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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.

customer service, entrepreneurship, hardware store, Hardware Store Hours, Hardware Store Life, old hardware stores, Shop Local, southern living

FAQ’s -Frequently Asked Questions

April 21, 2023 hardwarelifewife Leave a comment

If you are inside shopping at our hardware store, you will probably hear the phone ring ☎️. We field lots of questions each and every day of the week. Here’s a list of the top 5 most popular questions that we address on the phone and in personal conversations with our customers

1. What time ⏰ do you close today ???

AND along the same lines…

Are y’all still closing early on Wednesday afternoons? NO! We have regular store hours on Wednesday and have had normal store hours on Wednesday afternoon for about 7 years now.

Old newspaper research… came across this ad that may help explain why businesses closed early on Wednesday in our small town so many years ago.

2. Can I park in the back parking lot and come in the back door? 🚪Yes! Absolutely! The lot is public parking and parking is also available on 10th Street in front of our store.

The back door is used by our staff as an entrance and many of our regular customers. You don’t have to use the front entrance on 10th Street if you’re having a hard time finding a parking spot.

3. Is it possible for you to order this item for me???💻 Yes! I’ll be glad to check our current inventory and get a price on that item for you.

We have added several new inventory items over the last few years BUT if you can’t find it quickly, ask us if we can order it for you.

4. Can you make me a key?🔑 If you have an existing key, then we probably can… no key, call Bill, the locksmith next door.

This item is a best seller! Hiding a key 🔑 so you don’t lose your new key!

5. How’s business going? 🛍️We need your support each and every day. We appreciate your loyalty and making purchases inside our small business so that we can continue to add new products, staff and grow our economic community in Wilkes. We want to be here for YOU years down the road. When you shop local, your money stays in our community. Please support all small businesses( retail, restaurants, and service providers) in our two towns. They need your continued support always! Local supports local!!!

**Thank you for your support** **as we approach year 8 in the hardware business!**

hardware store, Hardware Store Life, nuts and bolts, old hardware stores, Shop Local, work

Nuts and Bolts

January 11, 2023 hardwarelifewife 2 Comments

Work… the mechanical manifestation of energy, according to science. Work it could be said, is the “nuts and bolts “ of what we do each and every day. After all, nuts and bolts are not the whole of a project, they are only a portion of a project.

The successful concept of work today creates within the soul a feeling of pride, satisfaction of a job well done, and contribution back into your greater community in some type of capacity. Today I’m offering y’all an inside look at our hardware work… the “nuts and bolts” view of what we do each day.

Walking inside Wilkes County Hardware may take you back into a time of nostalgia… viewing our old building, wood stove, historic elevator, or even remembering a time when hardware stores used to be full service for the customer. We still do that each and every day. Our customers always come first! Customers are the essential element in our business, and that is why we are customer service oriented in what we do! Wilkes County Hardware is definitely more than a place to go pick up a few nuts and bolts.

**They just don’t build them like this anymore, check out the size of those beams y’all!**

**Wood stove heat keeps us moving and going in the winter months.**

Yes, we have several folks who stop by to shop our extensive selection of nuts 🔩 and bolts… whether you are looking to purchase one or two or even multiple boxes. But did you know that we do the following things as well??

1. Key duplication

**Wayne is a popular guy in our key area! We duplicate keys, rekey locks, can make chip keys … ask us if we can help you out with your key needs**

2. Kerosene wick replacement

**Wick repair is ongoing, unsure which wick you need? We can find that for you too!**

**A work area for repairs like kerosene wick repair, tool repair, lamp repair**

3. Threading and pipe cutting

**Galvanized and black pipe threaded… if you have never done this, it is a labor intensive job and takes time to do it well. Kudos to Richard who does most of this laborious task.**

4. Glass cutting up to 36 inches

**This custom piece was recently done for a customer and it is ready to go!**

5. Chain cut to exact length

**Our display showcases the chain we have in stock** **and ready to go home with you! Measure twice, cut once… cut chain CAN NOT be returned please know how much you need before we cut it for you.**

**Folks often ask about what we use our upstairs space for… we measure and cut chain, tubing, rope, do window screen repair, window glass cut, and pipe threading is all done upstairs**.

6. Basic lamp repair

**Have a lamp that is acting all weird.. we can fix it for you or you can do it yourself with these simple pieces**

**Light bulbs, extension cords, fuses, and basic electrical supplies we will help you find what you’re looking for in order to get your to do list completed**

7. Tool handle replacement

**Our lawn and garden section is usually a busy spot year round. Ask us if you have questions about a project, or product.**

8. Pool water testing for free!

**Pool water testing is always a good idea when you’re a pool owner**

**Wilkes County Hardware keeps a variety of pool chemicals in stock for sale**

9. Roll pipe cut to length (most hardware retailers sell the entire roll) and copper pipe

**Copper cut to length or sold by roll**

**Need to do a small plumbing repair? We can cut these to length as well This display is found on the plumbing aisle.**

10. Gas and plumbing fittings … including a good selection of Pex and Shark Bite

**Compression fittings and flared fittings of all sizes**

**Our plumbing aisle is a bustling place on most days**

11. Vast selection of furnace filters

**Ask us and we will gladly help you find your size of furnace filter**

12. Window screen repair

**This is a basic list of our service offerings.**

13. Knife and scissor sharpening

**Working on a knife** 🔪 **for sharpening**

As y’all can see we work hard to be a full service hardware store for our customers. Our goal is to keep our customers coming back to us for all of the things that they need for any project. Thank you for being a great part of what we do each and every day whether it is a purchase of nuts and bolts, a key or even a bag of bird seed. We couldn’t be here without you!

