By Hannah Barricks
Photography by Crystal Wise
On a warm afternoon, a mini-horse named Ed Bohlin, for the iconic silversmith, noses through the doorway at 113 College Avenue at the behest of Churro, a red tri Australian shepherd. “It’s a real dog-and-pony show today,” laughs Crissy Faulconer from behind them both. Unexpected moments, such as these, seem to be commonplace at Proper Supply Co., with owner Faulconer always at the center. The team is settling into a new home on Weatherford’s Square, and it’s precisely where they want to be.
After four years in the Fort Worth Stockyards — “an awesome experience” that Faulconer would not change — she pressed pause last fall. She had just purchased the business, known for its luxury western wear and sterling silver buckles, in September 2024 and decided not to renew the lease. “I was becoming burned out managing a retail store and all of the not-so-fun stuff that comes with that,” she says. So, the next chapter became a rolling one, with road shows, pop-ups and private showings. “I loved making my own schedule.”
Then the phone rang. A space was opening for lease at the newly remodeled Cotten-Bratton building in Weatherford, already home to the Jazz Chapel and acclaimed restaurant, Zeno’s on the Square. “It was perfect,” Faulconer says. “Directly on the square, and right as Weatherford is about to blow up.”
So, Proper Supply Co. reopened at the Cotten-Bratton in mid-July, just in time for Peach Festival foot traffic.
The store feels like a modern saloon, with retail items, all proudly American-made, intermingling with priceless relics from Fort Worth’s history. The merchandise leans classic Western, clearly curated with a designer’s eye, featuring pressed Japanese denim and vintage pearl-snap shirts. Felt hats hang on the walls, and sterling silver pieces of Faulconer’s own design sit in glass display cases above pastel hat boxes and hand-stitched boots in neat rows below.
“Buying the store was a natural next step after I’d created the brand from the ground up,” she says. “I love designing custom pieces for customers. It’s always really rewarding.”
Faulconer’s path to the square began in Southern California, the far west, albeit “the furthest thing away from all of this” she can now imagine. She spent her childhood in a barn, showing horses and, eventually, earning a degree in fashion design. Proper Supply Co. rolls all of Faulconer’s gifts into one. The store is versatile, like her, where a rancher can buy a durable work shirt and a hat that jumps from dinner to the dance floor.
“I want pieces that look great but work hard,” Faulconer says. The edit is tight and practical, a nod to customers who prefer to buy less but buy well.
The Cotten-Bratton building — a limestone beauty with fresh bones — puts Proper Supply Co. in daily conversation with neighbors. Brides slip in from the Jazz Chapel to talk about rehearsal-dinner looks and peruse one-of-a-kind accessories; couples grab coffee, or mimosas, at Zeno’s and wander in to try on hats. Faulconer greets them all, sometimes with Mr. Ed and Churro.
That neighborly energy reflects how Faulconer navigates retail now. Her years on the road taught her to listen, whether she’s in a trailer at a jackpot roping or behind a table at a private pop-up. Now, back in a permanent space, she’s kept the nimbleness.
“I loved the freedom of the last year, but I missed seeing people consistently,” she says. “Here, the community comes to you.”
A one-woman army, Faulconer handles the store’s day-to-day operations solo, whether that requires her to steam hats, select boot leathers or sketch buckle designs. The lean business model is better supported at the new, smaller location, requiring Faulconer to sharpen her point of view and continually refine offerings.
“You can’t be everything to everybody,” she says. “But you can be exactly the right thing for the people who walk through your door.”
Weatherford’s Square gives her a front-row seat to that audience. Saturdays bring families and out-of-towners downtown; weekdays bring courthouse regulars and ranch families. “That rhythm is what I wanted to come back to,” Faulconer says. “It feels like service — not just selling.”
The store’s November plans read like a small-town playbill: hat-shaping nights, trunk shows with makers Faulconer has met on the circuit, and a charitable shopping event tied to a local rodeo program. The goal is to make Proper Supply Co. a habit again — for Weatherford locals, for Fort Worth friends making the easy drive west, and for anyone who believes a good pair of boots can carry you anywhere.