together, not as separate decisions.
Heidi: We shared our design vision and furniture selections with Stratos from the outset. When our colour-loving client asked for something different in one space, Stratos agreed it would work, but checked back with us to make sure it suited the overall design. That’s genuine collaboration and mutual respect.
How did association membership help?
Stratos: It gave us a professional foundation: greater confidence that we shared a commitment to design quality, client outcomes and professional standards. Heidi’s team could share the concept and selections, and I could contribute knowledge about fabrics, performance, measurements and installation. The window furnishings became an integral part of the design rather than an isolated final item.
What’s the biggest advantage of working with a fellow member?
Heidi: There’s always going to be a higher level of accountability.
Stratos: I agree. When a designer recommends a specialist, she’s putting her own reputation behind that referral. Heidi trusted us with her client and her firm’s name. When both businesses perform well, each makes the other look good. Membership alone doesn’t guarantee compatibility, but once you understand and trust each other’s strengths, you can work more efficiently and give the client a more complete experience.
What’s the biggest advantage of working with a fellow member?
Heidi: There’s always going to be a higher level of accountability.
Stratos: I agree. When a designer recommends a specialist, she’s putting her own reputation behind that referral. Heidi trusted us with her client and her firm’s name. When both businesses perform well, each makes the other look good. Membership alone doesn’t guarantee compatibility, but once you understand and trust each other’s strengths, you can work more efficiently and give the client a more complete experience.
What advice would you give other members?
Heidi: Learning from and gathering with others in the industry makes everyone better. I’m a big believer in small businesses supporting each other. It isn’t an easy road, so connecting with others is very important.
Stratos: Take part genuinely rather than treating membership as a badge or a source of referrals. Attend events, talk to other members and start by listening. Ask what they need and where your expertise could make their work easier. Build the relationship and trust first, and the referrals follow naturally.