**Coles bird seed has become a very popular item for our regular customers**

**You need to clean it or scrub it, we can probably help you!!**

**And we have locally sourced items too!!!**

**Locally made soaps, candles, pottery, & woodworking**

**Stop by and find some “Great Stuff” that you didn’t know existed inside our historic walls. Sorry for the pun y’all.**

So there it is… the “nuts and bolts” of the hardware life daily work. Stop by and see us soon. We appreciate your support of our small business. YOU are the part that holds all of our work together in our nuts and bolts analogy. Thank you for joining us in our journey of the hardware life for the last seven years.

entrepreneurship, firefighters, Hardware Store Life, Historical Events

A Story in Pictures

September 4, 2022 hardwarelifewife 3 Comments

The Smithey Building has long been an anchor store on 10th Street. Our across the street neighbors for the last 7 years. Showcasing this 33,000 square foot building here in this early morning photo of Apple Festival from a few years ago

A storm unloaded a lot of water onto our front sidewalks & back parking lot in a matter of 8 minutes! Some of our 10th Street neighbors experienced water inside their buildings after the rain. One marked component of the storm was intense lightning.

The first capture of the flames from the fire on August 30, 2022 … Tuesday evening around 5:30pm as Richard & I saw the North Wilkesboro fire department pulling into 10th Street.

Firefighters are quickly getting the hoses out and getting ready to work

Wilkesboro firefighters also quickly responded to the fire and placed ladder truck into position

The smoke was getting more intense. Businesses on the same side as Smithey’s began to move valuable goods to safer areas. Other business owners from 10th & Main Street were there to help.

Cars were moved from 10th Street. It proved to be a challenge because of the firehoses, emergency vehicles, narrow openings, and difficulty finding a few of the car owners.

Around 6:45pm NW police asked all businesses/residents of 10th Street to vacate buildings due to safety concerns. We stayed across the street at Dom’s Bakery. We felt we should stay as our livelihood was in danger.

Firefighters were pushing a ton of water on the fire. Firefighters had to take the tanker trucks to nearby water towers to get more water. I think it was estimated that the fire consumed over 4 million gallons of water.

It was at times, difficult to watch. The smoke billowing from the building.

11-12 different fire departments responded to the fire.

The top floors have begun to fall through to the main floor of the Smithey building

A fork-like piece of heavy equipment was used. It was interesting to watch it maneuver onto 10th Street in between the hoses and the buildings.

Piercing through the old windows.. yes! The original facade was covered up with the existing Smithey exterior.

Some of these firefighters have worked all day long and will continue to work into the late night

Just no words.. 😢 Around 10:00-10:30 Wilkes Oil brought a truck to refuel the existing fire trucks. They have now been on scene for 5 hours.

Richard & I spoke to the fire scene chief before we left for the night around 11pm. The fire was definitely under control and being well managed. The street would remain closed and we could open with back door access on Wednesday morning

Firefighters worked all night long. Here’s a early morning photo from Wednesday morning. The extent of fire is quite visible.

At the height of the fire on Tuesday evening, firefighters had 4 different ladder trucks going at once!!! Wednesday morning, two remaining ladders are busy putting the flames down

The buildings next door were very lucky that no substantial fire damage occurred.

Some of these firefighters had been on shift for over 24 hours.. working at fire department or other jobs. Exhausted but dedicated! Thank you!

All ages of firefighters were on deck.. thanks for keeping our community safe.
📸credit: Monty 😊

Bringing in the heavy equipment for demolition

Demolition started with the little corner building… the old gas station side

Building Demolition took only a few hours. We could feel a few vibrations during the demolition inside our building

10th Street was opened for full traffic by 5pm.

The demo/ grading team has done an amazing job! The bricks seem to be a popular item for onlookers to stop by to take a piece of the building with them.

We have heard many stories that so many people have shared with us over the last few days of experiences at Smithey’s Goodwill. A dear couple actually meet there and eventually married. 💕
We will miss our historic neighbors but looking forward to the next chapter that the new building will bring to our town, in whatever form. 📸 credit: Sonny

customer service, entrepreneurship, Hardware Store Life, paper bags, Shop Local, southern living

The Paper Bag Experience

August 20, 2022 hardwarelifewife 5 Comments

I can remember going into our local community grocery stores at Martin Cheek’s or Alexander’s Grocery and shopping for a quick “go to item” and coming back to the car with item in tow tucked inside a paper bag.

