Why Budget Blinds of Duluth & Central Gwinnett

Josh is proud to be a Partner of Budget Blinds in Duluth and the greater Gwinnett County area along with his wife Avary. Born in South Africa, he has been living in America for eight years and has been happy to call Georgia his home for the past three. With a long history in Customer Service, Josh prides himself on not only bringing his skills and training across the window treatment industry of design and installations to our clientele, but also doing so in a way that creates a truly memorable experience.

When not working on the business Josh enjoys spending time with Avary, his two cats, friends & family, being involved in community events and enjoying the full array of activities Georgia has to offer – not the least of which is his new found love of the Georgia Bulldogs (which he embarrassingly admits he thought was an NFL team for the first 5 years living in the States).  

Born just down the road in Athens, (and of course a booming voice as an ambassador for the Bulldogs thus Josh’s new found dedication to the team), Avary moved to Florida at the age of 7 only to re-discover her love of Georgia and move back with her husband and business partner in 2019. With a newly found love of home decor, Avary has gone from strength to strength in her design skills and technical abilities to incorporate beauty and function to provide our clientele with the premium window covering service available in Georgia. Though she has a very thorough mastery of a wide range of window covering products, it is no secret that Avary’s true passion and genius are best felt when she is hard at work putting a custom drapery project together to elevate a space and bring a home to life! She is a certified Lutron automation expert and a Drapery School Graduate.

Growing up working in her father’s veterinarian clinic she wants all her clients to know that she enjoys meeting their fur-babies as a special part of her visit to a customer’s home.

With a very wide scope of interest, Avary’s downtime is filled with family, cooking, community events, her cats and, of course, shopping!

There is nothing more Wilson loves than finding the perfect window treatment solution for his clients! Born in the sunshine state, Wilson moved to Georgia in 1986. As an experienced Design Consultant, Wilson works with customers to design the right shades, drapes, shutters, or other window coverings for newly constructed homes, remodeling projects, or for people simply looking to refresh the look of their space. Before joining Budget Blinds, Wilson graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from the University of Georgia (Go Bulldogs!) and was in the HR and technology industries for 15 years. Nowadays, Wilson values his ability to go into each consultation without a preconceived game plan so he can be creative and match each client with their perfect window covering. He also has previous experience on the installation side of things, so he offers valuable insight from the beginning of the process to the end. Home automation has recently sparked his interest, as it reflects the state of the world and the advances technology has made. He also loves how Budget Blinds has a superior selection and high-quality vendor partners compared to competitors! Outside of work, Wilson loves spending time with his two daughters, mountain biking, playing tennis, running, hiking, or making music. He loves working with our Budget Blinds team and looks forward to connecting with others in our communities!

In any successful organization, you will find the back-lines, unsung hero’s of the group. This is exactly what Suzanne, our Office Manager, represents for our team. Chances are our clientele won’t have many direct interactions with Suzanne, but, her attention to detail, desire to organize and 30 plus years of administrative experience are felt by the entire team and through them, our clients.

As an animal lover, mother of two and active member of her community, it is no wonder that outside of work Suzanne can be expected to be found traveling our beautiful country with her lovely boys and furkids.

To the benefit of our clients, Michelle is generally their primary point of contact with our organization. Between booking consultations for our Design Consultants and scheduling the dozens of weekly installations seeing Michelle constantly operating the phones and navigating our various tracking systems is something to behold. Bringing many years of counselling experience to the team, her deep level of care and desire to be of service has earned her more individual mentions of appreciation than anyone on the team!

Born in South Africa, Michelle moved to England to a pursue her counselling career and then later to be in the US closer to family. She now spends her time between Florida, Georgia, New York and even London, all the while managing our phones and ensuring you, as our clients, are in the loop and cared for.

Rick is one our specialist Installers and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from a lifetime of service. Prior to working with Budget Binds of Duluth Rick ran his own Budget Blinds franchise, was a Controls Engineer and proudly served in the United States Army. Drawing on his experience and native desire to be of service Rick prides himself on providing fantastic customer experience made up of a blend of technical expertise and caring customer service.

When not working, Rick enjoys exploring cultures through religion and food, practicing spiritual approaches to education and loves spending time with his wife and two sons.

Kathy is one of our talented Design Consultants, born and raised in the Sunshine State before moving to Georgia over 14 years ago! She has been working with Budget Blinds since March 2023, and we’re so grateful to have her with us. Before joining our team, Kathy enjoyed an additional 5+ years in the window treatment industry! Her expertise in window coverings and passion for her career make Kathy a stellar asset for clients who need help deciding which blinds, shades, shutters, or drapery options would benefit their home the most. Her eye for design, professional attitude, and willingness to meet new people have made her an awesome fit for our team. Visiting clients’ homes and working with them to design their ideal window treatment is her favorite part of being a Design Consultant. Her personal favorite is shutters, as they beautify the home, are easy to clean, and look gorgeous from the inside and outside. She carries her creative and positive energy outside of work, as she enjoys shooting pool, face painting, gardening, and spending time with her kids and grandkids.

As our Senior Installer, Ben brings a wealth of installation experience to our business and our clientele’s homes. His many years of installing not only window coverings but also cabinets and granite tables ensure that you receive top notch technical installations. Couple this with his attention to detail and pride in serving we really are proud to have Ben on the team!

   As a little background, Ben was born in Roswell Georgia, attended Cambridge High School and then proudly served the USA as a member of the US Army. When not working he enjoys spending time outdoors, eating at local restaurants and is very vocal about his support of the Braves (and even more so after the last World Series)!

Born and raised in Lawrenceville Georgia, Jake brings a history of customer service focus and strong attention to detail to our installation team from his experience as a Manager in the Food and Beverage industry. He has been put through a series of trainings, both theoretical and in the field to ensure that our clients receive top notch service for any products he may be installing.

Meet Jarret, one of our talented Installers! Jarret brings a wealth of diverse experiences to his role here at Budget Blinds of Duluth & Central Gwinnett. From cable installation to pest control, and personal training to caregiving, he's a jack-of-all-trades. Originally hailing from Arizona, Jarret joined us in the Peach State after he graduated college. For him, working at Budget Blinds is all about meeting new customers and witnessing each home’s transformation that comes with new window treatments. When asked about his favorite product, Jarret shared that honeycomb shades take the cake. They typically have foolproof installation, great insulation, and compliment nearly any home—what's not to love? When he's not installing custom window treatments, you can find Jarret sinking three-pointers on the basketball court, embarking on new adventures, honing his jiu jitsu skills, or throwing punches in the boxing ring.