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blogging, change, community, Discovering Roots, entrepreneurship, family, finding inspiration, Hardware Store Life, Home, journey in life, July, Life experiences, Life In Wilkes, memories, Natural World, old hardware stores, photography favorites, Resilence, southern living, Summer, Summer Photography, Transitions in Life, writing process

Rooted in Wilkes

July 14, 2024 hardwarelifewife 1 Comment

Last Spring I was basking in the sunshine, kneeling in my front flower garden, while planting one of my favorite “memory flowers”, a little white geranium. I should provide a bit of background on a “memory flower” for those who are new to my blog. A “memory flower” is a specific flower or plant that I have associated with special family members/friend that either gifted the plant to me OR I have sweet memories associated with the flower. My personal connections to flowers and what I plant in my garden is deeply rooted… linked to my personal life experiences and memories of those who I love and those who are no longer with us.

Read more about Flower Memories in the blog post: Flower Power

As I carefully took that “memory flower” out of the small, green container and placed it into my hand, I realized the root system of the tiny, white geranium was extremely shallow and weak. I began to cringe. My first thought was that the white geranium wouldn’t make it.

White geraniums are a staple in my containers every year. This planter in my garden has a nice healthy mix of summer annuals

After lots of TLC, it did survive the long, hot summer season but it didn’t thrive like some of my other plants that had a stronger established root systems when they were originally planted.

This shallow planting experience began an instant stream of thoughts about, “Being Well Rooted”. How would that translate into my understanding of my own life experiences?

Beginning with the concept in mind, establishing a good root system offering a deeper and stronger bond to the plant, conveying nourishment to all the branches…This began a spiral of thoughts. What roots have I established in my life? Am I well rooted in Wilkes?

*All images used in this blog post are courtesy of our beautiful Wilkes County. I hope you find a few familiar places or maybe even some new places to explore.*

Life is different here from anywhere else in the world. The pace of living is slower. It’s a great place to live and raise a family. Wilkes is simply HOME. My Roots are here. That part was easy to discern.

This blog post was created out of my life experiences and memories… remembering and honoring those who helped me to establish and discover my Roots and in good time, cultivated my unique story.

A Bit of Personal Perspective: A Foundation of Memories

I grew up in Wilkes County, surrounded by the beautiful, majestic mountains as our daily view looming at our back door step. It was the perfect blue mountain scenery that surrounded me and greeted me, and hugged me from the distance. As a rambling traveler moving away from and returning to our county borders, a definite welcome sight, the Blue Ridge in the distance, whispering, “Welcome HOME”.

I spent my “kid summers” wading in the creek that was located in the woods behind my house. No shoes were ever needed on a hot summer day. Running in the grass, barefoot, was the order of the day. As a kid, summer days seemed endless… these days were marked with sweet memories. From eating a watermelon wedge, soaking up the last bite of summertime sweet goodness to a full on chase and catch of lightning bugs, all were definite summer staples. I can remember being absolutely giddy with excitement about the opportunity to put those little, bright yellow bugs into a mason jar and watch them blink away in the dusk of a humid summer evening. Then finally, reluctantly, releasing them from the jar before heading inside before my nightly slumber ensued. Summers were filled with the beauty of the natural world that surrounded me in Wilkes. Wonderful childhood memories marked by the love of family and HOME.

Growing into My Roots

Eventually, I grew up and went away to college and enjoyed the experience that a larger city offered. I came HOME to Wilkes often during those college years to visit my family. Little did I know, ultimately, I had unlocked my ROOTS. My foundation was strong and I was slowly beginning to find my center.

Each return trip back HOME was so similar… marked by the familiar smells of freshly cut grass, and sometimes, with the pungent smell of manure which signaled, the hard work of local farmers. The sights of rolled hay fields, and corn fields in full view abound in my memories.

The sounds of nature … birds singing cheerfully, and crickets chirping their solitary song each evening at dusk. You could also listen to the church bells ringing in the distance calling out to its members singing a soulful little tune on Sunday mornings. The sounds that are mostly removed from the ears…heavy traffic, sirens, and other street noise that tends to dominate city life.

And if you could pause long enough and listen… the rambling sound of race cars in the distance could be heard certain times of the year. You just know, if you live in Wilkes, when to expect and hear the humming sounds of race cars churning around the race track. I could always hear the roar and hum of race cars rumbling through the woods when the wind carried just perfectly from my childhood home.

Thankful to see North Wilkesboro Speedway open again!

