Barlow Blinds Ltd

18/10/2026

“For the first time since moving in, I can sit in my lounge without everyone looking in.”

Yesterday I visited a lady in Leicester who'd recently ordered shutters for her living room bay window.

She'd asked me back to quote for another two windows.

Her new shutters will take around 12 weeks to arrive, so when she placed her original order, we'd left her some of our free temporary blinds.

We offer these to customers who need them while they're waiting for their shutters, especially when they've just moved into a new home and have nothing at their windows.

But I'll be honest.

I've often wondered whether anyone actually bothers putting them up!

Well, yesterday I got my answer.

There they were. Fitted right across the lower part of her bay window.

And she was absolutely delighted.

For the first time since moving in, she could sit in her living room and enjoy a bit of privacy.

They're only temporary blinds. Nothing fancy.

And in 12 weeks or so, they'll come down when her lovely new shutters arrive.

But until then, they're making a real difference to how she enjoys her home.

We provide these blinds completely free when customers place an order with us and need something at their windows while they wait.

And seeing how happy this lady was yesterday reminded me of something.

Sometimes the smallest things we do for customers make the biggest difference to them.

17/10/2026

We have used Barlow blinds numerous times over the years , just had new shutter blinds fitted , great customer service as always , fitters are very professional and always do an excellent job , all their blinds are great quality , they have never let us down every time we have used them. Can’t recommend them highly enough . Great service and great value.

We have used Barlow blinds numerous times over the years , just had new shutter blinds fitted , great customer service as always , fitters are very professional and always do an excellent job , all their blinds are great quality , they have never let us down every time we have used them. Can’t rec...

15/10/2026

"We thought that was just how blinds were."

That was probably the most disappointing thing I heard when I visited a customer's home in Loughborough this week.

They had a roller blind that was only three years old and wanted to know if we could reuse the existing roller and brackets and simply replace the fabric.

Normally, that's something we're more than happy to do. It saves money and avoids throwing away perfectly good components.

But when I looked at how the blind had been fitted, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.

One bracket was only held in place by a single screw.

Another bracket had been fitted backwards.

And the blind caught the window handle every time they raised or lowered it.

For three years, they'd been putting up with that.

And here's the thing.

The blind hadn't been fitted by the customers themselves.

They'd paid a professional company to measure and install it.

I'm not going to name the company. That's not what this is about.

What bothered me most was that the customers genuinely thought this was normal.

And why wouldn't they?

If you pay a professional to do a job, you expect them to know what they're doing.

I ended up explaining why I wasn't happy to reuse the existing installation, even though I'd gone there hoping to save them money.

It also reminded me why we're taking our time training Dave, our newest blind fitter.

He's been working alongside our experienced fitters for over two months now, and we're still not sending him out on his own.

Not because he's doing anything wrong.

But because there's a big difference between knowing how to put a blind up and knowing how to fit one properly.

And some things only come with experience.

Customers shouldn't need to know which way a bracket faces or how many screws should be holding it in place.

That's what they're paying us to know.

And I think that's a responsibility worth taking seriously.

13/10/2026

"OH NO! Barlow Blinds has gone!" 😱

That's what a customer in Evington thought when she drove past our old Uppingham Road showroom on her way to Leicester General Hospital.

She'd visited our shop many times over the years and was genuinely worried when she saw we'd gone.

Thankfully, a quick Google search reassured her.

"I was so relieved you were still in business!"

That made my morning. 😊

We left Uppingham Road around six years ago, after nearly 50 years in the same location.

It wasn't an easy decision, but parking had become so difficult that we were only seeing around 5 or 6 customers a week.

Most people preferred us to bring the samples to their homes instead.

So we moved our showroom and office team into our Brighton Road factory.

And something rather special happened.

For the first time in over 60 years, the whole Barlow Blinds team was working under one roof.

Now, when a customer has a question about their blinds, we can simply walk into the factory and speak to the people who make them.

So, if you've ever driven past our old showroom and wondered what happened to us...

Don't worry. We're still here!

Still a family business. Still making blinds in Leicester. Still looking after our customers.

Just at a different address.

Barlow Blinds – Brighton Road, Leicester.

