Happy Friday everyone! We are back at it again with the weekend and Feature Friday! Today we are bringing you another installment of where we feature hot and trending businesses right here in Denton! On today’s Feature Friday, we have two best friends turned business partners who turned a love of vintage, into a thriving screen printing business! You’ve probably seen their witty shirts on every Dentonite all over town! Today we sat down with Ranger & Pulido to chat about the vision and inspiration behind what is Denton’s coolest print shop! Check out the interview down below!
Whether your 3rd grader needs a handful of class shirts covered in unicorns & rainbows, or your band is about to hit the road on a nationwide tour and is looking for a new line of awesome merch – We’re here to help!
Norman Roscoe
TD: How long have you guys been open?
NR: We have been open since 2014! Originally we were in [Ranger’s] garage, then we moved out to a warehouse in Denton in November 2014. We opened the square location just as retail at first. Then slowly as we got more product we expanded. Then in 2019, we moved everything to the square store.We love having everything in the store! We felt like it tells the story more. You can look through our looking glass and get a peek at the action!
TD: What made you want to start a business in Denton?
NR: [Pulido] moved to Denton back in the late 90’s, and we met at Texas A&M back in ’99 and I just fell in love and felt connected to the aesthetic and the vibe of Denton. Then in 2001 I joined a band here in Denton, then Ranger at that time was also in town, but he owned a vintage shop down in College Station. I think both of us being so creative and entrepreneurial, we had a few ideas and bounced them off of each other. Then Ranger moved o Denton in 2013, and that was history.
TD: Did the vintage shop inspire the Norman Roscoe designs?
NR: [Ranger] big time! We were best buds through college and would always geek out at the shipments I got in for the vintage shop. Everything we love is from the 80’s, 70’s, and 60’s, so naturally we would geek out about everything together. We both just agreed that this is what we identify with and want to celebrate. When I had the vintage shop, Pulido and his band orders 50 blank vintage shirts and used those to print their logos on. I also used them for my own shop logo on vintage blank tees. One main reason we started printing was because we couldn’t find a local print shop to print four shirts or small orders. So I learned how to screen print so I could do it for myself. Fast forward to 2013, and Pulido was on tour in Europe and needed posters for his band. I set up shop in the basement, and printed the posters, then the lightbulb went off. This is how we could go into business together.
TD: Have you found that the resurgence of Vintage wear has made y’all more popular?
NR: [Ranger] Well, we’ve always been that way. We’ve always been inspired by vintage. Now we even sell a variety of vintage tees in the store. I think that while we have been doing vintage for a while, we are definitely diving deeper into it. [Pulido] Really though, this is just us being who we are deep down at our cores. We are goofy and authentic guys, and people identify with this! We want people to see themselves in what we design. Whether it’s nostalgia, a design element, or just personality in our products.
TD: How did you come up with the name Norman Roscoe?
NR: [Pulido] Well, Ranger’s wife came up with it and it’s basically our dogs names. I had a dog name Norman and he had a dog name Roscoe and that’s it! [Ranger] My wife just off the cuff mentioned it while we were deciding names and it stuck!
TD: If no one has ever been to the store before, what can they expect when they walk in the door?
NR: Chaos. [haha] [Ranger] Nah, but hopefully very comfortable and maybe taken away from what’s outside and you’re taken to a better place. Kind of like Atomic Candy, your forget about everything for a little bit. [Pulido] I think these days it’s so important to find joy and hope in things. Not to say that a local t-shirt shop is the local solve, but it is just a glimpse of existence that we sometimes forget. It’s okay to have fun and to enjoy things and to see that and love it. We are just two dudes trying to get by like everyone else! We always wanted our store to be fun and not terribly serious. We modeled the vibe after our goofy selves, and hope people can see that.
TD: What other services do y’all offer?
NR: [Ranger] We do custom order printings anyone from churches, to bands, to softball teams, whoever needs printing we can do it! Basically apparel decorating. We do design work like logos, shirts, whatever, we have a team that can draft up designs for you. We can do fulfilling, which means we ship for companies if they don’t have a warehouse. [Pulido] We also started a new branding project, called the Giveback Program, where we help create custom shirts for the local businesses where we develop a graphic, create the shirt, run it for a limited time, then create the orders and fulfill them for the business. The business gets their followers and customers to buy the shirt and they also get $10 per sale.
TD: What’s been your favorite thing about being a business on the square?
NR: [Ranger] Just the life and energy. We thought we had it in the garage, but this space allows for public interaction. When I was a kid, on Saturday’s I would go to the donut shop with my dad and my favorite thing was eating the donuts while watching the donuts being made. So, we did that here. You can look through the wall and watch the shirt you’re holding being made. You feel like you’re apart of it more. [Pulido] Everyone has a story, and this building and all the buildings on the square you feel like your breathing new life into these spaces. It’s also just not the same as when I moved here. But it’s evolved to what it is today.
TD: Where can people connect with you?
NR: You can find us on instagram @norman_roscoe, or our website www.normanroscoe.com! Feel free to come in any day we are open to shop, our hours are posted on our instagram!
Feature Fridays happening every other Friday!
You guys already know how much of my heart lies with the small businesses of Denton. That’s why I am so excited to be sharing more details on the businesses right here in Denton! You won’t want to miss it!
But just in case you missed the other thing we did…
If you want to catch up on all things Denton, you’ll want to snag a copy of our Denton Guide that ha a complete list of Denton small businesses that you can support! It’s full of eats, drinks, shops, and more all compiled into one easy PDF! You’ll have Denton’s most complete small business directory at your finger tips. With links to everyone’s websites, addresses, and a one of a kind Downtown Denton Map, you’ll be living life like a local in no time! Be sure to tag photos of you using the guide with #DoItDenton to be reposted on our Facebook page!
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