A hardware store to an Artist is a must. A 70 year old mainstay in a historic building-- is a PRIVELEGE! BROWNLEE HARDWARE

As an artist rehabbing a historical building, I'm not sure what is more important to me, internet connection for resources or having a hardware store across the street. It is hard to imagine what life would be like without either. The owner of Brownlee Hardware Co., Mr. Brownlee (Everyone calls him James) is not only knowledgeable, but kind. His staff is attentive, and very helpful. In a time where good old fashion customer service has almost become an extinct artform, it is refreshing to have this luxury across the street from our family.

If good customer service wasn't enough, another amazing thing about this business space is how easy it is to find "repair" parts. I, along with most, am guilty of throwing something that doesn't work away. "Parts" have become a rare thing of the past. At Brownlee they carry pieces and parts to FIX things...Imagine that one! Yes, a hardware store that sells parts that fix broken things that can be repaired and do not have to be replaced. Amazing! Not only do they know how their random doo dads function,  they also give you ideas (simple old fashion ones) that make our complicated life seem simple.Without realizing it, Brownlee's is an eco-friendly "green" store ahead of its time; Standing still made them progressive. Remember the days when you needed a single bolt and you were able to buy only what you needed instead of the entire box that ends up in some random drawer causing clutter and bringing an accustomed additional expense to your pocket book? Well at our neighborhood hardware store (literally), I can buy ONE bolt, ONE hook, and ONE nail. For a family of environmental advocates, this has been a great simple pleasure.

One can only imagine the hair-brained ideas that I concoct in the middle of the night which I attempt to create the next day. When my eyes allow me to see the light of day,  I go in like a deer caught in the headlights trying to explain my random thought process explaining what it is that I am trying to do and they work me thru the concept. By the time I walk out, I feel like I actually know what it is I'm about to attempt and  feel equipped to create my midnight madness vision.

Slowly, I have had the privilege of peeking into nooks and crannies of the building, which are not only breathtaking but full of history and stories. If you get a chance to go in and buy some chain it is worth the experience. To locals, it is just another day in the hood, but to someone coming back home, it's a blast into the past. After being led thru a hundred year old grand door, you walk into a room full of shelves with old labels and amazing ladders. If that wasn't enough to give you vertigo, just look up. The pressed tin is enough to give any antique geek a run for their money. (AND NO...the ceiling is not for sale...So don't even think about asking!) Please-- try to remember why you are back there in the first place...to buy chain, so try to focus when they ask you what size it is that you need. As the size you selected falls out of a container created over 70 years ago, pay close attention to the "cutting" contraption. It's a sculptural masterpiece....sigh. Yes...all this from buying a few feet of chain. 

It's nostalic to imagine how the past has been so perfectly preserved within the Brownlee Hardware store. We sit outside daily and drink coffee on our sidewalk patio area and watch the cars and people ebb and flow. Each individual unknowingly  becomes a part of the buildings past, present and future.  For those who come, they are just buying a piece or a part, to us, they are part of the reason the Brownlee Hardware store has a viable business in our historic Main Street District. They have been operating  for over 70 years this year! Everyone should be as lucky as we are to have a hardware store across the street from them as grand as the Brownlee Hardware Co.

 

Brownlee Hardware Co Inc

131 S Oak St

Pecos, TX 79772

(915)445-2813