11/15/2025
Legacy ✨
A four-generation American-made story… proudly handcrafted in Wilmington, Delaware
The Blind Factory didn’t simply begin as a business — it began as a family craft, passed down from mother to daughter, stitch by stitch.
Long before “custom” became a marketing term, Philomena Santore built a name for herself in Wilmington as one of the most respected drapery makers in the region. Her workroom, Santore Slip Covers & Draperies, founded in the early 1940s, became known for impeccable craftsmanship and honest, hardworking service.
Her daughter, Margaret Santore Keith, learned everything at her mother’s side — sewing, cutting patterns, selecting fabrics, and mastering the art of window dressing before she was even a teenager.
A vintage newspaper once wrote:
“Learning the secrets of the trade from her mother, Margaret Keith took a business founded on custom draperies and turned it into a company offering the most complete selection of window treatments.”
And that is exactly what she did.
From Draperies to Vertical Blinds — and Beyond
With a vision to offer customers something new — beautiful, affordable vertical blinds — Margaret expanded the business and began manufacturing her own custom line. Not just selling, but making them.
She went on to create patented products, including the Vert-A-Drape, described in the same article as:
“…combining the elegance of a drapery with the practicality and affordability of a vertical blind.”
To this day, that innovation remains one of her proudest accomplishments.
The Heart of the Workshop
What makes Margaret extraordinary isn’t just her inventions or the decades she has dedicated to her craft — it’s the fact that she never stopped.
At 84 years young, she still goes to the Wilmington workshop daily with her husband Richard (86). Together, they remain the backbone of the operation.
Margaret is likely one of the only true drapery makers left in Delaware — a master craftswoman who still creates her own custom draperies in-house, without subcontracting, just as her mother taught her.
She has worked with top designers from New York to Sussex County and has earned the title that her customers and family proudly use:
“The Drapery Queen.”
When asked why she hasn’t retired, she simply says:
“I still have too many ideas.”
Four Generations Strong
Today, The Blind Factory continues as a four-generation family business, rooted in tradition, craftsmanship, and the belief that quality matters.
We are proud to be:
• American made
• Family made
• Handcrafted in Wilmington, Delaware
• One of the very few window treatment companies in the state still manufacturing some of our own products
And this is only Part I of the story.
✨ Stay tuned for Part II…
The incredible journey of how we began manufacturing blinds, becoming a true pioneer in Delaware’s window-treatment industry.
