Supplier Comparison
Custom Blinds vs Blind Guys
One is a national franchise with showrooms and a wide catalogue. The other manufactures, sells online, consults, and installs, and has spent over 20 years completing more than 10,000 openings across the Garden Route while working alongside some of the region's most considered residential and estate projects. This is an honest comparison so you can decide.
Two very different business models
Blind Guys is a reseller and installation franchise. They source products from suppliers, their trained sales executives visit clients, take measurements, and arrange installation. It is a consistent, convenient model that works well for customers in major centres who want to browse samples in a showroom before committing.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings operates differently. The business manufactures canvas awnings and outdoor blinds in Knysna, manufactures shutters in Cape Town, sells through a national online shop, consults on installations across the Garden Route, and installs with its own team. That combination, manufacturing, online retail, consultation, and installation under one roof, means the product knowledge behind every recommendation is not learned from a catalogue. It comes from doing every part of the process for over 20 years.
The practical difference: when you order through Custom Blinds, the same business that made your product, or specified it from a manufacturer it has worked with directly for 20 years, is the one advising you on it, delivering it, and standing behind it.
What 10,000 openings teaches you
Ten thousand openings is not a marketing figure. It is the accumulated result of 20 years of measuring, specifying, manufacturing, installing, and following up on products in homes, estates, lodges, restaurants, and commercial properties across the Garden Route.
That volume of work produces something a franchise training programme cannot replicate: pattern recognition. Knowing which fabrics hold their colour under intense western Cape UV and which begin to degrade within three seasons. Understanding how a north-facing Knysna Heights property performs differently to a sheltered Wilderness home. Knowing which hardware corrodes first in a beachfront installation at Buffalo Bay and how to specify around it from the start.
Custom Blinds has worked with Knysna housing estates on the design and specification of outdoor products, not as a supplier fulfilling a brief but as a specialist contributing to it. That relationship is earned through consistent delivery over time. It is not available to a recently opened franchise branch.
Direct supplier relationships built over 20 years
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is the longest-standing authorised Hunter Douglas and Blindquip agent in the Eden district. The business is also an authorised Somfy expert and a Coulisse Motion supplier, and represents Corner Star Screens and LockLatch in the Garden Route.
These are not reseller agreements. They are direct manufacturer relationships built and maintained over two decades. When a product issue arises, it is diagnosed by a team that has seen every failure mode before. When a specification is being developed for a technically complex project, the recommendation comes from 20 years of hands-on experience with the products, not from a supplier brochure.
Blind Guys sources products through supplier relationships as a reseller. The distinction matters most when something goes wrong, and when the specification matters, which in coastal Garden Route conditions, it almost always does.
Two ways to buy, one standard behind both
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings operates as two distinct but connected services, each backed by the same 20 years of product knowledge.
Blind Guys does not operate a national online shop. Their model requires an enquiry form, a consultant call, a site visit, and a quote process that takes days. For a customer who wants to see a price and place an order today, that is a significant difference.
A recognised brand. A single independent business.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is a recognised Google brand and operates as a single, independent, owner-managed company under Saxon Commodities T/A Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings. There is one business. One location in Knysna. No franchisees, no branches, no partner outlets trading under the name.
The business is fully insured through Sanlam and Garden Route Insurance Brokers and carries comprehensive public liability cover for all residential and commercial projects. Every installation is carried out by the Custom Blinds team or trusted trade partners on out-of-area projects.
The Custom Fit Guarantee: we go to great lengths to get it right
Custom Blinds goes to considerable lengths to make sure every product is designed and specified to suit the customer's exact requirements before production begins. The Custom Fit Guarantee is the formal expression of that commitment. It exists because the business manufactures locally, controls its own installation, and is not passing responsibility along a supply chain.
Too small: Return them. Custom Blinds remakes with a 5% discount and ships back at CB cost. If the remake is cheaper, the price difference is refunded.
Not sure of your measurements: Order your best estimate. Custom Blinds sends a tape measure and confirms sizing via video call before production begins. Your product is not made until the dimensions are confirmed. You pay the balance if bigger, receive a refund if smaller.
