Vale Ray Chatterton

In a memorial notice, Matthew and Natalie Chatterton described Ray as “a respected veteran whose passion, work ethic, and vision helped shape the Australian window covering industry across a remarkable career spanning more than four decades”.

Ray started out as a sales representative for South Pacific Blinds before moving into senior management at Premier Blinds. In the late 1980s he went into business, establishing Creative Blinds and Awnings in Ballina and Toowoomba.

He was an early member of Fashionline. WFA’s July 2020 cover story marking the buying group’s 30th year recorded that Ray came to its first meeting as the result of an introduction, and named him as one of its five life members. The group pooled its funds to produce brochures and magazines at a time when printing was cost-prohibitive for the average independent business owner. “But as a group, there were enough people contributing to make sure we got the best bang for our buck,” Ray said. He added that even television advertising was done as a group, because there was enough distance between members that competition was not an issue.

In 2004 Ray founded Orion Blinds in northern New South Wales. The business grew from a regional operation into a national supplier to retailers across Australia before it was sold in 2017.

In 2016 Ray and Matthew Chatterton purchased Queensland business Alltone Shutters, where Matthew and Natalie joined Ray in partnership. By 2019 the company had moved from Maroochydore to a purpose-built facility at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast and returned to manufacturing PVC shutters onshore, launching its Coolum range at SuperExpo 2019.

Ray told WFA for its July 2019 cover story that he and Matthew were “both passionate about Australian Made and decided to turn the business back to manufacturing here again after the trend turned to importing shutters about 10 years ago”.

He retired to the Sunshine Coast in 2019 and returned to the Ballina area in 2026.

Ray was a nominee for the Hall of Fame of the Blind Manufacturers Association of Australia (now the Window Shading Association of Australia) in 2014.

Andrew Lebeter, who spent about six years as wholesale sales manager at Orion Blinds, named Ray in WFA’s March 2021 Ask the Expert interview as probably the biggest influence on his career over the previous decade. “I learned a lot about customer service from Ray and he really exposed me to a lot more with the suppliers,” he said.

“Ray will be remembered as a mentor and a friend to so many within the industry,” Matthew and Natalie Chatterton said. They thanked retail partners, suppliers and industry colleagues across Australia for their kind words and support.

WFA extends its sincere condolences to Matthew, Natalie and the Chatterton family, and to Ray’s many friends and colleagues across the industry.