Unbranded Finale

Say goodbye to downtown Dallas pop-up Unbranded by shopping a lot

Forgive us as we wipe away a little tear, because it is the final weekend for Unbranded, the downtown Dallas pop-up shop conceived by local entrepreneurs Matt Alexander (Need, Foremost) and Bryan DeLuca (Foot Cardigan). Located at 1600 Commerce St., Unbranded provides rent-free exhibit space to local makers and creatives.

During the fifth and final session that starts on December 17 — participants have been rotating for weeks — visitors can shop the following clothing, accessories, and giftables:

HCT Threads
Satchel & Page
Hipster Baby
Allettare
Mad Macs
Bodega Negra
Flower Child Plants
Season Two
Lounge County
Create | Restore
Shop Moreau
Dandelion Cheesecakes
Rockstar Bakeshop
Bullzerk
Brick Knitwear
Unleashed

In addition to the above, explore goods from Need, Foremost, Foot Cardigan, and The Citizenry. Participating artists include Caris Fawcett, Tiffany McAnarney, and Kyle Steed.

Every week Unbranded has hosted a happy hour, and the final one (sniff, sob) takes place on Thursday, December 17, 5-9 pm. While you are boozing it up courtesy of Mend, you can get your picture taken at the photo booth provided by Photo Wagon from 5-8 pm.

On Friday, December 18, 11 am-1 pm, you can catch live music from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s holiday horn quartet outside the shop.

The final weekend of Unbranded also coincides with the Little Downtown Holiday Market, a collaboration between Little D Markets and Downtown Dallas Inc. So swing by Main Street Garden either before or after you hit up Unbranded. You have no excuse not to complete your holiday gift shopping.

Unbranded started last year as a temporary shop on Elm Street in Deep Ellum. This year, the pop-up is bigger — both in square footage and in number of exhibitors.

If you’d rather work than shop, Dallas Entrepreneur Center is providing free coworking space, with furniture courtesy of Herman Miller. Roam is providing touchscreens, and Wi-Fi also will be available onsite.

Unbranded hours are Thursday, 11 am-9 pm, and Friday-Sunday, 11 am-7 pm. The last day is December 20.

Shop Moreau is an Unbranded participant.

Photo by Thomas Garza Photography

Shop Moreau is an Unbranded participant.

shopping holidays

women innovators

Here's where Dallas clocks in among best U.S. cities for women in tech

Photo by adam roye on Unsplash

Dallas ranks 32nd on a new list of the best big U.S. cities for women in tech.

North Texas is in the middle of the pack for women in tech, a new report says.

Dallas ranks No. 32 nationwide, sandwiched between Fort Worth (No. 26) and Arlington (No. 38) in SmartAsset's new report, "Best and Worst Cities for Women in Tech — 2026 Study."

The study compared the 50 biggest U.S. cities across four metrics:

Gender pay gap — women's median earnings as a percentage of men’s median earnings in tech
The share of all tech workers that are women
The overall concentration of employment for tech workers, defined as "tech workers as a share of the local workforce"
Women tech workers’ median earnings, adjusted for regional price parity

For the purpose of the study, tech workers are defined as "city residents employed in computer and mathematical occupations."

The study's findings show that nearly 6,500 tech workers in Dallas are women, or 25.5 percent of the total tech workforce in the city. Tech workers in general make up only 3.6 percent of the total Dallas workforce.

Women tech workers in Dallas have a sizeable gap to cross to receive equal pay compared to their male counterparts in the same industry, the study says. Women tech workers make more than $83,000 in median earnings after adjusting for regional price parity, which is about 88 percent of what male tech workers make, SmartAsset found.

There are only two U.S. cities where women in tech earn more than what their male counterparts: Miami and Memphis, Tennessee. Women tech workers in Miami make an adjusted $88,650 in median earnings, or 101.7 percent of what men in tech make. In Memphis, women make $84,718 in adjusted earnings, or 101.5 percent of what men in tech earn.

This is the profile for women tech workers in Fort Worth and Arlington:

Fort Worth:

Women tech workers: 4,622
Women tech workers, share of tech workforce: 28.7 percent
Women tech workers’ estimated median earnings (adjusted): $87,174
Women tech workers’ earnings as a share of men’s: 89.2 percent
Tech workforce concentration: 3.2 percent

Arlington:

Women tech workers: 2,110
Women tech workers, share of tech workforce: 29.9 percent
Women tech workers’ estimated median earnings (adjusted): $76,319
Women tech workers’ earnings as a share of men’s: 83.5 percent
Tech workforce concentration: 3.2 percent

The study asserted that women remain underrepresented in the nation's overall tech sector, despite making up nearly half of the total workforce. Only 22.6 percent of the country's tech labor force is made up of women, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"Opportunities for women in tech can vary considerably by location, and these differences shape access to jobs, career advancement and earning potential," the report's author wrote. "In some places, women account for a larger share of tech workers, face narrower pay gaps and enjoy a stronger local labor market. In others, they may encounter a more challenging career environment."

The four other Texas cities that earned spots in the report are Austin (No. 6), Houston (No. 15), San Antonio (No. 42), and El Paso (No. 49).

The top 10 best U.S. cities for women in tech are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Seattle, Washington
No. 3 – San Francisco, California
No. 4 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 5 – Baltimore, Maryland
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – Oakland, California
No. 8 – Portland, Oregon
No. 9 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 10 – Minneapolis, Minnesota

innovation smartasset reports women's equality rankings