Wilkes County Hardware had locally based products before we purchased the store. One of those legendary local products had to be the famous “Holly Farms BBQ sauce”. We keep it year round and it “flies off the shelf” 🐔🐔🐔for local Chicken-Q’s or backyard BBQ’s.
The BBQ sauce is sold in gallons or quart size….
Richard & I wanted to grow our local product offerings, and we put it in as a business goal to work on. Someone recently came into our store and assumed that we had picked up local based products because another business in town had closed their doors. I was shocked at that statement. My response was quick, “we have always hosted local artisans here, this is not a new thing for us.”
Keegan Watson’s woodworking has been inside our store since he began as a woodworker. We are blessed to have his products showcased in our store& to call him as our dear friend.
We have expanded our locally based products significantly in the last few years. I have more time to develop this part of our business model now in my retirement. Richard & I each hold different roles as business owners. We have taken and spilt various roles as business owners. New product development & merchandising, marketing are just a few of my roles.
One new product I added to our store lineup that our customers love… Meyer’s Clean Day… we have an excellent selection of these products inside our hardware store. Thanks for shopping local with us.
I hope y’all will enjoy a glimpse inside our locally sourced products, all located in your hometown hardware store. Here’s a closer look at our made in NC items & locally sourced products.
Blum’s Almanac… these are locally made in Winston Salem, NC Ahhh… the seasonal favorite of so many of our customers… thank you so much for coming back to see us every year to purchase these wonderful cookies!!! Wilkes County made honey by Kevin Foster, it is amazing to see how this stuff flies out the door like a little honey 🐝 bee !!! Valley Forge Flags… made in the USA A new product offering… pottery by Little Corner Pottery. Thank you to Lisa Pruitt for sharing her gorgeous pieces with our customers!!! Land of Canaan Goat Milk soap by Kendal Finley Privette. These soap are aesthetically beautiful and selling fast!!! Welcome to our store!!! Handcrafted by Keegan Watson, he continues to “bowl us over” with his amazing work!!! Another amazing piece by Keegan… cutting boards are a great gift idea For unique items… Chelsea Brown has got us covered. Eric & Chelsea design together as Made in McGrady… more pictures to follow Rustic, & beautiful designs- Eric Brown makes his wooden cutting boards to withstand the constant use in the kitchen. Made in McGrady has been a huge part of our store for many years now. We love you dearly Eric & Chelsea!!! Sometimes products come to us out of customer problem solving… Richard Cardwell began making these carpenter bed traps for us a few years ago out of need. We appreciate it!! Thank you!!! Blackwonder soil builder… amazing new NC based product to add nutritional value to your clay soil or boost your plants growth. Get growing with this great product today!! NC sourced BBQ sauces Blake Farms made an appearance at WCH around Mother’s Day.. those hanging baskets didn’t last long Baskets made by Betty Miller, locally made here in Wilkes County. Gorgeous work!!! Amazing & quirky pieces by Gia, always a beautiful gift choice!!! Making kitchen work lighter… these are locally made here in Wilkes County. Thanks Cindy for always sharing a batch of your handiwork with us.Don’t be “bugged” by insects, we have a locally made insect repellent made here in Wilkes County!!! Thus doesn’t leave a oily residue on your clothes or skin. Bee Wax Candles made by Gypsy Ridge Honey Farm, beautifully designed by Brandie Foster. All of our logo wear is locally sourced through another local business. A huge thank you to Cooks Sporting Goods for believing in us, and working together with us for each unique design Amazing flavor!!! A must try!!! Thanks for sharing your product with us!!! Great company to work with & NC made!!!When masks were required, we found an excellent local source for these!!! NC peanuts!!! These are selling fast!!! Also available at our pop up shop local at Carolina Treasures on Main Made in the USA, locally found at WCH Lavender soap.. can’t keep it on the shelf!!! Made in Wilkes County… a go to snack but so much more!!! Brushy Mountain Granola is absolutely an awesome company to work with and a fabulous product… all flavors are equally delicious!! This NC sauce is truly “Off the Hook”!! Mark McMasters, a super nice guy!! This NC sauce is a great selling product We sold out of these handcrafted stars at Christmas time, thanks Betty Miller We source Molasses locally when it is available Our pumpkins out front in the fall, locally sourced. Thanks JC!!!😊These were locally sourced by our neighbors down the street, Cormoto Graphics. We are currently sold out of these.. would love to hear what type of stickers y’all would love to see next… Yep, you truly can use it on everything. Great tasting food coming up!!! Another view of Gia’s work 😍We still have a few prints left by local photographer, Tate Finely, breathtaking views!!! We appreciate y’all so much! Thank you for shopping local with us and supporting our small business and helping other artisans grow their respective businesses. Thank you!!! Thanks for being a part of #thehardwarelife
Memorial Day is fast approaching, for many people, this holiday weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer. It is also for us, one of the busiest times of the year.
