Longtime firm Mountain Blind Man has new owners, but the team is still in place
Longtime local business has a new showroom in Edwards
Courtesy photo
Business name: Mountain Blind Man
Location: 56 Edwards Village Blvd, Suite 223
Date opened: 1996
New Owners: Michael Holton and Brady Herbert
Contact information:聽Go to , call 970-926-8156 or email office@mountainblindman.com
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What goods or services do you provide?聽Window blinds, shades, shutters and draperies. We’ve been providing custom window treatments across the Vail Valley and Summit County for nearly three decades, but we have new local owners. Our boutique service includes complimentary in-home consultations and free installation.聽
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What’s new or exciting at your place of business? Our bright yellow vehicles around town with the decal that says “This vehicle is being driven by a blind man!” We just opened a new showroom in Edwards on the back side of Edwards Corner, the building where Hovey & Harrison is located. After working out of a basement for about 18 years, we’re having a blast in our new home. We also have new rebates up to $1,000 and federal tax credits up to $1,200 for installing new honeycomb shades, which are very energy efficient.
What strategy do you use to differentiate your business from your competition? Window treatments is all we do. We specialize in excellent customer service, prompt replies and an extraordinary level of expertise across the team. The former owner, Dave Baker, still supports our team and is recognized as one of the top window treatment designers in the country. The other team members are outstanding humans with both integrity and skill; Matthew Wyatt, Ken White, Liam Erickson, Jordan Gabbard, Megan Boord and Robyn Boylan. Our Hunter Douglas guarantee and industry-leading warranties also set us apart.
What philosophy do you follow in dealing with your customers? What can your customers expect from you? Our job is to make your windows a delightful part of your everyday life. Stop being frustrated by a bedroom that isn’t dark enough when you sleep, too much light in the summer that bakes your house, or heat loss in the winter that can be solved by energy-efficient shades. It also helps that every person on our team is happy to live and work here. Our kids have been born and raised here and we understand how fortunate we are to call these mountains our home.
Tell us a little about your background, education, and experience: Michael Holton grew up in Poteau, Oklahoma 鈥� home of the World’s Highest Hill. After attending the University of Kansas and failing to make it big with his band E Double, he married a Texas Longhorn (Kelly) who he met while working at Camp Ozark in the Ouachita Mountains. At the wedding, his dad said “You should move to Colorado, I wish I would have.” That kicked off an adventurous mountain life that has included three amazing kids (Knox, Kate and Jay), years with Vail Resorts and Beaver Creek, and over a decade at Vail Health.
Brady Herbert grew up in Borger, Texas (a small town in the Texas Panhandle). He attended Baylor University, which is where he met his wife. Brady received a BBA in human resource management and real estate, and then he went to seminary at Truett Seminary (on Baylor’s campus) and received an MDiv in theology. He was a pastor in Waco for 11 years, and his family moved to the Valley in 2018. Brady’s parents and brother had lived here for some time, so this was a natural landing for them. Brady has been on the team for almost six years.
What is the most humorous thing that has happened at your business since you opened? In the early days, an alarm was set off when one of our installers was in a home, and the police came with guns drawn until he was able to explain. Once, a client’s dog jumped in one of our cars during the unloading process and we didn’t realize it until it licked the driver’s head from the backseat while driving down U.S. Highway 6.
