Tandy Leather, the iconic Fort Worth brand since 1919, announces big moves

Tandy Leather Factory Inc., founded in Fort Worth more than a century ago, announced Monday it will open a new flagship store in the Artisan Circle development of the West 7th district.

The news comes nine months after Tandy Leather announced it had completed the sale of its headquarters property, which includes a retail store, along Loop 820 in far south Fort Worth. An arrangement with the building’s new owners, a food packaging company called Colonna Brothers, allowed Tandy Leather to continue operating at the site for several months.

On Sept. 8, Tandy Leather relocated its headquarters into a newly upgraded facility in Benbrook. It is now leasing about 134,000 square feet at Chisholm 20 business park, along Loop 820 near Benbrook Boulevard. The Tandy Leather store at the previous headquarters will remain open until December, offering warehouse closeouts and limited-time deals, before the Artisan Circle store opens in January.

The 7,800-square-foot retail store will be in at 2973 Crockett St., at the corner of Norwood Street.

The new flagship store will be designed to make do-it-yourself leather crafting more accessible, said Nicole Jowers, vice president of retail stores. The publicly owned company has 91 stores in the U.S., nine in Canada and one in Spain. The business specializes in leather, leather working tools, buckles, lather dyes, tack hardware, adornments for belts and do-it-yourself kits.

“We’re creating a space where people can come together, learn something new and walk away with something they made themselves,” Jowers said in a statement. “The new Fort Worth Flagship reflects our commitment to building strong store experience that connect local communities in a meaningful way.”

Johan Hedberg, who was appointed CEO of Tandy Leather in January, told the Star-Telegram that the company chose Artisan Circle for its central location with easier of access for customers in the Cultural District and West 7th neighborhood, known for its lively and artistic aesthetic.

The Cultural District has become one of Fort Worth’s hottest addresses for commercial real estate, high-end hospitality and corporate relocations. Two new towers, including a luxury hotel, are being built about a block from Tandy Leather’s new store; the developer has said he predicts the district could become the next Uptown Dallas.

Meanwhile, Dallas-based Younger Partners, which acquired Artisan Circle in 2022, has been working on rebranding the five-block development that’s a mix of apartments, restaurants and offices. The firm has looked at ways to make the complex more pedestrian friendly.

Hedberg sees more opportunities for growth at the Artisan Circle site. The new store’s location will play a big role in customer satisfaction, he said, with garage parking as well as streetside spaces for customers to load their leather goods into their cars more easily.

Hedberg said that the foot traffic allows for an opportunity to attract new customers who are already walking around in the district, which is different from their other stores.

He described the look of the new store as more modern with a rustic aesthetic, which is different from what they’ve done in the past. A big focus will be on classes and DIY, such as crafts where customers can choose a belt strip and buckle, or engrave a leather key chain — something that gives instant satisfaction of having completed a project.

“What we’re going to do is to add some product selections, what we call make and take. So it could be something that you want to do in 10 to 15 minutes,” Hedberg said.

Tandy Leather’s long history in Fort Worth

The company was founded in 1919 by Norton Hinckley and Dave L. Tandy who launched the Hinckley-Tandy Leather Co. to sell leather and accessories to shoe repair shops.

They had a store for about two years on Houston Street, where the Fort Worth Water Gardens are today, then moved to West 11th and Throckmorton streets.

Tandy’s son, Charles, came up with the idea of branching out into the leather crafts business. After returning from military service in 1948, he was put in charge of a small leather craft division. In 1950, the Tandys split with Hinckley, who kept the shoe leather trade while they formed Tandy Leather Co.

“It is the only house in America that stocks all types of leather for craft work,” the Star-Telegram reported in May 1950, “and has built with pride a reputation for being able to supply leather from any known animal, besides numerous fish.”

In 1963, Charles Tandy purchased a small, money-losing chain in Boston called RadioShack for $300,000. RadioShack became profitable in its first year under Tandy’s leadership and grew into an iconic brand over the next three decades. Tandy Corp. split off the leather business as a publicly traded company in 1975.

Optimistic about the future of Tandy Leather

Despite the “challenging environment and economic uncertainty,” Hedberg told investors in August that the company grew its sales and margin dollars in the second quarter. Tariffs hadn’t significantly impacted business up until then. Hedberg told the Star-Telegram said tariffs have made the company agile.

“We have a strong vendor base,” he said, with long-standing relationships with suppliers that have helped the company navigate the uncertainty.

Hedberg said he is optimistic about the future of Tandy Leather.

Despite some of the changes coming with the new flagship store, Hedberg said the company is not going to steer away from what’s made it successful all these years, and traditional customer will feel at home.

This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 8:00 AM.