The Dawning of an Awning Empire - Otter Creek Awnings celebrates nearly 50 years of product excellence
03/13/2025 09:03AM ● By MARIE EDINGER
Otter Creek Awnings will reach its fiftieth anniversary next year. They’re the largest awning company in the state, serving all of Vermont along with upstate New York and western New Hampshire. The company gets its name from Otter Creek, a stream in Middlebury, VT, where the company started in 1976. Initially manufacturing canvas bags, they then moved on to manufacturing and installing awnings.
Sarah Larson is the co-owner and CFO, along with her husband, Kristopher, who is president. Kristopher had been a designer and sales manager for the company when he was offered the opportunity to purchase the business in 2018. “And here we are,” Sarah says, her passion for the business clear in her voice.
Otter Creek created these awnings for MK
Clothing as the Church Street Marketplace in
Burlington began to develop almost 45 years ago.GET TO KNOW THE NEW-AGE OPTIONS
But there is one thing Sarah wants to make perfectly clear: Today’s awnings are nothing like they used to be. Today, there is an incredibly wide range of styles and options when it comes to outdoor shading products, and many new-age lines feature more pergola style features.
In addition, there have also been a lot of engineering advancements and innovations and when it comes to durability. There’s even a style that’s hurricane-rated, so it can withstand high winds and can be retracted, making it perfect for anyone who lives near a lake or anywhere strong winds are common. “[With hurricane-rated awnings,] people can really have the best of both worlds. They can have the coverage but also have the ability to pull the awning in,” Sarah explains. “We also cater to commercial businesses with outdoor seating that want to guarantee their customers protection from the elements.”
Also, Sarah says that awnings are a year- round product and stresses that Otter Creek does installations during every season. In winter, for example, they install fixed-frame awnings on building entryways to block the wind and keep doorways clear of snow and ice buildup.
Otter Creek's original location was a building on
Pulp Mill Bridge Road in Middlebury.
OTTER CREEK AWNINGS: BUILT TO LAST
Tim Robinson, an awning designer, has been in the business for nearly forty years, and his knowledge of all shading products is unmatched. He says that the one downside to selling high-quality products is that they’re built to last and don’t often need replacing. That’s a big part of why the company covers the vast territory they do, he says. “We have to go all over the place because the product lasts so darn long,” Tim says with a laugh. “It’s a great problem to have, but it is reality.” In fact, though Otter Creek is headquartered in Williston, their designers spend multiple days a week traveling to offer free estimates within about a three-hour radius.
NEW ENGLAND’S LARGEST SHOWROOM
But customers who would rather check out Otter Creek’s awnings in person can visit their showroom, also in Williston, the largest awning showroom in New England—if not the country, Sarah says. “[Because of our showroom,] we can offer people a chance to look at what they were imagining. But sometimes, people just drive by and say, ‘I want to stop in and take a peek.’”
In addition, much of the company’s business comes from word of mouth. People will see an awning, love it, and ask the owner who made it. The answer nine times out of ten is Otter Creek.
In 1997, Otter Creek Awnings moved its offices to a new
building on Echo Place, off Brownell Road, in Williston,
the location of their spacious showroom.AN IMPECCABLE REPUTATION
Tim explains that when people are looking online for a reputable awning company, a few hundred dollars one way or the other doesn’t typically make a difference. Instead, it’s the company’s reputation that sends customers their way. “You want someone to come work on your home who’s been doing this a long time,” he says.
And installation takes less time than you might think. A retractable awning can go up in as little as an hour and a half or two hours, so Otter Creek is able to install multiple awnings in a day. Certain installs, like fixed canopies, are more complicated and take more time, but, mostly, Sarah says, it’s a much less painful process than people expect.
That, too, could be what’s earned the business happy customer after happy customer for nearly five decades. Says Kristopher Larson, “Many of our customers end by saying, ‘That was easy, I should have done it years ago!’”
PHOTOS COURTESY OF OTTER CREEK AWNINGS
