Fount is selling designer bags, wallets, belts and accessories in Southlake Town Square.

A grand opening party will be held May 4 from 5-8 p.m., and a $1,000 prize will be given away.

Founded in 2014 by Phillip and Jackie Wachter, the idea for the company started after a Christmas gift exchange between the husband and wife. Jackie Wachter said she made her husband a laptop bag made out of camel hair wool. She said he loved it, and the idea about how it would look in leather followed. They found a local cobbler in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and started working with leather.

Jackie Wachter is a design school graduate who spent six years as a kindergarten teacher before the family moved the focus to the leather bag business.

The background


The company started in their apartment and has grown to five locations, and the Southlake store is the first in Texas.

“It started because almost every bag strap would rip or the lining would rip, even in high-end brands,” she said.

The company purchases most of its leather from an Italian tannery that was founded in 1865, according to the website.

“We are thrilled to be in Southlake,” Jackie Wachter said. “We heard from another shopping center we are at, and they told us about Southlake and said it was one of the busiest and most successful [shopping centers] in the whole country. We did a tour and saw how beautiful it is there.”


The details

She said the bags are durable, and outside of the front door, there is a brown bag with 16 bricks in it to showcase the strength of the leather and manufacturing. Jackie Wachter said the company has never had to replace a single strap out of its tote collection, but repairs, if needed, will always be handled. She said the bags are made to last a lifetime.

Wachter said Fount offers a number of color options for bags, and they are "designed to compliment an outfit and not steal the show."

“It is really meant to be an everyday bag; it can pull an outfit together, and they look great with a cowboy hat and boots,” Jackie Wachter said.


The inspiration

The name of the business comes from an old church hymn the couple heard, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” That sparked the idea for the name, and Jackie Wachter said when she saw the definition of the word—an abundant source of desirable quality—it was an easy choice for her and her husband.