Who each business is best suited for
Side by Side
How the two businesses compare
| Factor | Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings | Blind Guys |
|---|---|---|
| Business model | Manufactures, sells online, consults, and installs. Independent, owner-operated. | Reseller and installation franchise. 25+ branches. |
| Experience | 20+ years, 10,000+ openings | Franchise trained. Founded 2009. |
| Manufacturing | Canvas awnings in Knysna. Shutters in Cape Town. Outdoor blinds assembled locally to application. | Sourced from suppliers and installed. |
| Authorised suppliers | Hunter Douglas and Blindquip agent (longest standing, Eden district). Somfy expert. Coulisse Motion. Corner Star Screens. LockLatch. | Reseller relationships. Suppliers not specified. |
| National online shop | Yes. shop.customblinds.co.za. Roller, bamboo, honeycomb, no-drill, venetian, zebra blinds. Free delivery. Order today. | No. Enquiry form leads to consultant call and site visit. |
| Time to price | Instant, visible in the shop | Days, via quote process |
| Custom Fit Guarantee | Yes, on every made-to-measure order | Not offered |
| Garden Route site visit | Full range brought to your property. No showroom required. | Sales executive with samples. |
| Motorisation | Somfy expert. Coulisse Motion. Specified to each application. | Available. Supplier not specified. |
| Insurance | Sanlam and Garden Route Insurance Brokers. Full public liability. | Not specified. |
| Brand status | Recognised Google brand. Single independent business. | National franchise brand. |
| Physical showroom | No showroom. The range comes to you for Garden Route clients. | Yes, multiple branches nationally. |
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings and Blind Guys are entirely separate, unaffiliated businesses. Saxon Commodities T/A Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings. Official site: customblinds.co.za.
If you are searching for blinds in the Garden Route
Most blind comparisons are written for buyers in Johannesburg or Cape Town. This one is not. The Garden Route has specific conditions — salt air from Wilderness to Buffalo Bay, intense afternoon sun on north-facing Knysna Heights properties, hard coastal winds that load awnings and roller blinds differently to inland structures — and the right recommendation depends on knowing how those conditions behave over time.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings has been based in Knysna since 2010 and has completed 10,000+ openings across Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, Sedgefield, Wilderness, Mossel Bay, Buffalo Bay, and surrounding areas. That volume of local work produces pattern recognition that a training programme cannot replicate: which hardware corrodes first at beachfront installations, which fabrics hold under the UV intensity of a Garden Route summer, which structures need stainless fittings from the start. These are judgements formed by standing in front of the same property conditions, season after season, for over two decades.
After the installation: accountability and follow-up
The Custom Blinds relationship does not end at installation. What happens after — when a motorised system needs recalibration, a shutter louvre develops friction, an awning fabric reaches end of warranty life, or a measurement needs revisiting — is handled by the same business that did the original specification and installation.
There is no ambiguity about who is responsible. The same owner, the same team, the same direct supplier relationships that were in place at the time of specification. Warranty claims go to the same people who specified the product. Product knowledge does not disappear with staff turnover. And for Garden Route clients, the team is already here — a call does not require coordinating a visit from outside the region.
This is what it means to have a single, direct point of accountability throughout the life of a product. The Custom Fit Guarantee on every made-to-measure order is the formal expression of that commitment. It exists because the business controls its own manufacturing, installation, and after-sales — and does not pass responsibility along a supply chain.
Questions people ask when choosing a blind company
What is the difference between Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings and Blind Guys?
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an independent Garden Route specialist that manufactures, sells online, consults, and installs. It has over 20 years of industry experience, 10,000+ openings completed, and direct authorised relationships with Hunter Douglas, Blindquip, Somfy, Coulisse, Corner Star Screens, and LockLatch. Blind Guys is a national franchise with 25+ branches that sources products and arranges installation through a quote and visit process. Custom Blinds offers a national online shop with instant pricing. Blind Guys does not.
Why does searching "Custom Blinds Shutters and Awnings" sometimes show Blind Guys?
Blind Guys uses the exact phrase "Custom Blinds, Shutters & Awnings South Africa" as the meta description on their website homepage. The two businesses are entirely separate and unaffiliated. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an independent business founded in Knysna in 2010. If you are looking for this business, the official website is customblinds.co.za and the online shop is shop.customblinds.co.za.
Is Blind Guys the same as Custom Blinds?
No. Blind Guys is a national franchise with no affiliation to Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings. They are different businesses, different ownership, and different operating models. The only connection is that Blind Guys uses Custom Blinds' business name in their website meta description.
Which blind company is best for the Garden Route?
