Holy Cow, Faron!!! That is one nice Ace !!! Ours has nothing compared to that. (The best ours has to offer in 'non-traditional' Ace stuff is a big Carhart/Redwing section. :/ ) I'd love to shop at one like yours. Ingenious marketing!

Thanks for the tour, very nice!
(purdy pooch, too, BTW ;)

Thanks Moon!
I didn't know how to isolate the store pictures from the "DD's bedroom color & pooch" pix taken in June.

* Do you/can you create separate albums on P-bucket?!?!?
* I would've spared everyone from the "Impeccable" bedroom-painting shots!
* The store pix look much better when viewed full-screen.
* Betcha couldn't find the "real" pooch...HA-HA!!;-)

Faron

Yep, you can create sub-albums in PBucket to organize your photos (but I wouldn't move the ones you've posted above into a sub album, it will break the link and we'll just see empty boxes with red X's). More on that below.

Let me try to walk you through it:
Log into your PB account.
On the upper left you'll see "My Sub Albums".
In the box, type a name to identify your sub album and click "Save". So let's say you create one called "The Pooch".
Next time you want to upload photos of you pup into PB, don't stay at the main page. You have to click on the sub album "The Pooch" (so you're inside that album), then upload any photos of your pup and they will go into "The Pooch" sub album. Then if you want one of your house, create a sub album called "House" and repeat the process above.

You can edit/delete/move/etc. any of the photos in your PB account. Just click on the small box just below a photo. That will outline the photo in red. Then tick off the option above the photo you've selected such as "delete" or "move". Keep in mind once you've uploaded a photo it's assigned it's own unique URL. Right now all the above Ace photos are under the main album, so links look something like this: "https://....Faron79/photo name". If you create a sub album now titled "Work" and moved the pictures into that album, each of the photos would be assigned a new, unique URL ending with "https//...Faron79/Work/photo name". That would then void the original link in your post above and we wouldn't see squat. ;) PB will also give you a pop up warning screen that moving photos will break the link and that original URL/link will be dead. But if you like things organized like I do, go ahead and reorganize the album and then just post the new links here. Easiest to do when the album is new and doesn't have a bazillion pictures in it.

(Sometimes, for various reasons, people prefer not to leave pictures floating around this board indefinitely. So if you ever want to remove any of your photos from older posts here, but you still want to leave them online in your PB account, just move the photo to a different sub album, you've broken the link, and pictures will no longer be visible to us in your old post.)

About Public vs. Private. You can designate your account either way (that setting is under "account options" far upper right of page in PB). If you leave your album public, everybody sees everything ;) So let's say you post one picture here. Anyone who is nosy or curious can click on your photo, see the web address, take off the ending of that address which gets them back to your main "http://....Faron79"; page and then they are looking at your whole album.

If your album is marked Private, nobody gets in without a password. You are still able to insert an image from a Private album in a post here. But if someone were to try to cut off the end of the address and get to your main album page to browse around, they couldn't do it. They'd be at the PB log in page prompting them for a password. So all anyone can see of a private album is what you've inserted into a post here, nothing more.

You could do what I do and have two ;D
Since you'll need a separate email addy for another account, just sign up under a hotmail, yahoo, etc. email address. I use my public album strictly for virtuals I do here, private is for stuff like family photos and guys in garbage cans ;D

It's an Ace Hardware with C2, Sikkens, a 'Decor' area and a Cafe? I don't know about the rest of the country, but my Ace stores have none of that stuff. I mean, your Ace looks like a place people would actually like to shop. I'm curious about the marketing of Ace and how it works. How come yours looks like that and ours do not? Is it up to the individual owners of each Ace to decide how to lay their store out? Is it a franchise? I mean seriously around here it seems that Ace has just given up because of competitors like Lowes, Home Depot and Menards are literally everywhere. The only reason I would go to Ace is because it's 1 mile closer than Menards and I'm lazy or I'm desperate for some BM and don't want to drive to my paint store. But, if all the Ace's looked like yours they may have something to offer. It's got that Border's like homey feel to it. Home Depot doesn't have a cafe.

