By Amber Jenkins
Tandy Leather Co. spent 55 years in Midtown at 1482 Madison Ave., but said goodbye to their city location in favor of a larger building in commercial area Wolflake, near Wolfchase Galleria.
“We’ll miss Midtown, but we’re excited about our brand new store that is a little closer to our overall customer base,” said Tandy Leather Co. Manager Jo Keith in a press release.
The world’s leading distributor of premium leather and supplies and leather tooling, Tandy is a name people know and trust, having been in business for nearly a century, and boasting over 100 locations worldwide they are well known in Memphis and around the globe. Tandy also offers products for sale at authorized retailers.
Not only does the new, larger location serve customers with leather and supply needs, they teach classes to the public such as the Basics of Tooling and Carving Leather. The classes offered vary from How-to courses on dyes and sealers to making leather bracelets. They also sometimes host guest instructors who specialize in certain leather crafts such as crafting gun holsters. The store provides participants with some leather and tells them which tools will be needed for the class.
The next classes will be held Mar. 2nd and 9th and will cost $35 for a two hour lesson. The first two Saturdays of each month are devoted to teaching courses to the public.
The newly leased 2,460 square foot building is continuing a grand re-opening sale now through Mar. 9. The larger building has helped Tandy to double their inventory, creating more options and products for customers to browse.
Keith said the many of their customers are hobbyists, but there are also many others who are self-employed craftsmen.
“Leather making is one of those crafts that spans generations, and we do have a lot of leather crafters as our customer base,” Keith said.
Tandy Leather Co. is now located at 2965 N. Germantown Road in Bartlett. They are open every day except Sunday. For information about store hours and products, go to tandyleatherfactory.com.
We teach classes almost every Saturday. Usually the first two Saturdays are devoted to the Basics of Carving.