The Garden Center at Billings Hardware

3rd Year Anniversary Weekend!

This weekend, May 18, 19, & 20 marks the 3rd year that the "Big" Garden Center has been in action at Billings Hardware. Along with the great deals we continually offer our customers, we've decided to add a little something special to the mix.

Our Traeger Smoker Rep, Brittain, will be on hand doing product demo's Staurday from 11am to 3pm. Now is a great time to purchase a Trager Smoker, and during our Anniversary Weekend we'll throw in 2 bags of Traeger Wood Pellets, and 50% off a cover. Traeger is also offering a  Mail-In-Rebate, so you can recieve an extra $50.00 off a Lil' Tex, $70.00 off a Lil' Tex Elite, or $90.00 off the Texas Grill.

Out in the Garden Center you'll find outstanding deals, on 5 Gallon Snowbound, Vanhoutte, and Froebelii Spirea's. There's also this biggie. 

4 Pack Annuals $0.99 or $10.89 a 12 Container Flat!

So, stop by the Hardware Store this weekend and see the "Anniversary" sale pricing that we're passing along to you!

Get a jump on your summer adventures with the help of your friends at Billings Hardware & Garden Center. 

We have a full line of Weber Grills, Traeger Smokers, and all the gear to get you out on the BBQ. While you're out in the back yard enjoying the warm sunshine how about a friendly game of Bocce Ball or Croquet? 

Our expanded housewares department has everything you want to make entertaining friends and family easy. Grab one of our really cool Infusion Jars for a fun way of dispensing ice cold Lemonade, Iced Tea, or a refreshing Sangria! Ice Cream Makers, and every gadget you can think of to make your fruit and vegetable tray the star of the show are all ready to go.

The Garden Center has some great ideas for summer planters, and garden accessories. Get a standing planter from our Grownomics line. They're ideal for small apartment or condo patios, and great for flowers or vegetables. Have you had a chance to see this years 10" and 12" Hanging Baskets? They look outstanding. You can also tell your neighboors that you did all the labors and planting in your front porch Flower Containers. What they don't know won't hurt em' right?

Don't forget about tuning up that lawnmower or trimmer that's been sitting in the garage for the past 6 months. We have our own Repair Center. The home of Tune-Up-Express, yes, the one with the 48 Hour Turn Around Guarantee. Randy and his team are cranking out service work on your Stihl, Husqvarna, Honda Small Engine Motors, or that trusty Snapper. If you have a different type, call Randy, Gary, or Brendan at the Service Center and they'll sure let you know if it's something we fix.

Here's to another outstanding summer. See you soon.

 The 2nd Annual Billings Hardware Potting Event

Join us on Tuesday, May 8th from 6pm to 8pm in the Garden Center for the 2nd Annual Potting Event. If you attended last year, expect a better time this year, and if you couldn't make it, don't miss out again. We provide the Potting Soil, and offer a great selection of plants, pots, and products at great discounts.

Jeremy Engebretson, Chef/Owner of Lilac Restaurant will be serving up some light appetizers.

www.lilacmt.com

And our good friends down at City Vineyards will be setting us up with some great wine selections. We'll also have one of our incredible Flavored Iced Tea's on hand. See you there!

www.cityvineyardwine.com

Thanks for joining us for the Outdoor Power Equipment Event. Even though weather forced us indoors we managed to have a great time anyway. We're throwing a special "shout-out" to Toby, from Husqvarna, Chase, from Stihl, Don, from Gardner/Scott's, and Todd, with Snapper. 

If you purchased a piece of equipment that weekend bring your reciept on down and pick up a free hat specific to your product. Just ask for Jade, Randy, or Justin and we'll get you hooked up. 

“Canstruction” ®

It’s time for the third Annual Rocky Mountain College Canstruction ® event.

What is Canstruction® ?

Teams of architects, designers, students and community members work together over several months on the event, which provides thousands of cans of food for the hungry and homeless.

Canned food is the primary building material of the structures, however any food that can benefit clients may be used. The structures are judged by the best use of labels, best meal created and structural integrity.

The final viewing and voting of the completed canned structures will be held at Rimrock Mall, April 14^th through 20^th 2012, with all proceeds benefiting the Billings Food Bank, and Billings Family Services.

The 2012 theme is, “Hunger for Shopping.”

What you “can” do?

This weekend stop by Billings Hardware with a canned item and donate to this very worthwhile cause. The amount of people dependent on the food bank in our community alone is staggering.

