Smart Hardware helps build PK
Story by Steve Nussbaum | Photos by Erika Carter
Pictured left to right: James and Jennifer Milton; John and Malinda Smart
In 2009, John and Malinda Smart were living in Southlake and looking for a lake house at Possum Kingdom when they found a fixer-upper on the peninsula and began making the necessary improvements.
John Smart was a contractor, so the idea of major projects didn’t deter him, but while fixing up the house he had a hard time finding the necessary supplies they needed at the lake.
In early 2010, the Smarts drove by the local hardware store and noticed it was for sale. John Smart had seen the need for a hardware store at the lake and thought he and his wife could improve on the existing business. He then thought of his son-in-law and daughter, James and Jennifer Milton, because “the only way we would consider buying the store was if James and Jennifer would partner with us,†he said. James Milton had been working in management for Tractor Supply, and John Smart knew his son-in-law was familiar with the merchandising and pricing strategies needed to make the store a success.
It turned out that convincing the younger couple to relocate from Terrell, Texas, wasn’t difficult. The Miltons had two small children at the time, and both couples ended up buying the old hardware business together on a hope and a prayer. None of them had any real connections to the area or community, but to all of them it felt like the right decision.
The Miltons relocated and rented a house near Graham so their children, Marilyn and Mason, could attend school in that community, and the couple eventually built a house on their own land near the Wildcatter Ranch in between PK and Graham. Jennifer Milton found work in Graham as a hospice nurse, while her husband and father began the task of building the hardware business.
For the Miltons, small-town life has been a blessing for their family. They love that living in Graham allowed their children to be involved in so many sports, and that the couple has been able to take active roles in both the PK and Graham communities. Marilyn, now 19, worked this past summer in the store, and her 16-year-old brother attends Graham High School.
James Milton said the hardware store is constantly adding different merchandise based on the needs of its customers, with all the basic hardware supplies necessary, but it has added other revenue sources to the mix, too. The store does a lot of special orders for customers and prides itself on listening to their needs.
In 2014, Smart Hardware added a gun room, with a wide variety of guns, rifles and handguns, and this last year saw the addition of an extensive selection of Traeger grills. The store has been carrying Benjamin Moore paints almost since the beginning, too, with a full selection of paints and supplies.
Smart Hardware also emphasizes heating supplies in the winter and garden supplies in the spring, and the store recently added propane to its assortment. This allows customers to refill their own custom propane tanks, and that has been a big hit.
In 2016, Smart Hardware added Smart Graphics to its inventory. Smart Graphics focuses on custom-printed T-shirts, signage and other printed items.
In 2019, Smart Graphics moved to Graham, and in 2021 Jennifer Milton left her nursing job to work full time in the family business. She now runs Smart Graphics in Graham, and that adjustment has allowed the business to focus on its customers in the entire PK area.
In 2014, Smart Hardware added a gun room, with a wide variety of guns, rifles and handguns. Pictured left to right: John and Malinda Smart; Jennifer and James Milton
Last year saw the addition of an extensive selection of Traeger Grills. The store is widely
stocked with all your hardware and building supply needs.
Meet the Smart Hardware team. Pictured front row, left to right: Jennifer Milton; Malinda Smart; and Kirsti Adamson. Back row: Paul Williams; James Milton; John Smart; and Mark Fulkerson. Not pictured: Gary Burney
Smart Hardware prides itself on servicing its customers, and James Milton admitted he couldn’t do it without the help of staff members such as Kirsti Adamson, the store’s sales manager.
“Kirsti was very green about the hardware business, but jumped right in to learn,†he said, and she now has been with the business for nine years.
Other longtime employees are Gary Burney, who has been around for 12 years, and Mark Fulkerson and Paul Williams, who each have worked in the store for two years.
Today, Smart Hardware is ever-changing, and the Smarts continue to give guidance from the customer perspective, while Jennifer Milton continues to expand the graphics business in Graham. It’s a crazy, busy life for the entire family, but they have no regrets – and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