And lastly, the pinnacle view, that I always took for granted, as a young person, the mountains in the distance, all signaled that I was HOME. Those beautiful mountains, served as a big hug from my surroundings here in Wilkes County, HOME. All familiar, and part of my heart and soul from my own life experiences. Memories branching out becoming my ROOTS.

A view from my front yard… we are blessed to have Mountain View’s everywhere

Finding Support and Growth

After College Graduation, I found myself returning HOME again, looking to fully take up ROOTS as an educator in my community where I grew up. Those formative years provided me with a sense of belonging to a welcoming community, where Southern hospitality still exists and I’m grateful that we live in such a friendly place.

I found work and I began to prepare for the future. I worked in middle school education for over 25 years before retirement. I enjoyed teaching. What I discovered in my educational years, Creativity was at the utmost importance as I planned my lessons to make middle schoolers feel more engaged with their learning, but, it still had to be challenging. Creativity was a central element that has become part of my internal root system.

Sometimes we realize that change is happening, and I knew it was time to concentrate on my ROOTS again. People can be easily replaced at work with another person, but you can’t be replaced at home. HOME and FAMILY an essential part of my daily being, deeply rooting me back to where I needed to be, HOME.

Initially, my vision of work after retirement was not what I anticipated. The ultimate reality that happened… Staffing changes, COVID, and other factors have put me in the forefront along the side of my faithful husband and partner who definitely welcomed me with open arms. We are now ROOTED in the hardware industry that had such strong roots and ties within our local community.

Branching Out

When retirement came, it was a bit a relief. I was utterly exhausted. I had been as they say, “burning the candle at both ends”. I had been working as a full time Mom, as an educator, working as a part-time business owner for our hardware store, blogging, and lastly, beginning to care for my aging grandparents. My life was extremely full.

We have found a rhythm at work inside our “old school hardware store” and have launched headlong into helping our community as we can through our business ownership in Downtown North Wilkesboro.

In the last few years, Richard and I have worked alongside other Downtown Merchants, to form The Downtown North Wilkesboro Merchants Association, and we both actively participate in this group. You may recognize this group, as we have worked to create, The Spooktacular Festival for our community when the Greenway Trail of Treats was cancelled a few years ago.

The Hardware Life: A Life Lesson in Grafting

Wilkes County hosts a Peach Festival in July and Apple Festival in October, so the tradition of farming is central in our community. Fruit farmers often graft their fruit trees to create a new variety. The act of grafting… taking one plant cutting and merging with another, creating a unique union and the growth of a new species.

One of the quickest ways to send information out to our hardware store customer base was using the different creative tools that social media platforms offered. I literally had to dig deep into these tools and just go for it. Over the last 9 years, we have slowly grown a loyal audience on Facebook and Instagram, growing and expanding our hardware community. We have been able to share our product offerings, and our staff personal skill sets that make our hardware store a unique shopping experience for our customers.

My blog has continued to grow since I began, The Hardware Life Wife in 2018. As a novice writer, the blog pieces were fairly short and without pictures. I have learned more about the “how to blog process” as I have had the time. Initially, I honestly couldn’t devote much time to it. It was mostly a “summertime project” and I worked on blog posts between planning school lessons while I was still teaching full time. My blog has been a wonderful ROOTED creative outlet for me to share with others.

After a few years of consistent blogging, it became a goal of mine to add as many authentic pictures as I could to help break up the longer content pieces that I was now writing. Photographs provide a visual experience for the reader, adding an extra dimension, or as I could say “branch” to the story that is needed.

Drawing upon my experience as an educator, I knew that I must give reluctant readers a reason to engage with my blog, as my writing pieces grew into more lengthy content. Another overall goal was to increase my blog readership.

Using these new goals and being ROOTED in educational experience, I decided to use “Chunking”. Chunking is breaking content down into smaller sections. I could use photographic images to further break down the information which would help the reader to stay focused on the writing content and the images adding to the overall narrative. Grafting in action!

The use of stock images was not my intention, so I opted to insert my personal images into each blog post where I could create a more vivid reading experience for my readers.

Surprisingly, my personal photos were well received. I was stunned. This new finding was giving me the confidence and the opportunity to share more of my personal photography for which, I’m thankful and extremely grateful. I have been able to “branch out” and graft my core ROOTS into new areas of creativity and it has been an amazing journey!

