The Tee Shirt Shoppe

From selling local sport merchandising to selling shirts that includes satirical humor, The Tee Shirt Shoppe has a versatile selection to fit your clothing preferences. Located east of Crawfordsville’s courthouse, The Tee Shirt Shoppe is an apparel company that offers custom and pre-designed prints. The Tee Shirt Shoppe produces high quality shirts with its ability to embroider and screen print.

In 2012 Ryan Conkright opened The Tee Shirt Shoppe in West Lafayette. He co/owned and operated that location for over ten years. However, with cost of rent rising, and him commuting from Crawfordsville since 2015, he decided to move the store to the Enterprise Building in Crawfordsville (302 E Market St Suite 9) in early November of 2023.

Ryan graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in graphic design. He then moved to Indy to live in an apartment with some friends with the hopes of landing a graphic design job. However, with his first rent payment coming up he decided to take the first job he could, which was grading tests for ISTEP. During the first few days of work Ryan knew this job was going to be too mundane to be his future. Fortunately for Ryan, when he was walking down a street in Broad Ripple, he noticed a help wanted sign in the window of a local t-shirt shop, The Teeki Hut. Ryan worked for The Teeki Hut for four years, even becoming the store manager. This eventually led him to open The Tee Shirt Shoppe in West Lafayette.

Settling down in Crawfordsville was a homecoming for him because he grew up in Montgomery County and went to Southmont High School. Ryan is excited to be back where he grew up and to raise his son in such a compassionate community. Ryan loves creating custom t-shirts for community events like the canoe Race, Motoville/ Oktoberfest, and more. To Ryan it's always very cool and makes him happy to see someone in public or online with one of his shirts on.Another rewarding part of running The Tee Shirt Shoppe is meeting new people. Whether that interaction leads to a conversation or leads to a new design that he can add to his catalogue, Ryan always welcomes anybody to stop by. When collaborating with people who want custom t-shirt designs, Ryan always enjoys the creativity that his clients bring to the table. Even when the client wants Ryan to design the shirt himself, Ryan takes pleasure in coming up with ideas to fit the customer’s preferences.

The Tee Shirt Shoppe has evolved over time by changing the layout of the store and the customer demographics. Back when The Tee Shirt Shoppe was in West Lafayette, he didn’t have any premade t-shirt designs that were ready to sell. The layout used to be blank shirts of different colors and sizes designated to a different section of the store. The idea was that you picked out a specific color and size of the shirt then you browse for a design you want printed onto the shirt. The layout fit in better with the frequent college students and young customers that shopped there. Over at the Crawfordsville location, Ryan has several options. A customer can still pick out a design and a blank shirt for him to print on. They can also bring in their own design for him to print or they can pick out a premade shirt.

Another change was how customer demographic changes the products sold, at Purdue a lot of college students liked satirical humor on their shirts. Whereas in Crawfordsville, the residents have vast pride in their local high schools. Ryan, being a Southmont graduate, understood the need that the community had for high school apparel. Ryan also offers custom and premade long-sleeved and crewneck shirts, hoodies, tanks, polos, jackets, coats, beanies, hats, koozies, and more!

Even though running a business can be challenging and comes with stress, it is also rewarding because Ryan enjoys producing quality products and the people he meets and interacts with. When the time comes for you to need a custom t-shirt, The Tee Shirt Shoppe will deliver. Visit The Tee Shirt Shoppe from Monday to Friday from 10AM to 6PM, they would love to have you.

The Tee Shirt Shoppe is located at 302 E Market St. Suite 9

Hours: Monday - Friday: 10 am to 6 pm

Phone: (765) 838-3438