Henry Donald Langdale, age 77, of Houston, Texas passed away on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Henry was born March 20, 1944 in Panama City, Florida to his parents J.W. Langdale and Verna Hurst Langdale. He is survived by his brother, Ronald Langdale and sister Betty Moerschel and numerous friends.
Upon meeting Henry Langdale, creator of Craftex, you might be curious about his accent. South Africa maybe; No, not even close. He was born in Florida and grew up in Georgia and spent time in New Orleans.
As a child he studied art and that training had influenced him ever since. He always believed you can do anything you want if you never give up. Only one needs to walk through the doors of Craftex to witness Langdale's vision. He would buy only what he liked, so as he would say, "if I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life, I like looking at it."
Craftex actually emerged from the flea market experience that Langdale lived during the early 70's. Thirty three years ago Craftex began in one small warehouse selling plants , pottery and macramé supplies. Today Craftex occupies nineteen warehouse spaces and sells anything from candles, books, gift bags, greeting cards, silk flowers, baskets, Christmas decorations, garden statues and ribbon to name a few. Craftex has more than half a million different ribbons to chose from.
One warehouse is dedicated to only Christmas decorations. Surprisingly Christmas decorations are his number one seller, followed by ribbons. Langdale's loves flowers. As he would tell you, even though "Oprah" said silk flowers are out, he was adding more to his inventory. His selection of silk flowers is vast and his third best seller.
Langdale was passionate about books and was not afraid to invest in them. Most of Craftex books are of a decorative variety. Was he bothered by Kindle or other electronic devices? No not at all, as he quipped " Can you see one of those devices as decoration on a coffee table?"
Much of Craftex inventory was gathered from trade shows around the world. Henry spent considerable time searching for that next gem. You would find him traveling to China, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Germany, Italy, and Thailand. A must for Langdale was Paris, not only to shop, but to spot artistic trends.
His love of gardening was evident by the statues, urns, pots and garden furniture that line both buildings.
A memorial service for Henry will be held Wednesday, August 18, 2021 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Advantage Funeral & Cremation Services, 7010 Chetwood, Houston, TX 77081.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.AdvantageHoustonFunerals.com for the Langdale family.
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