Ornament Protectors

Back in 2017, when Ayaan Naqvi was 9 years old, he needed to come up with an original idea to present at his school’s annual invention convention. But he was stumped. “I spent every day after school just trying to think of something, and nothing came to me,” says Ayaan, now 15.

It was around Christmastime, and Ayaan was sitting in the living room of his home in Shelton, Connecticut. He watched his family’s dog, Zara, walk past the Christmas tree. As her tail wagged, it hit the tree and knocked off an ornament. CRASH! The decoration fell to the floor and shattered. “I realized that every year, someone will hit the tree by accident, and our ornaments would fall off and break,” says Ayaan. This gave him an idea: He could create a device that would keep ornaments safely in place on the tree! 

Back in 2017, Ayaan Naqvi needed an idea. He was 9 years old, and he had to present something original at his school’s yearly invention convention. But he was stumped. “I spent every day after school just trying to think of something, and nothing came to me,” says Ayaan, now 15.

It was around Christmastime. Ayaan was sitting in his living room in Shelton, Connecticut. His family’s dog, Zara, walked past the Christmas tree. Zara wagged her tail. It hit the tree and knocked off an ornament. CRASH! The decoration fell to the floor and shattered. “I realized that every year, someone will hit the tree by accident, and our ornaments would fall off and break,” says Ayaan. He got an idea. He could create a device to keep ornaments safely in place on the tree! 

With his mom’s help, Ayaan designed a product that securely clamps ornaments to a branch. Ayaan called his invention the Ornament Anchor (see How Ornament Anchors Work). He created a prototype, or early model, of his invention. He presented it at the school fair. “Everyone loved it,” says Ayaan.

To Ayaan, Ornament Anchors were just a successful school project. But in 2019, his brother, Mika’il, suggested that they turn Ornament Anchors into a business. Both of their parents are entrepreneurs, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps. “I went to my brother and said, ‘Hey, you have this awesome idea. Let’s partner up and turn it into a company,’” says Mika’il, now 16. “So that’s what we did.” 

Ayaan designed a product with his mom’s help. It securely clamps ornaments to a branch. Ayaan called his invention the Ornament Anchor (see How Ornament Anchors Work). He created a prototype of his invention. Then he presented this early model at the school fair. “Everyone loved it,” says Ayaan.

To Ayaan, Ornament Anchors were just a successful school project. But in 2019, his brother, Mika’il, got another idea. He suggested that they turn Ornament Anchors into a business. Both of their parents are entrepreneurs. Mika’il wanted to follow in their footsteps. “I went to my brother and said, ‘Hey, you have this awesome idea. Let’s partner up and turn it into a company,’” says Mika’il, now 16. “So that’s what we did.” 

Before the brothers could start selling Ornament Anchors, they wanted to get a patent. It would give them the exclusive right to sell their invention and prevent others from copying their idea. But it’s expensive to have a lawyer file a patent. So the brothers borrowed $1,500 from their parents to pay the fee.

Next Ayaan worked on improving his product’s design. The string of his prototype was too stretchy. He switched to a stiffer and thinner string, which could fit through more varieties of ornaments. Ayaan used weights to test whether the anchors could support heavy ornaments. He attached a 4.5-kilogram (10-pound) weight to an Ornament Anchor and left it on the tree for several days. It held up!

Ayaan and Mika’il started selling Ornament Anchors at local holiday craft fairs. At first, the brothers were nervous. But they quickly worked up the courage to show off their product. Mika’il would get someone’s attention in the crowd, and Ayaan would show them how Ornament Anchors worked by shaking a display tree. They were often one of the best-selling booths at the fairs! The boys were able to pay their parents back after only three weeks. 

The brothers hoped to sell Ornament Anchors. But first, they wanted to get a patent. It would give them the exclusive right to sell their invention. A patent would also prevent others from copying their idea. They got a lawyer to file the patent. But that’s expensive. So the brothers borrowed $1,500 from their parents for the fee.

Next Ayaan worked to improve his product’s design. The string of his prototype was too stretchy. He switched to a stiffer and thinner string. It could fit through more kinds of ornaments. But could the anchors support heavy ornaments? Ayaan used weights to test them. He attached a 4.5-kilogram (10-pound) weight to an Ornament Anchor. Then he left it on the tree for several days. It held up!

Ayaan and Mika’il were ready to sell Ornament Anchors. They started at local holiday craft fairs. At first, the brothers were nervous. But they quickly found the courage to show off their product. Mika’il would get someone’s attention in the crowd. Then Ayaan would shake a display tree to show how Ornament Anchors worked. They were often one of the best-selling booths at the fairs! The boys were able to pay their parents back after only three weeks. 

Ornament Anchors grew more popular. In the first year, the business made a profit of about $5,000. Then, in 2020, Ayaan and Mika’il connected with the home shopping network QVC. It wanted to sell their product on national television! 

Ornament Anchors debuted on QVC late one night in August 2020. “Who’s buying a Christmas product in August at 11:00 p.m., right?” jokes Mika’il. “But we sold out! That was incredible.” The brothers continued to grow their business. They learned to advertise online and set up an Amazon store. In 2021, their entire family even pitched Ornament Anchors on Shark Tank, a TV show where inventors compete to get money for their business. None of the hosts chose to invest money in their company, but their appearance brought even more attention to the business.

Now Ayaan and Mika’il’s Ornament Anchors are sold in more than 500 retail stores and online. After years of hard work, “the satisfaction of knowing we succeeded is amazing,” says Ayaan.

Ornament Anchors grew more popular. The business made a profit of about $5,000 in the first year. Then Ayaan and Mika’il connected with the home shopping network QVC in 2020. It wanted to sell their product on national television! 

Ornament Anchors first appeared on QVC in August 2020. It was late at night. “Who’s buying a Christmas product in August at 11:00 p.m., right?” jokes Mika’il. “But we sold out! That was incredible.” The brothers continued to grow their business. They learned to advertise online. They also set up an Amazon store. In 2021, their entire family even pitched Ornament Anchors on Shark Tank. On this TV show, inventors compete to get money for their business. None of the hosts chose to invest in their company. But their appearance brought even more attention to the business.

Now more than 500 retail stores sell Ayaan and Mika’il’s Ornament Anchors. The invention is also sold online. After years of hard work, “the satisfaction of knowing we succeeded is amazing,” says Ayaan.