Jill Washburn, Campus Corps leader at Rocky Mountain College will be here on Saturday to relay information about the event and accept donations, RMC & Billings Food Bank barrels will be here through Monday morning, so if you miss Saturday, be sure to swing by on Sunday. This is one event where every small donation can make a big difference to a local family.

If you miss Jill in the store, and would like to donate or receive more information about Canstruction® contact Jill Washburn at, campuscorps@rocky.edu

Canstruction® is a volunteer trademarked charity of the Design and Construction

Industry under the auspices of the Society for Design Administration.

We're kicking off the season big time this year starting with the Spring Home Improvement Show. We are pleased to announce the addition of Husqvarna to our already extensive line up of power equipment. Great Product, Great Value, Great Dependability and priced right.

Randy and Gary in our Repair Center are rolling out a program tailor made for you. Begining this weekend we'll be offering Tune Up Express. Now you can have your lawn mower ready for the first cut of the season in 48 hours or less. Guaranteed. Just jump on over to our Repair Center page for details, and to take advantage of this incredible offer.

Mid-March and early April are the ideal times to aerate and fertilize for a lush, green summer lawn. Be the envy of your neighboorhood, when hosting that May Block Party. We have aerators, mulchers, and almost anything else you'd need to start your outdoor grooming and maintainance routine available in our new Equipment Rental Center located at the Repair Shop.

Speaking of May block parties, Traeger is currently offering rebates on their most popular smokers. Stop by the store and check one out. If you've ever thought about owning a smoker now's the time as this rebate end March 31st.

You'll find Holland Bulbs arriving later this month, and we've got the soil, and ammendments you'll need to grow something amazing. It's also a great time to start your spring seed with a portable green house. We're sure to have a size that suits your needs, 2 shelf, 4 shelf, or a deluxe model for the backyard.

See you soon! 

Longing for the green, colorful days of summer? We've got an early season start for you with some incredible live houseplants. Starters, Hanging baskets, Aloe, Jade, large planters, it's all here.

Deb and Sharon have been hard at work creating an awesome display, flower pots, and soil treatments are on hand.

Come down and check them all out, center stage.

 TJ Comstock

TJ Comstock’s exposure to retail came early. When he was six months old, his family purchased a grocery and hardware store in Eureka, Mont., and a few years later, he was toddling around the store, helping dust and stock shelves. While he likely didn’t realize it at the time, these were the formative years of a career that would quickly make its mark on the Montana retail landscape.

Comstock’s retail education continued throughout his childhood. At age 10, Comstock was learning skills such as inventory management, advertising and marketing from his father and even tagging along to meetings with the store’s lawyer and accountant. After his high school graduation, Comstock stepped in to help out his family and manage their 5,000-square-foot hardware business when the previous manager left the store.

But he also had his mind set on exploring other career opportunities. He left the store to pursue a degree in secondary education at the University of Montana, and, after graduating early with honors, he began working for the Scientific Application International Corporation. But it wasn’t long before he realized he felt more at home in the family hardware business than in corporate America and he returned to Eureka.

In 2006, an opportunity presented itself when the owner of Billings Hardware in Billings, Mont., was looking to retire. It was the opportunity Comstock was waiting for, and he jumped on the chance to purchase the store. While the store was already highly visible and profitable, he recognized a need to build on the current clientele and better target Generation Xers. He understood the shopping experience for Generation X customers was about more than just price—Gen Xers expect a complete shopping experience.

Comstock’s goal was to create unique and creative displays that would attract attention and ultimately generate sales. He quickly identified the paint department as an area in need of improvement. Since most customers looking for paint are initially drawn in by color, he began by moving the color chip racks to the front of the department. He also built an up-scale paint mixing station complete with copper counters, rough timbers and a faux rock archway. The hard work paid off as paint department sales increased by 38 percent.

Comstock continued to spruce up the store and soon moved on to the store’s nursery. By expanding on selection and using the same concept of grabbing the customers’ attention with elaborate statues and fountain displays, live plant sales grew by 270 percent. He even made a point of maximizing the nursery space in what is traditionally the off-season by creating a Christmas tree yard in the winter and a pumpkin patch in the fall.

In late 2006, Comstock continued to expand by purchasing his parents’ store in Eureka, Mont. Since the purchase, he has increased the store’s total sales by 67 percent. The following year, he took the next step toward growing the business when he opened a store in Roundup, Mont., his third store in two years. True to his style, each store has its own unique personality and clientele.

Comstock does take time out of the store; he plays timpani drums in the Billings orchestra. But sometimes that time-out is spent visiting the home of a customer to provide a little free-of-charge assistance with a home repair project. It’s just another way he’s making a big impact and creating a new standard for hardware retailing in big sky country.