Tag Archives: Profile

For nearly a decade, Patti Christie, owner of Hood’s Do it Best in Wyandotte, Michigan, has been using her platform to help animals find their forever homes. She has always been an advocate for animals, and her friend Terra Muscat …

When Adam Busscher started meeting fellow independent home improvement retailers from bigger businesses and other countries, he was surprised to gain many business allies. In fact, Adam began developing industry friendships that have made him a better retailer. For years …

Click the image above to view a full PDF. Casting the Right Spell Since the 1960s, the east side of Waterloo, Iowa, hasn’t seen very much economic activity other than restaurants and convenience stores. Allen Speller and his father, Wendell, …

James P. “Jim” Gray, longtime employee of the North American Retail Hardware Association, the American Hardware Manufacturers Association and other industry groups, died Dec. 13 in Indianapolis.  He was 76 years old. Gray was born Jan. 2, 1941, in Springfield, …

Sisters Julie Buchkowski and Tricia Dauwalder-Luna have a special bond. Not only are they best friends, but even as they have built families of their own, they have remained as close as ever by working together in their family business, …

In Washington, D.C., one of people’s favorite modes of transportation is biking. When this excitement for biking really kicked into gear in the 1970s, District Hardware and Bike decided to hop on the craze, becoming a hardware and bike shop. The business …

Ellen E. Hackney, former editor and director of communications for the North American Retail Hardware Association (NRHA), died Oct. 7 in her hometown of Indianapolis. She was 79. After receiving her degree from Indiana University, Hackney joined NRHA, which at the …

Cottin’s Hardware & Rental in Lawrence, Kansas, starts the fall season off each year with a scarecrow building contest to raise money for local schools. Several years ago, a customer approached store owner Linda Cottin with the idea. “Our customer …