Easy tuck under your arm… carrying a paper bag

My memories of helping my mom carry in the groceries from the car, and not ONE of those bags was plastic y’all.

I maybe telling my age but, paper bags were the only option at the local grocery store. Over my lifetime, things shifted and plastic bags have become the standard.

As we approach the beginnings of year SEVEN in the hardware business, I realized the other day that paper bags are ONE thing our customers have grown accustomed to with each purchase inside our historic, hardware walls. Yes, we hand stamp our name on each individual paper bag! Bag stamping is a routine part of what we do each week.

We hand stamp our paper bags… various sizes available

Processing and writing this blog post, I began to wonder… Are businesses that offer paper bags perceived by the consumer as a more “customer service friendly” small business???? Is the overall atmosphere somehow uniquely different from a business that only offers plastic bags at checkout????

Wilkes County Hardware, established long ago in our town center… finding a home on 10th & D Street after the legacy of EE Eller’s thriving business here in this building from 1905-1941.

Humor me please… Think about this for a minute… where do you currently shop where plastic bags are the norm???? Grocery stores, big box stores??? Can you think of other locations with plastic bags???

Reviewing my current own shopping habits, I recall several stores in our area use plastic over paper bags. Good versus bad, paper or plastic, that is not a bone of contention that I’m undertaking today in the blog post. But, I must admit, I do love a good paper bag! And I do frequent some small shops that offer paper bags over plastic, which is part of the reason why I love these shops! But I must admit, it’s more than the paper bag, it is simply the overall shopping experience.

Y’all, don’t you feel a bit special with a cute paper bag from your purchase? It’s like the shop owner has taken a bit of extra pride, and care into their own livelihood. And marketing that small,unique business with the paper bag. Paper bags are easy for gift giving, reusing, or even recycling.

Our selection of paper bags ranges from small to larger size with handles

Further into my reflection, I would like to dive into & explore a tad more into my thoughts about the “atmosphere” in a business with paper bags at checkout versus plastic. Here’s a story I would like to share with y’all today…

I needed a couple of baby gifts, and I wanted to give each one a special gift. I stopped into, A Baby Celebration in our local downtown area. The shop was packed full of all sorts of sweet baby stuff!

A Baby Celebration, a sweet little baby shop in Downtown North Wilkesboro

As I finished up my purchases at the baby store, I’m thinking in my mind, now I need to gift wrap these and get these gifts to the new soon to be parents. It was almost like the owner read my mind. Maybe she sensed my stress of gift wrapping…having to head out to find the perfect gift wrapping paper or gift bag to place these sweet gifts into. But, that wasn’t the case! The owner then quickly pointed up to the display wall and she asked me to select a gift bag for each gift. I was tickled pink, and it was included in my visit!!! Customer service at its best y’all!

My point is, shopping small businesses can often come with perks you may not often be aware of! Shopping at small businesses, not only can you find quality merchandise, amazing service, friendly atmosphere, gift wrapping, & yes, even paper bags!

Which brings me back to the thought of what could customers infer from small businesses where paper bags are standard?

In my mind, my inference about small businesses that offer that simple, classic paper bag is often a way to keep customers coming back into your store. Customers tend to associate such memorable things with your business… that cute paper bag you carefully placed items into, the excellent customer service you provided, or even the amazing products offered inside your store.

Regardless of whether it is the paper bag, or other reasons, as a small business owner, you want your customers to return often & regularly.

So y’all might be wondering why did we choose paper bags over plastic? Here’s our answer:

We quickly decided against plastic and opted for paper, check out our reasons why…

1. Nostalgia, when y’all enter our building you have literally stepped back into time. The age of our building dates back to the early 1900’s. We are offering our customers such an experience. I’ll call it, The Paper Bag Experience, stepping back into a time where life was a bit simpler, friendly service, shopping in an “old school”hardware store with the classic brown paper bags as standard fare for packaging.

Wilkes County Hardware is a classic old hardware store with the wood stove, working freight elevator, ladder wall and much more!

2. Classic Sophistication, let’s face it, a sweet,,little paper bag is much cooler than a slinky plastic bag😂 right???

3. Social responsibility, Paper bags have a few advantages over plastic when it comes to sustainability. Paper bags are recyclable and biodegradable.

4. Marketing to our customers, our goal is to ensure that every customer feels special! What is more unique & special than a stamped paper bag with our logo information on it???

5. One cool impact of using paper bags in our hardware store, paper bags are often used for gift giving.

In closing, the psychology behind paper v. plastic may not be resolved in this blog post today, but we are thankful that our customers keep returning and continue to support our small business at Wilkes County Hardware.

Richard & I truly appreciate your patronage as we launch into year SEVEN of the hardware business. The Paper Bag Experience has been impactful inside our historic walls. Shopping at Wilkes County Hardware is a definitely a unique experience. Whether you come for nostalgia, love of hardware stores, or locally sourced goods, we can neatly tuck them into a classic brown paper bag as you leave the checkout.

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