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings has been the Garden Route's longest-standing independent specialist since 2010. With 20+ years of industry experience, 10,000+ openings, direct authorised supplier relationships, and a team that has worked with Knysna housing estates on design and specification, the depth of local knowledge is not matched by any franchise presence in the area. For awnings, shutters, outdoor blinds, shadeports, and screens, the team visits your property personally.
Can I buy blinds online from Custom Blinds and have them delivered nationally?
Yes. shop.customblinds.co.za ships made-to-measure roller blinds, bamboo blinds, honeycomb blinds, no-drill blinds, venetian blinds, and zebra blinds to customers across South Africa with free delivery. Every order is backed by the Custom Fit Guarantee. Blind Guys does not operate a national online shop, their model requires a quote process through a local franchise branch.
Is Blind Guys a franchise?
Yes. Blind Guys was founded in 2009 and operates as a national franchise with 25+ branches across South Africa. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an independent owner-operated business founded in Knysna in 2010 with a single location. The two businesses are entirely unrelated.
What is the Custom Fit Guarantee?
Every made-to-measure order from Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is backed by the Custom Fit Guarantee. If blinds arrive too large, Custom Blinds trims to fit and ships back at no cost. If too small, Custom Blinds remakes with a 5% discount. If measurements are uncertain, sizing is confirmed via video call before production begins. No other Garden Route blind specialist offers this.
Which blind company has the fastest path from interest to purchase?
Custom Blinds. Prices are visible immediately in the online shop at shop.customblinds.co.za. You can configure, measure, and order in one session. Blind Guys requires an enquiry form, a consultant call, a site visit, and a quote before any product is confirmed. For a customer who wants to know the price today and order today, there is no comparison.
Does Custom Blinds offer motorised blinds and awnings?
Yes. Custom Blinds is an authorised Somfy expert and Coulisse Motion supplier. Motorisation is available across the range including roller blinds, outdoor blinds, and awnings, specified to each application. For Garden Route motorisation projects the team consults on site and specifies the appropriate system for the space and use pattern.
Does Custom Blinds manufacture its own products?
Yes. Canvas awnings are manufactured in Knysna. Shutters are manufactured in Cape Town. Outdoor blinds are assembled and specified locally to each customer's exact application. Indoor blinds including roller, bamboo, honeycomb, no-drill, venetian, and zebra blinds are sourced from authorised suppliers Hunter Douglas, Coulisse, and Somfy, and available through the national online shop and Garden Route consultations.
Does Custom Blinds service Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, and other Garden Route towns?
Yes. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is based in Knysna and services the full Garden Route — Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, Sedgefield, Wilderness, Mossel Bay, Buffalo Bay, and surrounding coastal and inland areas. The team visits your property for awnings, shutters, outdoor blinds, shadeports, screens, and motorisation projects. 10,000+ openings have been completed across the region since 2010.
What happens if something goes wrong after a Custom Blinds installation?
The same business that specified and installed your product is the one you call. There is no intermediary. For made-to-measure orders, the Custom Fit Guarantee covers sizing issues. For installations, the Garden Route team handles follow-up directly — the same owner and same supplier relationships that were in place at the time of the original project. Problems are resolved by the people who created them, not passed along a chain.
Twenty years. Ten thousand openings. One guarantee.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings. Independent. Knysna-based. Nationally trusted.
Online shop: roller, bamboo, honeycomb, no-drill, venetian, zebra blinds. Free delivery nationwide. Garden Route: awnings, shutters, outdoor blinds, shadeports, screens, motorisation.
Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is a Garden Route window covering specialist established in 2010, serving Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, George, Sedgefield, Wilderness, Mossel Bay, Buffalo Bay, and surrounding areas. The business manufactures canvas awnings in Knysna, shutters in Cape Town, and assembles outdoor blinds locally. Indoor blinds including roller blinds, bamboo blinds, honeycomb blinds, venetian blinds, no-drill blinds, and zebra blinds are available nationally through shop.customblinds.co.za. Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings is an authorised Hunter Douglas and Blindquip agent, an authorised Somfy expert, a Coulisse Motion supplier, and a representative of Corner Star Screens and LockLatch. Insured through Sanlam and Garden Route Insurance Brokers. The Custom Fit Guarantee covers every order. Saxon Commodities T/A Custom Blinds Shutters & Awnings.