OMG, Faron, if I didn't know better, I'd think that you "doctored" those pics. I've never seen an Ace store that looks anything at all like yours. Our Ace paints occupy two aisles of a country lumber yard, so seeing yours makes me realize how little we have. I know you must enjoy working in such a neat (minus the dog shot) environment. I really did enjoy seeing these photos, though, because it helps me visualize your expertise. By the way, why didn't you have someone "shoot" you?

I wish I could say it was MY $$$ behind it!!! The family that owns/drives the business is ALL Sporting-Goods...we're the ONLY Hardware store.

We moved into these digs Nov. '06. Home Decorating/Building around here has been booming, so I'd say 50% of this buildings' floorspace is Decor-related...flooring, lighting, counters, furniture, Art, etc., etc.

Often, I have to wander the 10' in the morning to get an Espresso, or Mocha! Coffee too of course!! DD likes the White-Mocha's. There's sandwiches available too. No grill/oven, but the Chicken-salad is VERY good!

It's so damn distracting in the a.m....smelling Cappucino's & Cookies baking when I'm at the counter where you see the 2 LCD screens side-by-side!!! Those 2 computers run each of the "conventional" tinters.

I didn't even takes pix in the BBQ/Seasonal area; L&G; Power-Equipment; Rental/Service-counter/Engine-shop; Automotive; Traditional-Hardware; Plumbing; Lighting; Electrical; Ceiling-fan areas; OR Kitchen/Housewares......whew!

Lotsa Weber Grills & Lawnmowers roll out of here in the summer!! Now, the Power-equip. display-area is dominated by...SNOWBLOWERS!!!

Our actual PAINT area is almost the smallest floor area, but it's up front. Again, my apologies for the VERY MESSY bulk-racks of Paint!!! I'll post more pix here when I get them filled in decent.

Hey Blue! People often bring their dogs/pets in!! Someone has a huge Great-Dane in sometimes! I was typin' away recently near the Cafe, & saw this "dog's back" goin' by!! I've had our dog in a few times on days off.

Do ya wanna see any other pix?!?!

Faron

Wow....another apology...
Sorry I forgot to re-size that LARGE photo! It screws-up all these "mile-wide" posts!
Moon...is there a way to fix it?!?!?
Faron

Two ways to get to resize option.
In your row of photos in your PB account, pick a photo & click on the little box immediately below and to the left of that photo. Then choose "edit" just above the photo.~OR~ just double click on the photo itself. At the next screen you'll see a larger version of that photo. Above it is a row of commands. Click on the 'down arrow' just to the right of "resize" command. Choose "website, email" resize option, size is 320 x 240. Once done it's permanent (at least on PBucket).

A good rule of thumb for future reference: images that will be posted to the web or emailed are best sized to 640 pixels max on the image's largest side. (Helps people on dial-up or using smaller/older monitors.) This has to be done before ever uploading to PBucket because PB doesn't offer that size option. So in your computer's photo edit software, resize the image you want to upload to 640 x 480 pixels then upload to PB. That's a good all purpose size, easy to view but doesn't stretch a post.

You can also resize to "Thumbnail" in PB, which will present a much smaller image here (maybe 1" x 2" or so) but when we click on it we are taken to the full size version in your PB account. I think your PB account must be Public in order for Thumbnails option to work, tho. (I had trouble with Thumbnails when that option first came out, so quit trying it, but have seen members in Home Dec successfully post with it.)

I'd suggest uploading a generic photo into PB that you don't plan to share (dog, car, lamp ;D ) and using the Test forum here and doodle with this till you get the hang of it. You can post pics to your heart's content, that's what that forum is for ;)

Paintguy: Faron can correct me, but I think Ace are independently owned franchises. The 3 nearest me are a chain owed by the same family. There was a 4th (not owned by this family) that was around for years then Menards came along and built right next door and that was the kiss of death for that little Ace. (Also ruined our little True Value here in town, I so miss that store, so handy for a quick run for nails, etc.)

