Liz Gordon got into the hardware business 40 years ago, back in Chicago when she bought out a 4000 sq ft warehouse full of antiques. Instead of going to law school, she decided to go into the business of picking architectural salvage instead.
- Store features one million pieces of antique hardware
- Spanish Revival pieces among the most popular
- Recycled pieces have environmental benefit
“Doors and windows and furniture and lighting and bath accessories,” recalls Gordon. “The key is really organization.”
When Gordon moved to California, she shipped 50 50-gallon drums full of hardware, which she sold at the Long Beach and Rose Bowl flea markets. Then she found a vacant space within walking distance of the Farmers Market on Fairfax.
Barely in he 30s, Gordon opened her namesake shop in 1992 and has been there ever since.
“They date from 1880, which is the colonial design to Victorian design to the Spanish Revival line of wall sconces,” explains Gordon.
“And that is really what Los Angeles looks for is Spanish Revival because that is so much of our residential architecture.”
One millions pieces under one roof is how Gordon describes her store. Drawer pulls, curtain rings and socket covers, all antique, and all of it saved from remodels and demolitions. One person’s trash is another’s treasure.
“This room really is the need room,” says Gordon. “This is really a room that so many people when they need to accomplish what they have to do in order to make their things work, this is the room.”
Buying used usually means cheaper, but there’s more effort in a restoration project and there are benefits.
“Environmental aspects are so important that we save as much as we can. You wouldn’t be able to find any of it because it would all be in the landfills,” says Gordon.
Good to know your Spanish Revival restoration pieces not only look good, but aren't bad for the planet.