Hardware Retailing The Industry's Source for Insights and Information
Bringing together HGTV stars, top DIY creators, woodworking experts, home improvement innovators, makers and creative entrepreneurs for three days of inspiration, education and hands-on learning, the inaugural DIY CON took place Nov. 6-8 in Dallas.
DIY CON offered a place for DIYers to meet the creators they’ve followed for years, test out and learn how to use DIY products and see some of their favorite HGTV stars and social media mega stars on stage sharing about their own DIY experiences, says lifestyle expert Kathryn Emery.
“DIY CON is the DIY world’s version of Comic-Con, bringing together personalities from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, HGTV and the maker community in that same place, with a warm, fun atmosphere,” Emery says. “The beer garden, the meet ups, the live music, Dallas knows how to host a party. A fan actually said to me, ‘I came for inspiration, but I left feeling like I could actually do some of these projects at home by myself.’”
A brand-new show, DIY CON worked to meet DIY consumers in new ways, says event director Hector Morfin-Chong.
“I think consumers have more inspiration than ever, but they also have more noise. Five or 10 years ago, finding a project idea or tutorial was often a challenge,” Morfin-Chong says. “Today, the challenge is deciding which advice to trust, which tool is right, whether a project is realistic and how to get started.”
Rather than simply watching content through a screen, attendees learned directly from the creators and experts they already trust. The event combined celebrity-led Main Stage conversations with hands-on workshops designed for beginners, intermediate DIYers and experienced makers alike. 
“People want practical guidance that fits their actual home, budget and skill level,” Morfin-Chong says. “They want to test products before spending money, learn from someone relatable and understand when they can do something themselves and when they should call a professional. They are also looking for confidence and community, not just another perfect before-and-after photo.”
The event’s goal was creating a place where consumers could move beyond inspiration and gain the confidence, skills and real-world connections needed to tackle their next project, Morfin-Chong says.
“In a world overflowing with content, DIY CON brings together the voices people already trust and puts them face-to-face with the community they inspire every day,” he says.
Sterling Cherry and Caitlin Driscoll made the trek from Alaska, looking for new ideas to break into the DIY market. Cherry serves as CEO and Driscoll as controller of Madison Lumber & Hardware in Ketchikan, Alaska, which has a DIY workshop in the store. Currently, about 60% of the store’s customers are pros and contractors, but Driscoll says they want to bring in more DIY customers.
“During our time at DIY CON, we hope to gain ideas on projects to host in our DIY workshop and discover new ways to connect with DIYers as customers,” Driscoll says.
Connecting With Creators
On the Main Stage, attendees heard from HGTV stars Drew Scott, Jonathan Scott, Ty Pennington, Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt and Cole and Chelsea DeBoer. 
Drew and Jonathan, known in DIY circles from their HGTV show, “Property Brothers,” shared advice for getting into DIY: Understand where you’re getting your information.
“There are millions of videos available on how to do every job out there, but I bet you the majority of them are people who have no business giving you advice,” Jonathan says. “So make sure you’re getting video content from actual professionals.”
Drew reiterated to leave ego out of DIY as well; DIYers don’t have to know everything. 
“That’s one thing that I think was important to us—if I don’t understand something, I’ll just figure out how to do it,” Drew says. “I’ll actually work hard to find out the truth, and then we’re good to go, but don’t pretend like you know what you’re doing if you don’t.”
Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt, hosts of 100 Day Dream Home, were excited by the energy of the DIY crowd and being surrounded by so many creative minds.
“As creatives, we love being inspired by ideas that we get from other people, too,” Mika says. “All the inventors, all the different ideas, all the creators and all the tools at DIY CON, it’s so much creative energy.”
With hand-ons being a primary focus of the event, two stages hosted Workshops where attendees learned the fundamentals of deck building from BYOTools’ Brent Gentling, built a live-edge charcuterie board, learned pocket-hole techniques from Anika Gandhi of Anika’s DIY Life and participated in creator-led experiences from Mason Smith of DadSocial.
In The Den, attendees chatted with makers, captured memories in the photo-op area and made a DIY CON keepsake. The Backyard featured a beer garden and kid-friendly hangout spot to relax, while the Kids Zone offered hands-on activities, fun experiments and take-home treasures.
The North American Hardware and Paint Association (NHPA) brought the 2026 Retailers’ Choice Awards products to share with DIYers at the event. Celebrating its 60th year in 2026, the Retailers’ Choice Awards honor the best, most creative and most innovative products of the year.
The DIY CON showfloor also featured over 75 vendors and manufacturers, each showing off the products and services they offer to help DIYers be more successful with their projects. The exhibitors also offered product demos and special show deals and discounts on their products.
“Thanks to DIY CON, I was able to make connections to other vendors and to the independent channel through NHPA,” says Rick Goren, DIY CON exhibitor and owner and inventor of Wristbeams and Rotoshovel. “It was also great to get our product out in front of consumers. Sales during those three days were through the roof.”
