Our business was founded in 1932 by Ena Shaw in St Helens, Merseyside (or Lancashire as it was then). She started her own workroom making curtains and loose covers for retail.

The business grew through retail until our manufacturing division was established in 1982, initially supplying velvet curtains via mail order. We soon expanded to offer made to measure curtains to independent retailers through our Richard Barrie brand.

To fulfil growing demand, we moved to a larger factory in 1996 and added readymades and fabrics to our offering. Our 7-day customised curtain brand, Curtain Express was then launched in 1999. Growth has also been achieved through the acquisition of the Q Designs, TRU Textiles and Whiteheads brands, ensuring that we now help retailers cater for a wide range of customers.