Slowly, my heart has been wrapped around creating more beautiful images to share with my readers. My love of photography has grown and developed over the last few years. Seeking my ROOTS of creativity… ROOTED in my heart, showcasing everyday life in Wilkes County as I see it through my life lens using my camera, Rooted In Wilkes. All of the images you see today are all my own, with the exception of the photo of myself and Richard. I hope that you find these pictures add to the story.

Closing Thoughts: My ROOTED Experience

I must admit that one does not have to be a native of Wilkes to enjoy the beauty our area. The sights, sounds, and scenery of our greater community where I grew up and discovered my ROOTS. As I age, my appreciation of the beauty of my surroundings has grown. Anyone can Experience life in Wilkes if you are willing to take a moment to “branch out” and look for new opportunities and places in your nearby surroundings. Grafting opportunities are endless. Change is constant. So no matter wherever you find yourself, share your roots/story with others.

*All images used in this blog post are courtesy of our beautiful Wilkes County. I hope you found a few familiar places or maybe even some new places to explore.*

The beauty of Wilkes is all encompassing and deeply rooted in my life and for that, I’m grateful. I encourage you to go ahead and make some deep roots here. I found HOME, multiple opportunities to grow into my ROOTS, expanding my branches of creativity and learning, and how to GRAFT when needed. My ROOTS have allowed me to stop and slow down to appreciate the small things in this world, which ultimately are the BIG things in life. I think you will be glad that you took time to be Rooted in Wilkes.

*This piece is dedicated to all friends and family who have been such a supportive influence upon my ROOTS growing up in Wilkes County.*

A new journey begins, blogging, challenges, customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Life, old hardware stores, Resilence, Shop Local

“The Hardware Life”

January 29, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

*Made in McGrady created this sign for us a few years ago, thanks for your friendship and encouragement always!*

Eight and half years ago, we just started. Richard and I launched ourselves into hardware store ownership… Beginning our journey into “The Hardware Life”. This new venture into business ownership was exciting, challenging, scary, and ultimately life altering. All of these different emotions could be filled up in a 5 gallon bucket. Dip your toes into the water, “sink or swim” as they say.

Richard was excited about beginning a new career path, exploring the opportunities to learn more about the inner workings of the hardware industry. He had always been around it, as he worked for a paint manufacturer for over 20 years. Richard pushed hard for the first few years without me at Wilkes County Hardware. It soon became apparent, that we needed to grow our business or move on. So, we decided to grow together. I launched into early retirement, leaving my 26 years in education behind. Our skill sets are different…utilizing them to bring the best hardware store experience possible our customers.

*Richard and Angela Searcy- Owners of Wilkes County Hardware*
📸 *By Hannah Crow Photography*

Working together, Richard and I have slowly made changes inside our historic hardware store walls, such as resetting our shelves and changing the flow of customer traffic. Other avenues we have explored included adding new hardware products into our existing lineup. But probably the most distinctive aspect that we are becoming known for is finding and curating locally sourced goods. All of these changes have created an unique shopping experience for all who visit our hardware store in Downtown North Wilkesboro.

*Handmade baskets, stained glass, local soap, honey, pottery, and woodworking… just a few of the items you can find inside our hardware store.* 📸 *Hannah Crow Photography*

For those of you who may not know, our building dates back to 1904!! The timbers tell our story, just look up as you enter through our front door. We are doing our best to honor our building history by keeping it as authentic as we possibly can.

*As you enter the front doors, the chippy paint may catch your eye, but the beams that built this place will definitely keep your interests .* 📸 *Hannah Crow Photography*

*Honoring our legacy…. Read about some of the changes we made inside & out in 2023 at Wilkes County Hardware*https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/12/27/reflections-and-highlights-of-2023/

What motivates us to keep moving forward… especially during “roller coaster” times????? In other words, WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO at Wilkes County Hardware???
The answer is simply YOU!!! Our customers are our driving force. We have been so blessed to have formed many new friendships and made lasting connections with our customers, helping them meet their needs each and every day.

Those personal connections are also applicable to our staff. Our staff at Wilkes County Hardware has been an amazing part of our story. We have been able to hire staff with hardware expertise, or offer on the job training as in my case…. AND I have been able to reconnect with former students, watching them learn and grow as employees. Leaving us, as they head off to college, or work, taking away with them valuable insights and knowledge that they will take into adulthood. That’s success in my book.

Our business story is simple. We thrive on interaction with our customers and our greater community. Without that, we would not exist. We have heard too many stories about how old, vintage, authentic hardware stores are just not around anymore, and we are thankful that our community still supports our local hardware store.

