“I have a lot of tools in the garage and I was always hauling him out of the garage like, ‘Leave my tools alone.’”
That’s not something most parents have to say to their 7-year-old son. But Owen Alley is no ordinary little boy. He’s the Kobalt Kid.
“For my birthday in November, I got a Kobalt miter saw,” explained his mom, Jennifer Delano. “His favorite color is blue, so I think that was the initial draw. And then he wanted to go to Lowe’s and check out all the other Kobalt tools.”
So that’s what Owen and his mom have been doing… for years. Perusing the aisles of the Lowe’s of Bangor, Maine looking for his next purchase and his next project. Because if any DIYing is being done around the house – Owen wants to be a part of it.
“I can’t do anything without him right there,” Delano laughed. “The other day he was in my kitchen making sure all my hinges on my cabinets were tight.”
Owen’s obsession with Kobalt doesn’t have an end in sight. He got Kobalt tools for Christmas. He and his mom built his own “Kobalt trailer” out of materials they had in their garage. And he’s already got his eye on what he wants next.
“He comes up to me and he goes, ‘Can you put my Power Wheels for sale on the marketplace so I can sell it and get some money so I can go buy a drill?’” Delano said.
Leaning into her son’s passion, Delano decided to throw Owen a Kobalt-themed birthday party this year, complete with a Kobalt cake, Kobalt cookies, balloons, streamers and more. But by this point, Lowe’s had already seen a post about Owen and his love of Kobalt on social media. And this was an opportunity Lowe’s store manager Ryan O’Donnell couldn’t pass up.
My initial thought was what a great opportunity to be a part of. You don’t see or get a chance to be a part of something like this that often.
Loaded up with a Kobalt gift set fit for a Pro, O’Donnell made a surprise appearance at Owen’s birthday party, sending this birthday boy all the way to cloud nine.
“Ryan came to my house and he gave me this Kobalt speaker,” Owen said. “And he gave me a big light. A Kobalt one! I was so excited.”
But his favorite item?
“The impact, ‘cause the hammer,” Owen added. “It hammers.”
And according to O’Donnell, even at seven years old, Owen is no amateur when it comes to drills.
“He was working the impact drill better than most adults!” O’Donnell said. “I told him, ‘You’re hired!’
“He opened everything immediately and took me right into their garage to show me his Go Kart and how he’s going to put his new flashlight on it. It was priceless, it really was.”
With a brand new set of Kobalt blue gizmos and gadgets, Owen was ready to get to work.
“Maybe I’ll build like, a motorized toy or something,” Owen said. “Or build a workbench.”
A birthday, and a new Lowe’s buddy, Owen won’t soon forget.
“Being a parent myself, it definitely brought a smile to my face to see how excited Owen was,” O’Donnell said. “When I left I said, ‘Hey, do me a favor. Next time you come in, you have to come and say hi to me.’ And two days later, he did. He came right into my office and sat down like we’re friends and started showing me all the new stuff he was buying. It was just pretty cool to be a part of it. This is what it’s all about.”