Larry Hassett and Rebuilding Together's History

It was 1990 and Larry Hassett was running his hardware store in Marsh Manor when Lynn Edwards, one of the first volunteers of Rebuilding Together, came in and, "Wanted to know about buying a whole bunch of supplies," as Larry puts it. He got her the best deal he could - his cost. They spent time going over the catalogs (mind you back in 1990 these were paper catalogs, nothing computerized) Larry showing her how to see what his cost was, so she could stay within her budget. After about two years, she asked him if he would participate as a house captain. He agreed and oversaw the applications and the two to three projects per year.

One of his favorite projects early on was helping convert the interior of a house for a widow confined to a wheelchair. He described her showing them how she would fall out of her chair and crawl over to the commode and then lift herself up. He felt the great joy and satisfaction of doing that kind of work in the world for someone who truly needed the help.

At that time the organization was called Christmas in April and Larry helped oversee the applications and seek out sponsorships. Most houses back then received about $1,500 in sponsorship money and by 1995 he was reaching out to leaders on peninsula who would combine their efforts to raise both volunteers and sponsorship money. He was also often able to get manufacturers to flat out donate supplies. They were up to 15 or so sites per year, all houses, when they started to branch out.

Larry had become very good at running the programs, due to his vast hardware experience and his personal house-building project years before. So good, he wrote a book and developed a leadership class to train the house captains in the less obvious things to look out for - knowledge that previously had only come with experience - because many of the volunteers were not from the construction world. They were community leaders, city managers, non profit organizers. The more diverse the volunteer group became, the more rewarding Larry found the work. They could do more, with more people, and more sponsorships and better organization on the site. Under Larry's leadership, they were streamlined enough and had enough connections in the local community that when they needed a specific type of material, or a specific skill set, they could get it. He remembers needing a new floor on a project, and going directly to the owner of Circus Floors.

The program continued to expand and they began doing bigger commercial projects like the senior center in East Palo Alto, and the Peninsula Children's Center (now called Achieve Kids) and that's when Stanford got involved. With the Stanford team on board they could do really big things. Larry says that that was just, "The best thing the ever happened," for their ability to really make an impact. He says they were able to do things that just, "blew me away" in terms of scale and execution.

He tells the story of a day Anna Eshoo was assigned to his project, the same project Stanford was working on, and how much it all meant to everyone who was there that Stanford was participating. They brought 60 people, "All by themselves," and were able to install a commercial grade breaker in one day for the school.

In 2008, Larry and his sons bought Ocean Shore Hardware, the Hassett Hardware that is in Half Moon Bay. He found himself on six different boards, opening a new store and bringing his sons into the business and decided he had too many things on his plate. He stepped down from his role at Rebuilding Together, but Hassett Hardware still donates a large amount of supplies, at cost, to their efforts every year.

Hassett is currently working on a joint "Hardware Happy Hour" project to combine the needs of training all the volunteers with the resources available at our stores - both in material goods and in knowledgeable staff.

You keep your eyes peeled for more dates, times and location of those classes. I'm going to see if I can find Larry's leadership book.

- Jocelyn Lovelle

Core Values as Cornerstones

I love how our stores all embody the same Core Values, leading to a general culture of empowerment, fun, creativity and friendship; yet each store has its own style, its own take on that culture and how it embodies the Core Values. Each store team uses that empowerment to do their own thing, to better the experience for themselves and for our customers, in their own way.

If you work in a place with intentional culture, then this may still seem remarkable, but also understandable and even commonplace. However, if you have had experience with unintentional, unempowering or even negative company culture this might just blow your mind: The Willow Glen team decided to run this contest all on their own. It's not something the corporate team or the owner said to do. It's not something any of the other stores are doing. It's not something ACE suggested doing.

It's just a great idea that Willow Glen came up with on their own and implemented.  They made a raffle jar out of an old paint can (Innovation!), showcased some of our chalk paint, wrote our core values on the can and put it out there.

The thing that makes my heart sing about this is that at Hassett Hardware we know we have an entire company full of innovators and makers, and we act like it. I don't know the whole story behind how this particular great idea came into being, but my educated guess is that someone said to the store manager, "Hey, I think this would work," and the store manager probably said, "Great, let's try it." It's completely possible (and not unusual) that the person who thought of it may have just gone ahead and done it. 

We believe in each other and everybody knows it. What's the best thing that could happen? They try it. What's the worst thing that could happen? They try it. The best and worst are one in the same, because someone took an idea they had and implemented it. They experimented. They trusted themselves and the process and the fact that their idea was totally in line with the core values. Whether it works or not, is secondary. When the core values are used as the cornerstones for how we all act, we are each our own boss, navigating by a compass that always points in the right direction.

