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Photo by Cora Kemp
(ckemp4@mscd.edu)
Tired of all the same old T-shirts? Need something fresh to adorn your frame? Then check out IndyInk.
According to owner Dave Roggeman the store offers “affordable lowbrow art, better than cocaine and sexier than your mom.”
What you really want is a new custom tee that compliments the artist of the month, or any of the other local artists who contribute to their shirt designs. However, if you see something you like, you better grab it.“Everything we do is all in limited runs,” Roggeman said. “When it’s gone, it’s gone. Like 30 of each design, that’s it, we don’t reprint.”
The first Friday night of every month, IndyInk, located at 84 0S. Broadway in Denver, hosts an awesome night dedicated to one local artist.
“It’s our kind of advertising, and it brings people into the shop, gets us involved with all the local artists and stuff. And then we can take some of their art and make T-shirts from the shows as well. So it’s fun,” Roggeman said.
The shop will be wall-to-wall with people. The music will be loud but the conversations are louder. Owners Roggeman, 33, and Aaron Cohrs, 32, along with designer Chris Huth, 27, are there to host.
During daylight hours, you can shop for one-of-a-kind custom artist prints in this unique shop.
Even if you miss the 6-foot-8-inch guy with sleeves of tattoos when you walk in the custom door, you’re still bound to notice some of the awesome local art on the walls. You have a clear view of the back room where you will generally find Cohrs doing the printing, while Roggeman holds down the front of the house greeting customers and working on designs on his Mac.
According to Roggeman, starting IndyInk in 2001 was pretty simple.
“Aaron just finished school in graphic design and wanted something to do. He looked through the paper and found some screen printing equipment for sale, called me up and said, ‘Let’s start a company,’ — ‘cause I used to print. That’s it. That’s how we started. Pretty easy. We borrowed money from his mom for the initial investment,” Roggeman said.
With no original intent of starting a retail shop, IndyInk opened their doors in 2003.
“We just wanted to print logos and stuff for businesses. Then we started making shirts for our friends so we did more. We did shirts for somebody who was in that shop before us. He told us he was moving so we jumped on it. We never really wanted to do retail, but since he had the space and it was cheap, we decided to do it.”
Chris Huth came on board in 2007 as a designer.
“He designed both logos. I’ll do some here and there, but Aaron and Chris are the artists,” Roggeman said. “And then we have other artists that we buy artwork from.”
Don’t expect to find IndyInk products anywhere else. They have no plans to expand and peddle their goods at the corporate mills.
“I think it would be cool if we had our own line of clothes and just worked out of this shop. Just be one of the stores that’s always been here,” Roggeman said.
During the summer, IndyInk uses the Annual Plastisol Free For All for additional advertising.
“We have our big party once a year — a big T-shirt art competition — it’s just an open call. twenty bucks to enter, and then the public votes, and then we print the top 10 shirts.”
Every other Saturday, IndyInk offers screen printing classes.
“We take their artwork and show them how to print the shirt, from their art to T-shirt, all the steps involved in that. The cost includes some T-shirts,” Roggeman said.
Although they can reuse the screens, you do have the option of buying them at the end of the class, Roggerman said.
They have definitely made some mistakes in the past, but when Roggeman printed a shirt with his own face on it, it was planned.
“I thought if I sold shirts with my face on it, I would be famous,” he said.And how did that work out?
“Well, we sold all the shirts, so I must be famous,” Roggeman said.
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