Shades are just one specialty

Tony Lovette knew there would be a growing demand for motorized shades in commercial and high-end residential markets when he opened The Specialty Group in 2002.

"Automation is becoming a bigger part of all homes," said Deborah Lovette, his wife and company vice president. "I think that is where (the) window treatment industry is heading, and I think it's a positive."

Tony Lovette created the company in 2002 after buying Specialty Drapery.

Originally formed as a drapery and cleaning company, Specialty Drapery now provides residential window treatments and design services as well as lighting controls and home automation.

It is one of The Specialty Group's four divisions. The others are Specialty Contract, provider of commercial window treatments and lighting controls; Specialty Drapery Cleaners, an upholstery, rug and drapery cleaner; and LuXout, which makes stage curtains.

"We are the only one-stop shopping for every type of window treatment that is customized," Deborah Lovette said.

The company offers a variety of items such as motorized shades with light sensors that automatically lower shades when the natural light gets too bright, and solar powered window treatments that require no electrical wiring or power source.

"You can even get curtains that you can control from your iPad," Deborah Lovette said.

She and her husband look at windows as critical to the appearance of any room or space.

"They are the No. 1 energy loss area of any building and the No. 1 best source of light for any building," Tony Lovette said.

Rick Kastelberg, president of Richmond-based Mako Builders Inc., finds The Specialty Group to be very innovative.

"They introduced us to products that we didn't know were out there," he said. "They did a great job in instructing us how to prepare a site for their products."

The Specialty Group has grown 300 percent since its inception. The company's clients include individuals, interior designers, businesses, schools, theaters and churches.

"In the last two years, our areas of major growth have been commercial shade and lighting control installations as well as stage curtains," Tony Lovette said.

The company sells curtains across the country.

"Our curtains are the only stage curtains that are 100 percent totally fire retardant," Deborah Lovette said.

The company has fabricated curtains for The Kennedy Center in Washington as well as thousands of schools and universities.

"We can fabricate anything someone wants," Deborah Lovette said.

All of the stage curtains are made at the company's plant at 3009 Lincoln Ave. in Henrico County, which also served as the company's initial headquarters. The company moved its headquarters to West Cary Street and added a showroom there.

"(It) will be expanding next year due to increased interest in child safe motorized window treatments," Deborah Lovette said. "The Consumer Product Safety Commission is putting pressure on the window treatment industry to make window treatments more child safe. We don't make window treatments that are not safety compliant."

In 2010, The Specialty Group served as consultants to the architects working on the expansion of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The company developed an automation program to track the sun and operate the shades for best efficiency based on the amount of sunlight each window received. The project won Lutron Electronics Co. Inc.'s 2010 Excellence Award for "Best Shade Project." Lutron designs and manufactures light controls and automated window treatments for residential and commercial use.

"The Specialty Group's work was done very skillfully," said Richard Woodward, the museum's senior deputy director of architecture and design. "They provided good customer service. I always had direct access."

Joan and Daniel Rexinger of Midlothian had the company install manual and motorized shades in their home as well as their Virginia Beach vacation property.

"I absolutely love the shades," Joan Rexinger said. "I should have done this years ago."

She describes The Specialty Group as top-notch.

"They are the best people to work with," she said.