New Highland Village Digs Herald Shade Store’s Nationwide Expansion: Things Are Looking Very Bright For This Texas Favorite

“There’s always something new,” noted The Shade Store marketing chief Michael Crotty as he surveyed the company’s brand new digs in Highland Village. He and Samantha Cuello, director of trade relations and marketing, had jetted in from headquarters in New York to christen the stylish boutique.

He was, of course, referring to something new in the line of window coverings such as the recent collaborations with Jonathan Adler and the December launch of a collection under Aerin Lauder’s direction. Nevertheless, one couldn’t help but applaud the new locale on the edge of River Oaks.

“Texas has been a great market for us and Houston has been fantastic,” Crotty continued. “We started in the ‘dec center’ (Decorative Center Houston) and we had great success there.” After a year of waiting for just the right location, the second Houston shop became a reality, part of The Shade Store’s strategy of expanding nationwide. Today, there are more than 60 retail outlets.

For the opening celebration, The Shade Store partnered with PaperCity and tapped notable design sisters Sarah and Saba Jawda (Jawda and Jawda) to serve as stylish hosts for the early evening fête. They are big fans of the company and even draped their offices, located in one of the Menil bungalows, with Shade Store products.

While sipping champagne and nibbling on divine hors d’oeuvres from Catering by Culinaire, guests surveyed the myriad offerings providing “the gift of shade.”

One of the company’s most popular products at the moment, according to Crotty, is the mechanized shade. “The great thing about it is that it’s very affordable in a lot of ways. But more importantly, it’s all battery operated. You don’t have to open up the walls.” The system features a powerful battery that recharges just like a smartphone.

“So that has exploded,” he said of the advancement that was introduced nine months ago.

Shade seekers: Ceron, Brandon Bourque, Barbara Davis, Andrea Bianconi, Ben Koush, Vivian Wise, Luis De Las Cuevas, Desiree Guillory, Mary Vu, Dawn Ginn, Jon Schuler, Anthony Garcia, Erich Ploog, Anne Lee Phillips, Benjamin Johnston, Kara Smith, Lauren Parsons, and Jenny Catling.