Jay Jones sells jewelry. It’s jewelry not of gold, but of brass and iron and steel and bronze and aluminium. It is jewelry of porcelain and glass and zinc. It’s jewelry for the home: knockers, faucets and basins.
“It’s usually the last thing you want to pick out when you want to get the project done, but it’s what ties everything together in my opinion,” Jones said.
There’s enough hardware at Jones’s store in the Glen Roc Shopping Center on Scotch Road in Ewing to bejewel a great many houses. Visitors to Home Hardware Designs can choose from 40,000 different cabinet knobs, 30 different finishes for metal bathroom fixtures and thousands of other pieces of hardware.
Everything at the store, from the humblest knob to a $5,000 electronic Japanese toilet, is custom-ordered from manufacturers. Some are high tech, like Toto, the toilet manufacturer, and others, like French brand Bouvet, forge their wares in iron, using methods dating back to the middle ages.
Jones, who served as a chef in the Navy for 12 years, started the business in 1999 after his past employer retired. He started out with a single storefront in the shopping center, but over the years he expanded the business to the neighboring properties.
Jones said hardware is in his blood. His father was a master builder and his great uncle owned a hardware store.
The store is not the only place Jones does business. He is willing to consult with clients in their homes to help them pick the right hardware for their space, at no extra charge. He also specializes in procuring hardware to match historical items.
“I can usually find almost anything,” he said.
Though many items of hardware are timeless, technology is even changing the simple doorknob. Jones said keyless entry systems are becoming more popular among gadget hounds, as they are becoming more stylish and less industrial looking every year. Some systems let the user unlock their house using a cell phone.
On the plumbing side, bronze and copper sinks are popular. High tech bathroom innovations include a bathtub that changes colors using fiber-optic lighting and that can play music using the water as a sort of speaker. That tub costs $9,000.
Another trend in the business is that customers are seeking American-made goods over foreign brands. While most utilitarian products come from overseas, Jones said, American makers specialize in more decorative items.
“Most of the artsy stuff is made here,” he said.
Jones said he tries to discourage his clients from installing “trendy” items that will look dated in a few years, and instead go with timeless taste. Nevertheless, he said, oil rubbed bronze and antiqued brass are popular at the moment.
Home Hardware Designs is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Home Hardware Designs is located at 192 Scotch Road in the Glen Roc Shopping Center. On the Web: homehardwaredesigns.net. On Facebook as Home Hardware Designs LLC. Phone: (609) 883-5353.
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