Handmade Goods
What: One-of-a-kind bolo ties made from various materials.
Company founded: In 2019 by Delilah Faye Jones
Where: Home-based, but sells at various open markets in the city and online.
Fort Worth Report spoke with Delilah Faye Jones about the business. This interview has been edited for content, grammar and clarity.
Bob Francis: How did you start making bolo ties?
Jones: We do a thrift exchange between me and my siblings. My sister’s girlfriend wanted a bolo tie. We do exclusively secondhand handmade local or thrift store gifts between each other, just to try to promote sustainability whenever we’re doing the gift exchange.
So I looked all over for a bolo tie for her and I couldn’t find one. So I ordered some stuff to make a bolo tie for her. And then whenever I made her one, other people wanted one. So it initially started as I was using brooch frames and putting photos or art. Then basically I shifted gears and started collecting second hand jewelry and then just turning those into bolo ties.
Francis: So each tie is unique?
Jones: Yes.
Francis: What do you use for the string part of the tie?
Jones: I use braided leather. I get that through Etsy. And then I also get the hardware through Etsy, just the tips and the slide.
Sometimes I’m able to coordinate with a company called Unbounded Leather, it’s here in Fort Worth. And they don’t make braided leather often but when they do they send me a message they have and I’ll buy from them whenever I can. But typically I just order off Etsy.
Francis: What is the price range on the bolo ties?
Jones: It just depends. If it’s something that’s easy to find, well there’s some more desirable pieces that I turn into bolo ties. There are pieces that are cloisonne, a special enamel process.
Those are definitely harder to find. Those are priced according to that. If it’s something easy that I don’t really have to look for that I come across pretty often or that doesn’t feel as unique, then I’ll price them $27. A bigger piece of cloisonne or something that I call a micro mosaic, those are different than the cloisonne, they’re like little tiny mosaics. Those will be on the higher end. So a bigger piece of cloisonne or a micro mosaic will be like $75. If it’s a bigger piece of cloisonne maybe even more than $75. It just depends how many times did I go out and look for it.
Francis: Where do you sell them?
Jones: For a while, I was participating in Lola’s Rummage Sale every month, but they recently moved over to Berry Street.
I’ve also done pop-ups with Wandering Roots.
Francis: Do you sell online?
Jones: I have an Instagram and then I have an Etsy as well. I don’t have anything uploaded to Etsy right now since I just got back from Colorado. Etsy is a really great outlet, especially if I get those up before Christmas and give myself plenty of time to ship, then it can be really great for selling handmade items. I also sell at my mom’s shop, Salon 707.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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