-Jocelyn Lovelle

Home From the Hardware Store

 

We stumbled upon a gem of a book that is right up our alley: “Home from the Hardware Store” by Stephen Antonson and Kathleen Hackett.

The cover features bolts of different sizes, screwed and stacked together to make rustic, but also beautiful candlestick holders. Who would have thought? I certainly wouldn’t have, and I spend more time in hardware stores than most. I also possess a good eye for design, but that isn’t enough to have come up with these original and inspired ideas. 

 

The creativity inside covers ground ranging from practical to whimsical to inspiring. What I like most is the combination of items we regularly see in the context of hardware - useful things, meant for a certain purpose - seen from a different point of view; stretched and modified into something of beauty and sometimes usefulness, but not in the way we expect. I love how this stretches my own thinking of what is expected and what is possible and how the one often keeps us from discovering the other.

 Note: All images taken from "Home from the Hardware Store" © Lesley Unruh

Succulent Classes are Back!

Last fall, we held a succulent wreath class - the first ever class at our new Redwood City location!

We had such a good time, we're hosting two more succulent classes on Saturday, February 13. Tiffany Polli, from Succulent Gardens will be back as our teacher and we've got several design options from which to choose!

Any of these classes will make a fabulous Valentine's Day gift!

10:30 AM:
Small Wooden Heart Box: $65








NOON:
Small Wooden Heart Box: $65
Small 6"x6" Succulent Box Wall Art: $65
Medium 6"x12" Succulent Box Wall Art: $90
Large 12"x12" Succulent Box Wall Art: $125
Medium 10" Succulent Wreath: $90

To sign up, please visit our store at 348 Woodside Plaza.

For more information, please contact info@hassetthardware.com.

Note: All images © Succulent Gardens

Hassett's Top 10 Moments From 2015

Hassett Hardware had a great year in 2015. We opened a new store, deepened our commitment to our culture and had a good time together. Here are some of the highlights:

Ribbon Cutting at Our New Redwood City Location with Mayor Jeff Gee

The Willow Glen Team During Spirit Week

ACE Ladies at Our Contractor Breakfast in San Mateo

San Mateo Shows Their Support for Trades People Day

Richard and Eric Hassett at the Grand Opening of Their Fifth Store in Redwood City

The Redwood City Team Gets Dressed Up for Their One Year Anniversary

Team Spirit During Spirit Week in Willow Glen

San Mateo Shows Some Love for Their Store

Our First Class in the Redwood City Garden Center

The Holiday Party 

Mosaic Table, Handmade With Love

One birthday a few years ago, our inventory manager shared this image with me. As part of her birthday celebration, her family decided to make her a mosaic table. The intent and thought and beauty around the making of this gift is so true and beautiful, I wanted to share it with you. Her father and daughter, ex-husband and his family, her boyfriend, and everyone’s significant others came together on her birthday, bringing with them the supplies needed to create her gift.

They brought the necessary broken tiles, mirrors, vases and whatnot, and they also brought something else: A memento that carried meaning for each one of them, to include in the table, to be there forever and remind Maureen of the love that is all around her. Her father included a little plastic toy bike, her daughter included a mug she’d had in her college days. An earring of a beloved and passed brother was added, and for each family member, a coin made during their year of birth was pressed into the design.

Made using recycled materials and love, this gift is kind to both people and the environment. This can be a fun project for any age and a great way to upcycle and preserve things you love - chipped flower pots, old mugs, antique mirrors from a grandmother's vanity or hand mirror, personal tokens and anything else you can think of!

Other ingredients you'll need:
Table
Weldbond or Thin-Set Mortar
Grout (There are lots of choices - you can get pre-colored grout, or add acrylic paint for color)
Rags
Trowel
Grout Sealer 

Adapted from the original article first published on thegreenextract.com and care2.com, 2011.

Five Star Yelp Review

Our Redwood City Store Where Myles Works

I've been inundated lately with kind words about our teams - at all our stores - and I thought it would be fun to post a series of Yelp reviews spotlighting individual employees. 

The owners, the corporate/support team, the managers - we can all do everything within our power to create a great culture that strives to give the best customer service possible, but it's the people on the floor, day in and day out, who do the work of greeting each customer with a smile and helping them as best as they can, who truly create the culture in our stores about which I keep hearing so many good things. So kudos to all of our energetic, dedicated, smart, loyal, thoughtful and helpful team. Here's the first in our series - a shout out to Myles in Redwood City:

Miles helped me out and I really have to say he went above and beyond. I needed to rig a custom stabilizer for my camera and Miles helped me explore several options, eventually settling on an outstanding solution. Miles also helped me cut the pieces necessary in store, on the spot. Very positive experience! Also the store is very clean and there were no lines. Winning!