Lastly, I know we both think and spend differently based on our learned business experiences…. As a result, we have decided that supporting locally owned businesses in our community is important to our community success. We eat at locally owned restaurants, and make purchases from local businesses. After all, the community supports our business and we will reciprocate helping to grow our local economy.

blogging, customer service, entrepreneurship, finding inspiration, hardware store, Hardware Store Life, Shop Local, TV streaming

The Ted Lasso Effect… Takeaways and Viewpoint of a Business Owner

January 11, 2024 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

I have a confession to make…

We cut the “cable cord” several months ago and I’m not looking back! Streaming services offer so many different options. BUT, at the same time, I’ll admit, it can be confusing trying to decide which streaming platform works best for you and your family. Richard and I have been slowly building our favorites and we have found a nice rhythm to our streaming service choices.

Now, I must admit that keeping cable television might have been the easy route, because having cable tv isn’t hard… you just turn on the tv with the remote and instant tv shows appear on your screen. Ultimately, the expense of a large cable bill coupled with internet costs just didn’t make sense for us. So, we decided to let it go.

Streaming tv services can require a bit of extra navigation but it’s definitely worth the journey. One of our biggest finds in our new tv watching journey was finding Apple TV. The quality of the shows that we have watched on this streaming platform has made this streaming service a “keeper” for us. So you might be wondering where I’m going with all this tv talk…

Today, this blog post will be centered around ONE key show that is a “must see” on my list of recommended series, Ted Lasso. I must admit that I was inspired by Ted, and I would like to share a few takeaways as we launch headlong into 2024.

For those of you who have never experienced this show, Ted Lasso, the main character, is a US football coach who was recruited, and hired to come to the UK to coach a professional futbol (soccer) team. Ted is an experienced football coach who has the power to motivate his players and has found great success in his career prior to moving overseas.

It’s easy to see as this series begins, that the new coaching path of coaching Futbol is a great challenge for Ted as he knows very little about the game of futbol and his family is now 3,000 miles away.

Richard and I were instantly hooked into the show with the vast array of personalities that Ted interacts with in his newly chosen career path. Many of these challenging personalities often would throw up roadblocks along the way, as Ted and his coaching staff, worked to create a winning, cohesive team. Ted was steadfast in his mission.

Before I go any further, it is not my intent, to retell the entire series, but to simply to do a quick analysis of the FOUR most helpful major takeaways I found from this series, in what I like to call, The Ted Lasso Effect, and how I applied it in a new way in regards as a business owner. In my opinion, Ted impacted his greater community through his work ethic, core beliefs, and interactions with others… creating a positive impacts, in which I coined it as, The Ted Lasso Effect.

The Ted Lasso Effect… in the viewpoint of this business owner

1. Support your local community… Ted developed a series of habits ( shopping and eating in his local neighborhood ) that followed him through each show and he was consistently displaying those behaviors throughout the entire series! His habits were manifested in his outward behaviors! I said it, it was not an afterthought for Ted to shop local, it was his LIFE! You could simply tell that Ted lived and worked inside his new community.

Make it a habit to shop and support local businesses in Downtown North Wilkesboro. We appreciate your support and we couldn’t continue doing what we do without your support.

EAT, SHOP, PLAY

Our Downtown is a beautiful place to walk, enjoy a meal, shop at your favorite places, and play…

EAT– Ted Lasso was always featured in almost every episode eating meals at his local pub. Eat Local! Support locally owned and operated restaurants in our town. The quality of food is always impeccable!

SHOP– Ted was immersed into his life in the new community and shopped at local stores. He made his own “biscuits “ (cookies) daily for his new boss. She always looked forward to the daily treat Ted presented to her each day.

PLAY-The futbol team town support ran deep for Ted’s professional futbol team. The crowd of supporters poured into the local pub on everyGame Day with sporting team colors. Ted was often a target of their abuse when the team did not win, but the community consistently rallied around the futbol team… “Life is Futbol”, GAME DAY was a major town event each and every game.

**“Life is Futbol”**… Our Downtown doesn’t feature soccer games BUT, think about all the FUN Events that are welcoming you constantly back… Spooktacular, Light Up Downtown, Shop Small Saturday, Christmas Parade, Apple Festival, Art Gallery Events, Concerts on the Deck… and More! Opportunities to PLAY and bring consistent support into our Downtown community is ongoing all year long.

