MISSOULA — This First Friday, there's a new shop to stop at — Lolo Hardware.
However, they don't make what you think of when you hear the name.
Going from basement to brick and mortar store, this Missoula hat business has definitely expanded.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nate Barton learned a skill that would change his life.
"My mom taught me how to sew to make chalk bags for climbing, and then quickly realized that you can't really make money selling chalk bags and wanted to make some more fun stuff," Barton said.
Through much collaboration, the Lolo Hardware business was born in Barton's basement.
"I met up with this guy, Carson, who works at the climbing gym and he designs gear and he sort of took me under his wing and taught me a lot of stuff and gave us access to machines and sort of snowballed from there like my sister and her friend did the logo," Barton said.
While not based in Lolo, Barton and friends spend a lot of time climbing there. They said the experiences they've had helped inspire the hats built for adventure.
"Climbing in Lolo specifically has had like a pretty big impact on my life and just like the community around that. It's probably my favorite place in the world," Barton said.
Now, the beanies have blown up, shipping nationwide and overseas.
"I bet we've sent a hat to every state at this point. We've sent lots of hats to Europe," Barton said. "It's definitely pretty surreal like going to like places on climbing trips and seeing folks like in our hats and like they just like have no idea who I am, and it's like yeah nice hat dude."
Now, in a big shop on the edge of the Hip Strip, Barton hopes Lolo Hardware is a mainstay in Missoula.
"It's been my job for the last five years, but it's been my full-time job for like the last six months. It's like 'OK it's getting real all of a sudden,' and that feels cool," Barton said.
