Every time staff at Columbia Paint and Wallcover in Columbia, Tennessee, tint a new paint color for a customer, they dot a sample on a card and add it to the store library. The library, which started in the ‘80s, now spans an entire wall of the store. Cards are filed under each customer’s name so customers can find exact colors for touch-ups and repaints, or just take a trip down memory lane. 

“Our customers love flipping through their stack of cards and seeing the colors they’ve used over the years,” says owner Zach Maddux. Color samples get added to the library whether it’s a custom match or standard color from a paint chip, and regardless of the size of the order, from a half-pint sample to a 5-gallon bucket. 

“It’s a little nostalgic, kind of like looking through a collection of vinyl records. Contractors especially appreciate it because we can pull out a custom color we matched for a homeowner 30 years ago, show them exactly what it looked like, and recreate it in a newer product.”

Maddux, third generation owner of Columbia Paint, says he’ll occasionally find a card with his grandmother’s handwriting on it from a color she matched 40 years ago. For his grandmother, before modern electronic color databases, filing the cards may have been necessary to keep record of customer’s color choices. Today, for Maddux, it’s part of the store’s history and something that makes his business unique. 

“Is it practical? Maybe not, but it’s one of those things that sets us apart,” says Maddux. “Our customers have come to expect it, and it’s become part of the experience of doing business with us. Over the years, it’s become one of those traditions that’s worth keeping.”