The Hardware Hippie

Many years ago, I owned a little restoration hardware store in Garland, Texas. It started out very small and at first I ran it by myself, then my mom and eventually my dad joined me as they retired from their respective careers. My first full-time "outside" staffer was a fellow named Keith Lowery. He had been in the hardware business for a few years already and knew quite a bit about vintage doorknobs - which came in handy as we developed a specialty in the older pulls and doorknobs.

Our customers ranged from homeowners to movie studios, all who were looking for a classic appearance, whether to enhance their newer homes, restore a historic house or decorate a film set. We even supplied many famous jobs such as the governor's mansion in Tokyo and Disneyland in Paris, plus hundreds of movies including Casper, The Truman Show, and Legends of the Fall. That's our hardware on the front door of the house in Jumanji in the photo above.

Keith tackled each job with a vengeance and sometimes even installed or consulted on the installation of the hardware such as when we supplied the MGM Theme Park in Las Vegas. We called him Dr. Doorlock which was a moniker that was well-earned, especially when he helped me develop our own brand of hardware, Nostalgic Warehouse.

Eventually, I sold Hardware+Plus to Elliott's Hardware in Dallas and Nostalgic Warehouse to the Steelworks Corporation in Denver - and Keith and I went our separate ways. Little did either of us know that he would work for me again at three other companies including a radio show and two hardware ventures - until he finally retired.

Now that I am doing some home remodeling projects, I decided to reach out to Keith to see if he might be able to install the hardware on our little house on Washington Street in Garland. We had chosen to use classic glass doorknobs to match the originals as much as possible - the only updates being the brushed nickel finish and privacy locks on the bathroom and master bedroom - and I knew that Keith would be up to the challenge of merging the old with the new.

A few days later, Keith showed up wearing one of his son's custom-made tie-dyed t-shirts and looking every bit like the hippie that he has become in his retirement. It was a real step back in time to watch those talented hands as he deftly installed each doorset, working carefully to be sure that the new homeowner had the best possible outcome. We had many laughs and told old stories until late in the afternoon until it came time to say goodbye once more.

It's obvious that Keith needs to change his nickname from Dr. Doorlock to the Hardware Hippie. His psychedelic personality and charm certainly fit perfectly.