As she walks the Suffolk coast with her three, now grown, children, Audrey Buck remembers the problem that started it all. Her daughter, then an infant, struggled with being able to nap. A friend suggested blackout blinds. Without tools or skills to sew, Audrey taped a black garbage bag to her daughter’s window. It worked for the nap, but not for the long-term.
Knowing there must be others like her struggling with the same issue, Buck created a simple solution that can be hung, rehung, opened and closed multiple times a day: easyblinds. Her blind solutions use high-quality blackout curtain fabric that customers can cut to fit their windows and doesn’t fray. Hung with a simple double-sided adhesive, no tools are necessary to mount.
It’s simple, effective and internationally popular across Europe, the UK and now, with Amazon, the United States.
“It’s becoming easier and easier to manufacture here,” said Buck. “It doesn’t matter where you are based now or where you live, with Amazon, your business can thrive.”
Buck has two employees, also moms, who help produce easyblinds’ 80 products from their warehouse just outside Southwold in Suffolk, England. Since 2011, easyblinds has elected to use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to pick, box and ship their products, and Buck said she’s never looked back.
“[When] we switched on FBA, our sales rocketed,” she said. “We quickly moved from just being in the UK to all over the EU.” Buck also uses Amazon’s Brand Registry to protect her brand and give her peace of mind. Brand Registry activates proactive protections that identify and stop bad actors and bad listings, protecting the intellectual property of small businesses, like easyblinds. Buck’s patents, design registrations and trademarks are registered with Amazon which allow her to easily report violations and get support.
“Amazon has really supported us when we report competitors who are infringing on our IP. If we were to try to do this without Brand Registry, we would incur enormous legal bills,” said Buck.
Buck credits her brand’s protection with her ability to scale. You can now purchase easyblinds in 12 countries, 10 of which are through stores in Amazon. Buck says without Amazon, easyblinds would not be where it is today.
“It started as a business that was to support my family and here we are,” said Buck. “It’s a great aspect of the modern world that your business can be absolutely anywhere. I feel very, very lucky.”