Between the all hammers and nails, shovels and rope are often activities and events unusual for your average hardware store. Over the last year, Yellow Springs Hardware owner Dan Badger occasionally transforms his store into a performance space, a music venue, a plant nursery, an improv school and more. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
More than just hardware
- Published: August 6, 2024
By El Mele
Yellow Springs Hardware has been buzzing with activity, and not just from the power tools.
Over the last few months, the local store has been a host to a variety of classes, activities and events, dubbed “The Hardware Store Sessions” by owner Dan Badger.
When ownership changed hands from Shep Anderson and Gilah Pomeranz to Badger in October 2021, Badger knew some major changes would need to take place in order to keep the store open.
“We wouldn’t be able to continue to operate as only a conventional small-town hardware store,” Badger told the News in a recent interview. “Which is both scary and really fun, because there isn’t a guide on how to do that. It allows you to play around, try different things and see what feels good and what the community responds to.”
Earlier this year, Yellow Springs Hardware owner Dan Badger (and his furry co-owner Orville) moved several of his shop’s shelves to make way for occasional audiences — room to spectate for music shows, improv performances and more. (Photo by Reilly Dixon)
Since taking over the store, Badger has diversified the store’s services to include welding, knife sharpening, fiber optic internet installation, handyman work and lamp repair, among others.
“The whole experience over the past few years has been experimentation and reflection,” Badger said. “How to fill needs in the community and our own lives.”
The most recent addition to these ventures includes a physical space in the store. Over the winter, Badger removed some of the large shelving on the left side of the store to create floor space — or, as he put it, “a sandbox for ourselves to play in.”
Since then, the space has been used for all kinds of activities, including fixing and selling used bicycles, public chess tournaments taking place every Saturday at 4 p.m., and 4-H meetings. The space also functions as a classroom, with a class on invasive species taught by local gardener Molly Finch in the past, an improv class taught by Justin Howard currently running Tuesdays until September 17, and an upcoming lowbow-making class Aug. 16–18 ($400, five seats left).
“We’re looking at ways to make the space a place of gathering and learning around town,” Badger said. “We’re lucky that the community of Yellow Springs is so ready to jump on board with ideas that we’ve had on ways to use the space. The response that we’ve received for just about everything that we’ve tried has been positive.”
One of the facets of “The Hardware Store Sessions” that Badger is particularly excited about is hosting performances in the space.
“The idea originally came from conversations with my friends and I, who are all performers, sitting around the store with me and brainstorming ideas,” he said. “Naturally, the idea for a performance space kept coming up.”
Since then, the store has hosted improv nights, musicians and speakers, with most of the performers being locals.
“It was important to me at that time for me to make it felt by the community and for the community,” Badger said. “I wanted to have local people coming to see local people perform.”
As YS Hardware continues its exploration of what’s possible for the retail space, Badger said he has worked with the Village of Yellow Springs to make sure he is in compliance with current zoning code.
“We checked in to the way we were doing things to make sure we were doing them correctly, and the Village was very receptive to what we were up to and very helpful in understanding what the limits are to what we can do with the space and how to use it,” he said. “While you’re trying to figure out how to do things, there’s always some anxiety and stress around learning what the rules are and who gets to make the decisions. But it all worked out in a positive way.”
Badger added: “We’re very lucky to have landlords who are willing to support us. Kim Baldwin has been very easy to communicate with and very easy to work out the different crazy ideas that we have and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
More events are in the works for the month of August and beyond. For more information on upcoming activities, see the “Community Calendar” on page 2 of the News or the Yellow Springs Hardware Facebook page. Tickets for all activities are available in-person at the store or over the phone at 937-767-7451.
*The author is a student at Antioch College and a freelance reporter for the News.
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