Our history.

1984

How we started

Mother’s Window Tint is the brainchild of Joe Calvey, out of San Antonio, Texas — and the name itself has a story worth telling.

Back in 1984, Joe and two partners spent an all-night strategy session over Lone Star beers trying to come up with a name. Someone dared him to call it “Mother’s,” and Joe, never one to back down from a dare, ordered a sign from a local painter. A window tinter named Bill suggested the slogan, “Where we treat your vehicle like it’s our baby,” and another called out that the logo should be a sailor. When the partners saw the finished sign, they wanted nothing to do with the business — so Joe ran with it alone. That original sign still hangs in the waiting area of the main office today.

Joe started in the mobile electronics business, selling cell phones and pagers, and from that foundation he built something the industry had never really seen before. Mother’s became the pioneer and the leader in its field — a shop unlike anything else around, offering window tinting alongside vehicle alarms, vehicle audio, and advanced electronics under one roof. For over forty years, Mother’s has been the original window tint experts in San Antonio and Austin, and that reputation was earned the hard way: one install, one satisfied customer at a time. Over 700,000 vehicles tinted and counting.

2025

Where we are

When Joe retired in 2025, the Austin location passed into the hands of Jason Kimbler — a San Antonio native who had been with the company since 1994. Jason’s path to ownership is the kind of story that makes a legacy worth keeping. He started on the floor doing twelve-volt installation, then moved into window tinting, and eventually stepped into management — not because he chased the title, but because he was the one who knew the business from the ground up.

Along the way he studied at Austin Community College, then went back to San Antonio and earned his degree in marketing from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2003. After that he came back to Austin and ran Mother’s from behind the scenes, working his way up through every department before taking the leap to purchase the location in 2025.

Today we’re working full steam ahead. Jason acquired a business with a great legacy and an even greater customer base, and we enjoy serving the community that raised us — because we’re all from this community. Mother’s has always been locally owned and locally operated, and that hasn’t changed. The same hands-on, treat-your-vehicle-like-it’s-our-baby approach that Joe built the company on is still the standard here.

Next

Where we’re going

The next chapter is about growth and new frontiers. We’re expanding into architectural films — residential and commercial applications — bringing the same quality and expertise we’ve built in automotive tinting into homes and buildings. We’ve also begun offering custom vehicle lighting and ceramic coating, and we’re always looking for the next unique thing to learn about in the industry. We attend conventions and trade shows regularly, staying ahead of the curve and bringing back what works.

Behind the scenes, we’ve invested in the systems that make forty-plus years of quality repeatable — documented processes, ongoing technician training, and the latest film technology as it comes to market. As we grow, we’ll keep adding new services that fit the same standard, because the future of Mother’s is about honoring that trust while refusing to stand still. Same roots, same community, same obsession with doing the right job — just pointed at what’s next.