My friends invited me to a hardware party in Brooklyn on the weekend. At first, I thought it was some  type of American party that I’d never heard of. But it turns out, it was actually a party at a hardware store. Yes, really. And it was amazing.

This was no ordinary hardware store. It was part gallery, part hardware store. All through the store were artists sculptures made from regular, everyday hardware items; nails, tape measures, tyres etc.  When you entered, you got a guide to the art – just like you would at a real art gallery.

Outside, they had turned the garden area into a festival extravaganza; with stalls, musicians, food, beer…all the usual party suspects. I have never seen so many people in a hardware store. And so many people happy to be there.

Crest hardware is a father son operation – and when son Joe Franquinha stepped up to the plate, he wanted to attract a younger crowd and change the way people saw hardware. So he made some changes. Why can’t a hardware store behave more like an art gallery? Why can’t it entertain us with a yearly festival? And so the new and improved Crest Hardware began.

Joe says of Crest Fest “The Crest Hardware art show is all about taking love for my community, my love of art, my love of hardware and welding them together to bridge a gap in this continually changing city, but Williamsburg in particular. It began in the early nineties with an artist named Gene Pool asking for some window space. We gave him an inch, he took a mile.”

The unexpected combination of hardware and art allows Crest Hardware to offer something more than just hammers and tools.  By mixing these two seemingly separate worlds, they have transformed shopping for hammers from a chore to an experience. Good job guys…totally nailed it!