2. Believe… At the beginning of the series, Ted brings out a bright, yellow sign which appears to be scribbled on a sheet of large construction paper, with a single word written on it, BELIEVE. Ted tapes it up with black electrical tape over the entrance to the door to his office.

The yellow BELIEVE sign becomes the symbol that the team views each and every day in the locker room. This was the “outer symbol” to his new future team of his innermost coaching goal, believe in yourself and the concept of perseverance.

As a business owner, belief in your passion for your own business might be intrinsically there, but Perseverance, can be hard and it can waiver during the hard financial times. There are days you want to throw in the towel, especially when economic times are tough.

3. Be A Goldfish… Ted brings us to one of my favorites all time quotes from the entire series. Ted says to one of his futbol players after a rough practice session, “Do you know who the happiest animal in the whole world is, it’s a Goldfish. Goldfish have a 10 second memory. Be A Goldfish”. It’s easy to focus on the negative and lose your sense of focus, or let a grumpy customer ruin your attitude momentarily. At times, it’s good to “Be A Goldfish.”

4. Biscuits with the Boss…Lastly, Ted Lasso spends time getting to know the new people in his surroundings and he develops connections with them. Let’s face it, not many of us would be willing to move 3,000 miles away from home. I could imagine that it was a bit of adjustment moving from the United States to the United Kingdom for Ted … learning to drink tea, or sparkling water or not… lol there’s some fun there but I’ll not give that away… But, as I mentioned earlier under the SHOP section, Ted Lasso made his own “biscuits “ (cookies) daily for his new boss. She always looked forward to the biscuits Ted presented to her each day and readily devoured each one in a glorious manner. Ted enjoyed the conversation with his Boss each morning, learning a bit more about her each and every day. Ted purposefully made connections with each person he encountered. It wasn’t always easy, but he did it.

Ted also sought advice from Keeley, another central character, when he had trouble connecting with a key, star soccer player. Ted worked hard to connect with everyone he met.

Have you ever felt like you are just not connecting with people… they just aren’t getting what you’re saying or asking for? Enough said, right? How many times do we feel like a faceless person when we go into a “box store” and have to use a self checkout or ring a button and no one appears to help you. The lack of human interaction within the established retail business is slowly disappearing to my extreme disappointment… so why go to these places??? 😳 OR have you heard someone say, making an online purchase is “cheaper” than buying it in store???? There’s NO connecting when you purchase online…How can small businesses continue to compete with major online retailers who have more buying power than their smaller counterparts…. Most folks don’t consider that, the more purchases you make inside a small business in your local community will impact our local economy and add to the buying power potential of that small business! Shopping local is a conscious decision that impacts our greater community.

Biscuits with the Boss… At Wilkes County Hardware we don’t have that… but we often have folks who gather around to sit and talk, intentionally making connections with us or others who have gathered in that moment in time.

Final Thoughts

My closing thoughts are wandering… like the soccer ball being played downfield. The rhythm of the Futbol team moving the ball from person to person and then finally a head bump of the ball ⚽️ ump.. launched towards the goalkeeper who by fault, can’t keep the futbol from going in. Score!

We as a team, our community of Wilkes, can find success in building habits and which will become instantaneous behaviors that lead to growing our Downtown community using newly coined phrase, The Ted Lasso Effect… Support local businesses, believe we can do it, Be a goldfish(mistakes will be made, move on), and make connections within your community. We can’t lose the game y’all!

**Shop local all year long! Support local restaurants, businesses & retailers. We need your support in 2024**

blogging, challenges, change, End of Year Reflection, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Life, loss, memories, nuts and bolts, old hardware stores, plumbing, Resilence, Shop Local, southern living, Supply Chain, work

Reflections and Highlights of 2023

December 27, 2023 hardwarelifewife 2 Comments

Who knew what 2023 would bring??? We surely didn’t plan on the unexpected… loss of dear friends… a beloved staff member and friends who shopped with us/visited us weekly. 2023 brought challenges…dealing with continued short-term shortages, a slimmer bottom line, and renewed focus on key product lines that our customers love…our essentials in 2023.

**2023 was the year of the Milwaukee marker… if you have used one… then you just know it’s the best thing ever!**

2023… was all about KEYS!!!! We make keys all day long, here’s a link to a blog from January 2023 which reveals a little bit more about what we do…. https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/01/11/more-than-nuts-and-bolts/

In 2023, we experienced loss and grief multiple times. Losing dear friends like Monty and Tracy is difficult. Tracy was a regular customer, stopping by often for a chat after work or coming by to pick up essentials. Other dear customers losing battles with cancer, or experiencing other serious health issues makes the daily routine a bit different from 2022 without them in our midst. We loved Monty dearly and his loss was hard to bear as 2023 began.

