Solar Eclipse sets a shining example

VERNON — Celebrating its 30 year anniversary on July 15, Solar Eclipse Window Fashions has been a fixture in Sussex County since 1985.

Family-run businessDoug Higgins and his wife Georgeann are the owners and operators of Solar Eclipse, although they are faithfully assisted in these tasks by their St. Bernard, Lacey. Lacey is the third in a line of St. Bernards that the couple has owned, and plays an important part in customer relations.

Solar Eclipse fabricates its own line of vertical blinds and window shades, as well as acting as a dealer for some of the biggest names in the industry, including Hunter Douglas, Graber, and Norman. They also repair all types of window treatments.

Quality workThe company’s formula for longevity, according to Doug, is offering their clients the best window treatments available at fair prices, along with expert advice and quality installations. Maintaining these high standards has come at a cost, but one that is well worth it for the Higgins.

“We lost some sales over the years to chain stores and franchise businesses, because we won’t sell anything that we wouldn’t put in our own home,” says Higgins. “We’ve seen a lot of competitors come and go over the years.”

Doug in fact grew up in this business. His parents owned a window treatments business in Newark, and Doug learned it early, helping out in all aspects. Eventually he began his own company, working out of his home, and moved the business to its current location at 23 Omega Drive, in 1992.

The location includes a showroom, although they still offer a shop-at-home service in which they bring various options and examples to the customer’s home, to show how they look in place.

Although residential work remains the mainstay of the business, they also do a lot of commercial and government work.

“We’re about 75 percent residential and the rest commercial and government,” says Higgins. “We do federal contractors and schools. You would have to go a long way from Vernon to find a place where Solar Eclipse didn’t do a job. One day we even got a call from one of our clients in Paris. When a client from around here recommends us to family and friends from other areas, it’s hard to say no to them.”