11/10/2026

My wife has been opening and closing our neighbours' curtains twice a day. Every day!

They're away on holiday, and she's kindly been popping round every evening to close the curtains and switch a lamp on.

Then she's back again in the morning to open them and turn the lamp off.

All to make the house look as though somebody is home.

When she told me what she'd been doing, I couldn't help thinking...

There's a much easier way to do that!

After all, I do run a blind company! 😂

With the right motorised blinds, you can schedule them to open and close automatically, even when you're away.

Some systems even let you vary the timings or operate your blinds from your phone.

Add a smart plug to a lamp, and you've recreated much of what my wife has been doing.

Without the twice-daily visits!

Of course, blinds aren't a replacement for proper home security, but they can help with privacy and make a house look a little more lived in.

And with October being National Home Security Month, it's a good reminder that blinds and shutters can offer benefits beyond simply controlling the light.

After more than 35 years in the blind industry, I'm still finding that it's often the benefits people don't immediately think about that make the biggest difference.

As for our neighbours, I'm sure they're very grateful to my wife for looking after their house.

Although I suspect she'd be equally grateful if they had motorised blinds! 😂

Have you ever been given curtain-opening duties while someone's away on holiday?

08/10/2026

I'll admit, putting the white cord back in bothered me a bit.

We'd been asked to repair a cellular Perfect Fit blind that another company had manufactured.

It had an anthracite frame.

But the brackets were white.

The cord was white.

And some of the white components were visible.

That's not how we'd manufacture it.

I had the anthracite components sitting right there in the factory, so I could easily have changed them.

But this blind had matching blinds alongside it at the customer's home.

If I changed this one to the way we'd make it, suddenly one blind would look different from all the others.

The customer hadn't asked us to improve it.

She just wanted the snapped cord repaired.

So I put white cord back in.

It was the right decision.

It still bothered me a bit, though.

When you manufacture blinds every day, you notice tiny details most people probably never will.

But sometimes doing the best job for the customer means knowing when to leave those details alone.

— Ady, Factory Manager

08/10/2026

Just had 5 blinds fitted by Barlow blinds 8th October excellent from start to finish very pleased with service thanks

Just had 5 blinds fitted by Barlow blinds 8th October excellent from start to finish very pleased with service thanks ★★★★★

06/10/2026

I was really saddened today to hear of the death of Lord Jeffrey Archer.

Back in 2019, I was lucky enough to spend a day with him through the Entrepreneur’s Circle.

One of the great privileges of being part of EC is getting the opportunity to listen to and learn from some incredible people — and Lord Archer was certainly one of them.

He was, above everything else, a storyteller.

As a business owner, I’ve come to realise just how important storytelling is. You can tell people that you make blinds, or you can tell them about the people who make them, the customers you meet, the problems you solve and the conversations that happen in people’s homes.

Stories make businesses human.

And who better to learn that from than one of the greatest storytellers?

But strangely, that isn't what I remember most about that day.

My mum was and still is a huge Jeffrey Archer fan, and the Entrepreneur’s Circle very generously allowed her to come along with me.

Before he went on stage, Mum was lucky enough to spend about ten minutes privately talking to him.

For her, it was incredibly special.

She has spoken about those ten minutes, and that whole day, many times since. Hearing the news today has understandably hit home for her.

It reminded me that sometimes the best things you get from being in business aren't actually about business at all.

They are the people you meet, the experiences you share and the memories you get to take home with you.

Thank you to the Entrepreneur’s Circle for making that day possible.

And thank you, Lord Archer, for giving Mum and me a day we will never forget.

04/10/2026

He wanted 10 blinds. She wanted 18.

And they were both right.

For their south-facing home in Kibworth, we'd agreed cellular blinds were the right solution to help with overheating.

The disagreement was how to fit them.

His choice: 10 cordless cellular blinds and save around £300.

Her choice: 18 Perfect Fit cellular blinds for the neater, integrated appearance.

I left them to decide.

They've now phoned to order...

and I still don't know who won. 😂

What would you choose?

10 Cordless or 18 Perfect Fit?

01/10/2026

Nice to be featured talking about all the reasons the work the BBSA does is so important.