Today we’d like to introduce you to Lynn and Tracy Dowd.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Lynn and Tracy. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
During the early ’90s, I was a self-employed furniture maker. Having become a big fan of Roy Underhill and his show “The Woodwright’s Shop”, I decided to incorporate antique hand tools into my furniture making process. Buying old hand tools for use evolved into antique hand tool collecting. Eventually, in self-defense, I decided to sell off duplicates of hand tools I had accumulated, in order to buy more hand tools. In 1996, a friend, who is also a tool collector, and I decided to have a one day garage sale in order to “thin the herd”. The response was unexpected, and overwhelmingly positive. Thus, the Semi-Annual One Old Sorehead & One Nice Guy Vintage & Antique Tool Sale was born. The twice yearly sale transformed to become a full time gig which my wife, Tracy, and I run from our home. We offer the largest selection of antique tools in Texas, and Dowd’s Vintage & Antique Tools has become, in the immortal words of Steven Fromholz, a “rumor in my own time.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The main challenge has been finding fresh inventory. This is not a business where you can contact your supplier and say “send me X number of Y items”. Old tools must be sought out, stealthily hunted down, sometimes doing battle with the likes of spiders, snakes, and other varmints and wee beasties, before wrestling them into a box or tote sack and carrying them home (the tools, not the critters). Fortunately, we have been at this long enough that people now call or come by when they have a collection, workshop, or even a few pieces they need to liquidate.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
In addition to our company name, our business cards state “Hand Tools for the Craftsman and the Collector.” There has been a resurgence of interest in hand craftsmanship over the past couple of decades, in both the professional and amateur sectors, and we aim to provide hand tools to those craftsmen and craftswomen. People enjoy using vintage and antique hand tools because it connects them to the history of their craft, the collector market, also, is much more robust than most folks realize. The fact that we are the largest and best known antique tool dealer in Texas sets us apart. Our clientele is not limited to Texas, however, nor to just the USA.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was much shorter.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1400 Williams Dr.,
Garland, Texas 75043 - Website: www.dowdstools.com
- Phone: 972-271-8665
- Email: lynn@dowdstools.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dowdstools/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dowds.tools/
