Tool company Garrett Wade is celebrating its 45th year. That’s a long way since it started, when its founder and namesake felt an entrepreneurial pull while rekindling his love of woodworking and tools. “I knew a lot about woodworking hand tools and had a real passion for good ones that were almost impossible for the non-professional to find,” he writes. “But the critical question was, were there other pending middle-aged (or older) people like me who secretly longed to reconnect to a stimulating earlier experience with manual arts training in secondary school? The instant answer for me was: ‘There had to be’. A month later, I quit my day-job and went to work.”

Launched in 1975 during the U.S. craft movement, the company soon became a trusted purveyor of tools in a time before the internet, when woodworking resources were sparse. It has since expanded its offerings beyond woodworking. In 1999, Garrett Wade launched its gardening and outdoor tool business.

To mark its anniversary, the company will be selling commemorative tools, from bench planes to shop aprons to tape measures, so its customers can celebrate along with the company.