Pool season has already been underway for us… lots of prep before the pools can open safely. Many people may not be aware, but we do the day to maintenance on two local pools.
Before a pool opens, lots of hours go into the process as many pool owners know
The extra effort, hours, and labor usually comes after we close our doors each day or before we open in early morning, so that these pools can be accessible to guests when they need them. Days are often long during pool season.
Richard was very thankful to have Gerald’s experience & expertise in the pool business when we purchased the hardware store 6 summers ago. Gerald was very gracious and stayed with Richard that first summer to help him through that first big pool season. We are extremely thankful for Gerald and all of his knowledge, & kindness that he continues to share with us each visit in our hometown hardware store.
At Wilkes County Hardware, we have a “wall of fame” of the previous owners. I love this picture of Gerald.
Local Pool owners are returning to Wilkes County Hardware in order to begin the process of opening up their pools, gathering pool chemicals, & having pool water tested…(The trail of unusual water bottles samples has started… from jelly jars to empty water bottles. Each water bottle sample is unique to each pool customer.) Some folks are doing great with pool maintenance and are just stocking up on pool supplies.
Pool water samples come in all shapes and sizes…
One significant change this year is the absence of chlorine tablets due to ongoing shortages. We have “plunged right into the waters” answering phone calls, & taking questions regarding chlorine tablets.
At this point, we are currently out of stock in chlorine tablets. We have plenty of granular chlorine available for purchase in 25 pound tubs and 100 pounds. We are hopeful that the shortage will not continue.
One notable conversation point that has been noticed, is that some customers are unsure about how to use granular chlorine.
Granular chlorine works in a very similar manner as one would shock the pool water & usage of granular is the same as “shocking” the pool.
In order to use granular chlorine effectively, take a clean 5 gallon bucket add some pool water then add granular chlorine. You never want to add water after the granular chlorine, it could create a volatile reaction!!!! Always begin with water. Stir mixture … 15-30 seconds … with a suitable “stick” (wooden paddle, handle, pvc pipe). Pour about half mixture into pool and add in more pool water into bucket and stir again. Pour remaining granular chlorine solution into pool.
Always use a bucket to stir up chlorine… often times he will use a bucket to stir up other types of pool chemicals as well to ensure even distribution into pool as to not have it sink to bottom.., as this photo demonstrates
As always, we are available to answer any questions you may have in regards to your pool. Richard spends on average 10-15 minutes with each pool water test he completes, answering & doing a quick analysis for each customer… at no charge to the customer.
Each pool water analysis is free, the information is often invaluable to a pool owner!!!
We hope that each customer will leave empowered with knowledge of how to “dive” into pool water chemistry and have fun splashing safely all summer long.
Gardening is the best “dirt therapy” AND you get tomatoes. For many gardeners, this is probably a very true statement…
Over the last few weeks, we have had numerous questions on when to plant tomatoes. Our standard answer has been when the fear of frost has passed.. usually sometime after Mother’s Day.
According to the almanac gardening guide, the best time to plant tomatoes is in the sign of cancer. The next cancer sign is May 14-16.
Check out the gardening guide for this week. Y’all will have a few good planting days ahead. The details are in today’s photos… have a great week in the garden 🪴 y’all !!!
The Spring season & Easter holiday always brings a sense of hope.
Spring is beginning to emerge in all of its glory, with the grand rebirth of nature. The first flowers bloom, trees are sprouting the first tiny green leaves, & the grass awakens from its winter slumber. Birds are busy nesting, and their chirping can be heard from early mornings to late in the evening.
Easter for many people is a significant religious experience… the love of God and his Grace forever changed the world… bringing HOPE to all.
Spring of 2021 just “feels” very different from Spring 2020, which was fully immersed in the Covid pandemic.
As I recall, this time last year, our reality was very different. As a nation, we were focused on Covid, shutdowns, & finding new ways of doing business. Many businesses closed. 2020 was also spent on how to control the spread of the virus, & let’s not forget the shortages of key products. I think the list is lengthy, so I’ll not continue.
Clorox wipes, toilet paper, N95 masks, and so much more…
Our focus as business owners at Wilkes County Hardware last spring was on “essential business operations”.
When many states across the US shutdown spring of 2020, our state did also. Hardware stores were considered to be essential.
For a few months, curbside service was offered in order to keep our customers & employees safe. We are still offering call ahead curbside for anyone who wants it even still now.
