The Helpful Hardware Store

 

1/4/25 Maple Leaf Ace Hardware 

The Maple Leaf Ace Hardware store, which I have sketched many times over the years, is a quintessential neighborhood store. Although the family-owned franchise changed ownership a few years ago, some staff people have been working there almost as long as I’ve been going there (35-plus years). Greg used to be the one who did most of our shopping there, but now it’s my go-to, too, when I need the one random thing to finish a task. It’s the kind of place where I can walk in, say, “I need those stick-on things that you put on the ottoman feet to keep them from scratching the floor and also to keep it from sliding – do you have those?” And they walk you to the right aisle. I could never, ever get that kind of service at Home Depot (let alone Amazon).

Walking up to Ace to pick up the quart of custom-mixed paint I had ordered the previous day, I stopped first to make this sketch. The store was still decked out in holiday lights and a huge lighted wreath. Long live neighborhood hardware stores.

Technical note: This is the kind of building I actually don’t enjoy drawing. Despite its mostly plainish look (other than the prominent, triangular façade), the perspective is not easy if I were to care about getting it right. My current comic-y style really saves me in this regard. Instead of fussing with a pencil and getting annoyed when the result is wonky, I go straight in with the marker and embrace whatever results. Long live comics!