marc's Bag

Who is marc?

marc burkes, born and raised in new orleans spent his career in the furniture industry. marc moved to chicago, illinois about 20 years ago to represent an upholstery line. since then, marc has added wilmette hardware and a lighting line to his portfolio. spend some time with marc and you will see he brings quality and style with a touch of southern hospitality.

walter baron, esq., an attorney who practiced in chicago, illinois provided funding for mr. burt allen to start a restoration and plating company in winnetka, illinois. al bar was founded and these two gentleman later merged with wilmette electroplaters (founded in 1937). they moved to our current location in the 1940's. since then we have acquired gilbertson's of chicago, a fine chicago silversmith.

with these combined talents and a desire for both quality and detailed workmanship wilmette hardware was established. our finishing is completed by hand - the old way - all under one roof in our facilities in wilmette, illinois. this allows for much better depth and quality of the finishes you see in our hardware.

wilmette hardware steps forward under the direction of gregory bettenhausen and a team of craftsmen. greg earned his bachelors degree in business finance from liberty university in lynchburg, virginia and his mba from lynchburg college in virginia.

we at al bar wilmette & wilmette hardware look forward to including your project in our history.