Entrepreneur Buddies Aim to Make Made in Dallas Mean Something Again: A Revolution at Boulevard East

Back in the day, Dallas was a proud pillar of the garment industry. Now, Joey Bardwell and Matthew Renna want “Made in Dallas” to mean something again. The duo is bringing back local, high-quality craftsmanship one wallet at a time with their leather goods company Boulevard East. 

The brand offers a small selection of handcrafted leather wallets and bags in basic, no-frills designs. Functionality is the number one priority for each piece – in fact, Bardwell, who designs the goods, has no background in fashion or design.

“It came from more of a spatial mindset that I have. I feel like I can see things in my head and how they fit together,” he says.

Bardwell is a medical device salesman by day, rugby coach by night. In his free time, he loves to work with his hands, which is how Boulevard East was born.

“I was living in an apartment and I didn’t have a garage. I love working in the garage, so I thought, ‘What can I do that doesn’t involve taking a car apart or taking apart motorcycles?’ ”

Then, he stumbled upon an interesting magazine article which explained how to make your own wallet.  

“I bought a couple pieces of leather, some thread, and made this just really atrocious looking wallet,” he laughs. “I was like, ‘You know what, I might be able to do a little bit better.’ The next one was better, and then I made some wallets for friends in a wedding party.”

After seeing the wallets, Renna asked Bardwell if he could make him a briefcase. He did, and it turned out well, so Bardwell experimented with other leather goods. Soon, the two men founded Boulevard East, with Renna taking charge of the business side.

The company now offers a range of wallets, a backpack, leather portfolio cases and a duffle bag. Items come in unusual hues (navy blue and hunter green replace the typical shades of brown), but there aren’t any bells and whistles; high-quality leather is the star of the show.

Boulevard East has plans to expand its offerings (a collaboration with By Way of Dallas is in the works, among other things), but the guys are taking things one step at a time.

“We’re self-funded, our wives are doing some of our social media work still. We’re very much still doing this out of our house. We still have day jobs, you know, so we’re not trying to grow the business overnight,” Renna says.

However, Boulevard East is steadily growing. You can find the manly-chic leather goods in Saint Bernard, DLM Supply, at local pop-ups, and online.

“We’re not recreating the wheel,” Bardwell says. “We feel like we’re bringing a quality manufactured piece back to this city and back to this country.”