The family 'chain' has added the most recent two stores in primarily residential areas, next to grocery stores. A convenient stop. The one I frequent (near my mom's) does a whopping business and it's the 3rd one in the chain they opened. I think they do well because although there is a HD, Lowe's & Mendards all next to each other about 4 miles away, it's a bear getting through traffic any more to get to the big box stores. The 'neighborhood' Ace concept is nice, mgr knows and talks to us regulars, gives me discounts if I'm just missed a sale, a really nice guy ;)

I swear, if any of our local Ace's looked like Faron's, I'd be in that place all the time. I'm tempted to show my local Mgr those photos, because there is vacant store space next door he could expand to ;)

My bad!! I never answered Paintguys question!!

ACE is a hardware-purchaser/distributor with its own Paint-Plant (a very good one too!). If a store-owner opened an ACE-affiliated shop, he'd order supplies/paint through ACE. How they set up the actual store is entirely up to the owner.
There are of course ACE departments that will lay-out buildings, etc. The store owner buys/orders what they want. If they want, they stock other companies' products too.
The store where I'm at, ACE is only 1 of MANY suppliers. Obviously C2 & Sikkens aren't handled by ACE!! The ENTIRE Home-Decor operation has NOTHING to do with ACE, and it's 50% of our buildings' floorspace! I order Ralph-Lauren paint directly from ICI, and SOME Purdy brushes (that ACE doesn't) directly from Purdy, etc., etc.....

Basically, THIS ACE operation is a small-upscale hardware store with MANY other things in it!
>>> In this one building, you could...
* Order a $3,000 leather couch,
* Drop $2g's on Artwork,
* Buy a few custom-blinds, order carpet....
* Get an electrical-box/wire,
* Fix the toilet/sink/shower...
* Buy lots of nuts/bolts,
* Get oil for the cars....
* Many tools!!
* Snag a nice 12-hp Toro snowblower, shovels, ice-melt...
* Replace the grill with a sharp $1500 Weber Platinum...
* And of course...cruise through a good Paint dep't.!
* Ooops! Forgot the Housewares area! Gotta get that Krups coffeemaker, & the nice Kitchenaid mixers! Lotsa other stuff too in HSW.

Faron

Hey back to you, Faron, I was teasing you with my dog comment. I was just glad to see so many trash bags mixed in with the toys and dog. I've been decluttering my house, getting ready to put it on the market, so trashbags are no stranger to me. I'm also busy painting--sorry but I'm using Pratt and Lambert. I've never seen C2 in my neck of the woods. I've also never (at least not that I can remember) seen any dog (other than one for the visually impaired) in any store as they aren't allowed. Too bad--I've loved mutts all my life, ha. Happy Thanksgiving, Faron, as well as the rest of the paint community!

Hi Blue (& everyone else!),
Yeah, I knew you were kidding!! B4 painting, we had to unload DD's room of "mega-amounts" of stuffed animals. So, out in the living-room the bags went! We thought "staging" the dog amongst all the other "animals" would make a cute shot!

I'm glad the management isn't a^al enough to prohibit an occasional pooch from coming in! It's a HARDWARE-STORE for God-sakes!!! Well, the Hardware 1/2 of the store is anyway!

Faron

Very nice, Faron! I would love to shop there!

Wowee! I'm loving your store - talk about one-stop shopping! Now all you need is a section with home/garden related books (or maybe you have that already).

Seeing all those C2 cans makes my knees weak - kinda like foreplay :) Love that paint.

Where is this store??? I may need to book my next vacatio in that city....

Faron! Your store is so cool. Gosh, I wish. ;-) Doesn't look like it's going to happen though.

What a great place to work. You are so good at what you do and I can tell you really enjoy it. Thanks so much for posting the pictures to share. Super looking paint department and the whole dang store is just beautiful!

Thanks for the nice comments guys!
I'm gonna post a few more pix soon of the rest of the store, AND straighten-up my bulk-racks!

Fun-C...progress in which direction...?!?!?!...;-)

Faron