TAG, you’re it: local t-shirt shop pops up
Fargo’s latest clothing store is different from any other shop in our region: it is a pop-up t-shirt shop featuring satirical designs and an unmistakably cool atmosphere.
TAG, started by 19 year-old Joe Burgum and designer Jeff Knight, has just been open for a couple of weeks, but is certainly garnering a lot of attention in the community.
The shop, located at 601 1st Ave N downtown, features numerous, eye-catching shirts celebrating the Midwest from Des Moines-based Raygun, a company recently highlighted by owner Mike Draper’s book launch and TEDx talk in Fargo last month.
The whole idea of starting a t-shirt shop in town stemmed from Burgum’s recent visit to Raygun in Des Moines, during which he asked Draper what it would take to have Raygun expand north. After consulting Draper, he realized opening up a similarly themed shop in Fargo (with his own twist) was a good option.
TAG may be just a pop-up shop, but its vision reaches far beyond the expected two-month opening. According to Burgum, it’s about community. More than simply selling shirt for a couple of months, Burgum wants the work of area artists to become accessible to community members.
TAG features five locally-created, limited edition artist t-shirts. Burgum specifically sought ought artists representing different mediums, from graphic designers to painters to screen printers. Jeff Knight, Jessica Wachter, Punchgut, Modern Man, and Raul Gomez currently have designs for sale.
“Art doesn’t need to be five thousand dollars on a wall,” said Burgum. “You can wear it.”
Two principles guide Burgum and partner/graphic designer Jeff Knight’s philosophy for business: “We believe in good design and we believe in art,” Burgum says.
When you first step foot in TAG, and throughout your shopping experience there, you realize they’re pretty serious about those principles.
Image: some of the designs available at the TAG store downtown. TAG will be open for Small Business Saturday on the 24th.