Last spring we dealt with consistent shortages of all types of items. This was a new problem that we had never encountered as a business owners.
Store stock merchandise had always been always readily available prior to Covid. Trying to find alternatives or other venders was difficult at times AND still continues into 2021 spring season.
I will say that finding solutions to living during a pandemic did prove to be a challenge and how to manage a business during it all, felt at times, all encompassing.
HOPE kept us going.
I’ll conclude with one of my favorite quotes concerning hope. “May all your choices reflect your hopes not your fears”. Well done Nelson Mandela…
Social media…Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, blogs, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok… we all probably use at least one or more forms of these almost everyday.
How much do you know about the algorithm???? The set of rules that organizes, filters, and sends content into your social media feed.
I can tell you I am still learning about how the algorithm works in Instagram and Facebook. When I started this journey five and half years ago, I didn’t even have a Facebook account.
As our business grew, the interest intensified for me to dabble into the social media world, get the word out about our business ownership and the services/products we provide to our community.
The more I used these social media sites, the more I wanted to know truly how all this works… It has been informative for me, so I thought it might be valuable for you as well.
Hopefully you will find this useful as you navigate your favorite social media pages. I know my actions have changed since I have learned more about how the algorithm works.
Please don’t take this as an exclusive piece of knowledge, this is only a small portion of what I have researched and learned.
In Instagram, once your content is posted, it will go to the people who are the MOST active on your Instagram feed first. Instagram sends it to these folks first… those who comment, engage regularly with your posts… (hit the heart ❤️ button, commenting etc.)Once these folks are active on the new post, and they react to it, comment or ❤️, the algorithm will push it out to a larger audience.
The better the “new” post does(❤️ or actively making comments) more people will get to see your post.
The same happens thing to your post if those key followers DO NOT react to your latest post. If they don’t ❤️ it, or comment, the post will be shown to fewer people.
The “average” lifespan” of an Instagram post is about 24 hours. 😳Whatever message you wish to convey, the span of time is short and fleeting. The same Facebook post does seem to have a longer life span if the post performance is good.
Facebook also seems to track your “favorites”…Those you interact with while on Facebook and you tend to see those posts more frequently.
Next, let’s talk about making comments on Instagram and a Facebook post, keeping the algorithm in mind.
The algorithm loves to see a comment that is more than 4 words, in essence a sentence.
When you type 4 or more words into a comment, It is a strong indication that you took the time to engage,( stop to read it) & gave a thoughtful response back.
Leaving a comment like a single ❤️ or even a 👍🏻 could be an indicator of a bot to the algorithm.
Posts that have thoughtful engagement do well, on both Instagram and Facebook.
So if you truly love a post, then take the time to send an appropriate reaction. Honestly, a well thought out response is what most people love.
We have truly been blessed with AMAZING followers!!!! Many do take the time to react to our posts and we appreciate it so very much.
Please continue to support your favorite small businesses. One small significant way in which you can do that is easy…hit that like/love button or comment on posts. The algorithm is looking for these type of activity from users.
In order to grow our account, we have to continue to get out there to a wider audience within our hardware community. So we need your help in order to continue to grow in an authentic & organic way. The most simple ways I have previously mentioned, but a “slam dunk” is to share the post.
In Facebook it is easy to do, hit the share icon and send it out to your own personal feed where more folks will see it.
Instagram works a little bit differently in order to share content that was posted. The paper airplane icon sends content to your story. This is a good way to share information with others.
Speaking of stories… Instagram Stories are huge!!!! Most Instagram followers view at least some IG stories each day. Stories are a quick way to view fun, quick bits of content.
Stories are an EXCELLENT way to engage with followers. Particularly, getting feedback on what followers love. The more feedback you can give your favorite businesses, the better they can serve you and your greater community.
So participate in polls and those slider stickers… send a message in DM if you love a photo from a story. All of these count as good engagement, which is absolutely amazing news for continued growth and spreading awareness of services/products that businesses are offering.
In closing, you as a follower, have a tremendous amount of influence on how your favorite businesses will grow. You can be passively active in your social media pages and small businesses can continue to fight the algorithm or you can assist them in continuing growth.
Our growth has been slow but steady over the last few years and we applaud your efforts and support.
Ultimately, social media is more than algorithms, hashtags, &followers. When you have the opportunity to connect with a group of people who have similar interests, it can be powerful.
Social media has created connections to friends and family all over the world.
Connections… part of our why we do what we do, helping our customers and followers within our community to find what they need in our hometown hardware store, no algorithm is necessary for that.
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The Hardware Life - A wife's journey into the hardware business 