Our staff becomes an integral part of our daily lives. As our younger staff members prepare to leave us and have grown into stronger members of our community, we wish them well, especially as they leave us behind for other opportunities… whether they are heading off to college, or seeking jobs that connect to their future career paths. Richard and I still connect with them as much as we can. They are our family, never forgotten… it’s not bittersweet event as they depart… just sweet souls who are moving forward with their lives, creating beautiful lives and light .

https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/02/01/dark-skies-and-beautiful-light/

**Wilkes County Hardware launched a kids scavenger hunt in 2023… have you brought your kids or grandkids in yet to check this out ???**

**In the quiet months of February and March of 2023, we were busy resetting the lawn and garden section and moved it up front and center**

**The locally sourced section also got a major reset this year on the back ladder wall**

**New products are always a welcome addition to our store: in 2023 Blue Door Houses by Kim Reid**

**These beautiful flowers were painted on our store front windows this spring by Andrea Baldwin**

**Another yummy treat we added into our snack line in 2023!!!**

**You can’t beat sunglasses at $3.99!!!**

**Welcome back to North Wilkesboro Speedway!!! We got you back! Thanks for stopping by y’all and shopping locally.**

**New shirt in 2023! Short sleeve and long sleeve**

In case you missed this blog post earlier this year… this one is a must read!!! 8 Things Your Plumber Wish You Knew… link below in picture caption….

https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/04/29/8-things-your-plumber-wishes-you-knew/

**Another area of the store that was examined was the home hardware area… a HUGE reset of this area was done in 2023!**

Looks much different now!!!

**The back area has been reset with stove pipe, kerosene replacement wicks, chain, and tubing cut to length.**

**Handmade pottery keeps customers coming back to Wilkes County Hardware find the perfect present!**

**Andrea Baldwin made our dream come true in 2023, a mural on the front side of the building!**

Gorgeous!!! Why the chicken logo??? You can read a bit more of our history in this blog link https://hardwarelifewife.com/2022/11/21/mr-ee-eller-chickens-and-turkeys-nothing-but-clucking-gobbling-and-plucking-out-the-truth/

**Hannah Crow Photography stopped by to do a quick photo shoot. Thanks for the amazing photos and capturing a bit of what we do everyday!**

**Friday mornings.. a gathering of friends and local business leaders – morning coffee**

**In 2023, we welcomed Tim Billings to our staff. His skills as a glass cutter has been invaluable. Stop by to see Tim soon! He can help you with any hardware question you may have.**

**New local artist in 2023… stained glass by Badger Glass**

Keegan has had a fantastic year in 2023!!! Did you see his award winning stool at Wilkes County Hardware on Apple Festival Saturday???? Keegan announced his big win in the Made in NC Awards in October. Looking forward to seeing him in the February edition of Our State Magazine! Congratulations Keegan!!!

**Charcuterie boards or serving boards**

**New in 2023! Rolling pins selling out quickly each time they arrive!!!**

Our bolts, screws, and all sorts of fasteners are frequently visited each and every day inside our hardware store. Yes, you can purchase pieces individually and not have to pay that bulk price like you would at the “box” store 🙄

**Fall arrived and so did Wally!!! He was a huge hit with our customers and made everyone smile a bit wider when they see him on our front door.**

**2023 Fall t-shirts were a huge hit! Thanks for wearing our logo gear y’all**

**New rubs made their debut inside Wilkes County Hardware… have you tried these yet???**

**Ok, let’s talk about this BBQ sauce! It’s a staff favorite hands down!!! Thanks Keegan for making this one happen!!!**

**A new Pepsi cooler arrived keeping everyone on 10th Street caffeine filled and ready to meet the day! Thanks to our neighbors and customers for purchasing drinks all year long!**

**First wood stove fire of the season on October 16, 2023**

**So glad to be a small part of this event! We enjoyed y’all! Thanks for coming out in 2023 and making year 2 of Spooktacular bigger and better than year 1!!! Watch out 2024!!!**

