Monthly issue, written by the staff who run the aisles. Restoration plumbing, paint technique, garden-bed reports, deck-build walkthroughs, knife-buying picks, family history. No ads, no affiliate links, no SEO content marketing — just things we think you'd want to know.
How we match cartridges from a customer's photo when the original-make stamp is worn off. Twelve years of these and we've got the catalog memorized.
"The 1947 Crane catalog has 138 mortise sets. About 30 of them survived into restoration projects in 2025. Here's how I narrow from a phone photo to a cartridge in under five minutes..."
Computer color-matching gets you 80%. Hand-mixing on the bench gets you the last 20%. The difference is a 30-second blink test against your sample.
"I do about 100 matches a day. The scanner is good — really good. But there's always a moment after the scanner where I dab a finger of paint on a sample card and hold it next to your swatch..."
The trial-bed report. What we planted in 2023, what came back in 2025, what we're recommending this spring. With photos and a plant list.
"Twenty-six perennials went in front of the Maplewood store in fall 2023. Eighteen came back vigorous; six came back weak; two didn't come back at all. Here's the list, with the soil-test data..."
From the napkin sketch to the city permit office to the joist hangers. The exact path I walk customers through in our Saturday clinic — written up here.
"The first thing I do at the deck-build workshop is mark setbacks. Most homeowners don't know their property line within a foot, and the city setback rules will eat you alive if you start before you check..."
Earl's anniversary issue. The signs we kept, the equipment we replaced, the staff who stayed, the partnerships we still run. Six decades, three stores, four generations.
"Earl opened with $4,200 in inventory and a hand-painted sign. The sign still hangs over the Falcon Heights door — restored in 2003 by Jim Park, my husband, before he passed. He repainted the brushstrokes by hand..."
Holloway-staff picks. The knives we own, the ones we'd buy again, and the ones we won't carry no matter what the rep says. With prices.
"I asked the four staff who do the most cooking which knife they'd buy if they were starting from scratch with $200. Two said the same thing; the others were close. Here's the consensus..."
No SEO content marketing. No affiliate links. No newsletter funnel. Each issue is a short essay or how-to from one of the people on the floor. Subscribe by email, or pick up the printed issue at any of the 3 stores. Both free.