**Toys for Tots drop off site for the second year… a HUGE thank you to all who donated toys this holiday season!!!**

**When a big rig pulls up outside our hardware store… you make them keys that work.. Thanks to Richard!**

**Wally got a winter makeover to bring in the winter weather season in 2023.**

**A huge thanks again to Andrea Baldwin for the winter windows!!!**

**Santa dropped in during Light Up Downtown**

**Holiday cookies, granola bars, gift sets, handmade soaps, almanacs and calendars all sold out during the Christmas shopping season!!!**

Thanks to all who read the blog mini series…A Sprinkling of Christmas Memories… here’s the link to the last one in case you missed it https://hardwarelifewife.com/2023/12/18/a-sprinkle-of-christmas-memories-christmas-eve/

**These beautiful trees sold out during Christmas shopping season!!!**

**Watercolor artist Tom Carnes stopped by to do a few Christmas themed drawings a few days before Christmas!!! Thanks Tom!!! These were amazing!**

**New sweatshirt crew to bring in 2024!!!**

**Wishing you a very happy 2024 and a HUGE thank to all who shopped with and supported us in 2023!**

In my closing reflections of 2023 I would like to say that the challenges are ongoing each year… the list might be endless for a local business owner… increased costs of doing business, dealing with shortages, managing and maintaining staff, or even a slight downturn the economy means less money circulating into small businesses in our community. In that case, folks tend to hold back on spending… that is understandable. But the impact of those choices creates a ripple effect for many businesses. I’m encouraging everyone to make a conscious effort to shop locally. Think Local!

With one click, you can shop online and have it delivered to your door. It’s so easy to do!!! Right??? What about the quality??? Will that product last??? What kind of customer service are you going to receive as a result of a product failure??? Worried about price??? Quality products outlives the cheapest product every single time. We need quality businesses in our local community and they will not be there if we don’t make the continued effort to show up and shop there. So that’s my call to action for you in 2024, Shop Local, Eat Local, Play Local. Our community needs you in 2024.

**You have a few days left remaining on the holiday punchcard!**

customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Life, nuts and bolts, old hardware stores, plumbing, Shop Local, southern living, wood stove, work, Works in Progress

ABC’s of Wilkes County Hardware…

September 13, 2023 hardwarelifewife 2 Comments

When people walk into our hardware store, they often say y’all have just a little bit of everything here don’t you!!! As we have entered into year number 8 of business, we have slowly expanded and refined our offerings to our customers. Here’s a sampling of our product offerings via ABC’s of Wilkes County Hardware.

***Top down view overlooking the back corner of Wilkes County Hardware***

Let’s begin by diving into the Amazing finds from All Around the Hardware Store! Sometimes our building might be considered an “Antique” due to its advanced age…1905 is A long time AGO!

A- Almanac, acetone, axe, American Flags, animal repellents

B- bird feeder & seed, BBQ sauce, brooms, bi-fold door hardware, bungee cords, batteries, black iron fittings and pipe cut to size, bolts

C- Customers! We can’t do this without you!!! Thank you for shopping with local with us! It’s soooo easy to forget about local businesses when you’re busy running errands or just headed to that “box store” for something on your to do list. Keep the CASH in our community!

***Thanks for shopping local and keeping the CASH in our community!***

C- Caulk, candy, command strips, canning supplies, cleaning products, compression fittings, chain cut to size

***Clorox wipes and much more can be found in our cleaning area***

D- Drill bits, DampRid, Denatured Alcohol, driveway and asphalt coating/pothole patch, door locks

E- electrical supplies, eye hooks, Ecos soaps, extension cords

F- Freight Elevator .. we have an Oldie Goldie, I bet you might find this as you wander through the hardware store.

***The old freight elevator… We don’t use it much anymore but it’s still works***

F- fastener aisle, flower seeds, fly strips, fly swatters, flashlights, fuses(replacements), flower pots

***Sometimes all you need it just one bolt or fastener… that’s ok with us, no need to buy a whole box. This area of our store is often full of customers all day long.***

G- Gardening tools, garden seeds, grass seed, gloves, glues, grilling accessories, Greased Lightning, gas cans, galvanized fittings and pipe cut to size, window glass cut to size

***Lawn and Garden area has been moved towards the front of the hardware store. We are excited to offer new products in this busy area for our customers.***

H- hammers, hooks, hinges, hand tools, hose barb, Howard wood cleaning products, honey(it’s local y’all!)

***Only local honey sold at Wilkes County Hardware!!***

I-I didn’t know you had this! I should have come here first… we have heard this a few times over the last 8 years when folks find what they need and more as they shop.

I- Iron Out, ice melt

J- Juxtaposition of old school hardware store with excellent customer service found in 2023 versus “the box store experience”in 2023, no self service checkout here.

J-Japanese beetle traps, joint compound

K-keys duplicated with ease, knives, kerosene heaters & replacement wicks

***Wayne has been a fixture inside Wilkes County Hardware for over 20 years. He just celebrated his 85th birthday!!! I bet Wayne has made a key or two for you.***

L- Ladder wall, this wall showcases some of our amazing local artisans work.

***Our local artisans are prominently featured along the back ladder wall.***

L- lag screws, locks, light bulbs, laundry detergent, Lodge Cast Iron, Lava soap, Linseed oil, Lexel caulk, liquid chlorine

M- Mural.. have y’all noticed the new mural on the front side of the building? Why the chicken??? Our building was a poultry processing plant in its early years.

A more detailed account is linked here for you from an earlier blog post. https://hardwarelifewife.com/2022/11/21/mr-ee-eller-chickens-and-turkeys-nothing-but-clucking-gobbling-and-plucking-out-the-truth/

M- Meyers Clean Day, Magnets, mineral spirits, mops, Milwaukee, metric bolts

N-nails … we don’t sell these by the pound anymore but we have small size packs available for purchase as well as larger sizes, National Hardware what an amazing selection of all things related to home hardware and more!

O- Order it for me please! Yes, we special order items for our customers each and every week

O- O-rings of all shapes and sizes!

P- Pool supplies, paper towels, PVC fittings, PB Blaster, Pex fittings, plungers, plumbing supplies galore! PVC pipe, padlocks, potting soils, polyurethane and and plethora of so much more!

***Our plumbing section has been recently updated***

Q- Quite a step back into time.. our building dates back to 1905, they don’t build them like this anymore. You can quickly find what you need and save TIME by not driving to a box store fighting the traffic or the crowd… and if you need our help we are here to answer any questions you may have about your project.

Q- Quick knife/scissors sharpening done in a matter of a few minutes, Quartz piston clock… locally made

R- Repairs made to lamps, kerosene heaters, re-screening windows, and tool handle replacement

***Fall and winter season is a busy time for Kerosene heater repairs***

R- Ready Seal, rodent control products, Rid-X , rope cut to size or just buy it by the package.

Rocking chair… we brought this chair from our house once we bought the hardware store. I rocked my son as a baby in this rocking chair. It was a sweet reminder of home. Harry loved this chair as well.

S-Staff… we are blessed with an amazing team!

Richard & Coby … these two can fix just about anything!

Lisa .. we can’t live without her! She is a gem

Lastly, Carter Call … I don’t seem to have a good photo of him but he has been a star pool guy all summer long! Look for him at the hardware store in the afternoons and Saturdays to come!

S-snow shovels and sleds, locally made soaps, suet, screws ( sheet metal, lag, stainless, self tapping, wood, deck), spray paint, Shark Bite, sandpaper, stove pipe, screwdrivers and much more!

T- Take a few minutes to wander from the front of the store to the back of the store.. you never know what you might find!

T- Traeger Grills & pellets, tape, tape measures, toilet repair, toilet paper, Tarn-x, TSP, tarps

***We keep a variety of pellets in stock for our established Traeger customers.***

U- U-bolts and unique gifts from locally sourced artisans

V- Don’t be vexed by our selection of furnace filters, we have so many different sizes in stock!

V- Vulcan 55 gallon drum liners for your trash can

W- Wood stove… warm by the fire on those cold days

***It won’t be long until this stove will be back in action again!***

W- wheelbarrow, WD-40, window glazing, water hoses, locally made wooden bowls and boards, weed eater trimmer line, wing nuts, wrench

X- Xacto blades, Xtreme contractor trash bags

Y-y’all are always welcome

***Our doors are normally open for most of the warmer months, and conversations are usually flowing most of the day… near the old wood stove.***

Y- Yellow Quell- did you know that we sell pool supplies and test pool water???

***Pool season runs from May to September for most of our pool customers. Thanks for shopping locally with us!***

Z- Zep products, Zip ties(cable ties) , Zero-G lightweight hose

***The best water hose for watering plants***

That’s just a glimpse of some of the familiar hardware products that we have inside Wilkes County Hardware. Richard and I are proud to continue into year 8 with new products to be added into the hardware store lineup as the next year progresses. Thank you for your business and continued support.

The Hardware Life – A wife's journey into the hardware business