In downtown Des Moines, Iowa—just south of the middle of nowhere—sits a homegrown t-shirt shop called RAYGUN, offering the finest in self-deprecating and irreverent Midwestern humor.

RAYGUN’s creator and owner, Mike Draper was a recovering Ivy Leaguer with a history degree under his belt when he fell off the gravy train and began hocking humorous t-shirts on the street.

Less than a decade after those humble beginnings, Draper has ditched street vending for two brick-and-mortar locations and launched a much-loved local brand.

“The high point of my life was when I found out I should be selling t-shirts,” said the U. Penn graduate. “[I liked that] there was no middle man. I could make the t-shirt and then sell it directly to people.”

The Skinny:

Fun Fact: Draper's first screen-printing operation was headquartered in his parents' basement.
RAYGUN
Des Moines & Iowa City, Iowa
contact@raygunsite.com

Originally from the small town of Van Meter, Draper returned from the East Coast back to his home state of Iowa. He came in search of a storefront and source material (he found both).

RAYGUN's collection of witticisms are at times absurd, often sarcastic and occasionally political.

“My favorites are slogans that are funny, but have just a few too many words in them,” said Draper.

The brand's tongue-in-cheek designs lovingly rib Midwestern stereotypes and the region's perceived wallflower status compared to its coastal and southern neighbors.

“People from out of state will come through and say, 'Whoa, people in Iowa know the jokes we make about them—and they are now making them about themselves,” says Draper, who has worked to put RAYGUN on the must-see list for anyone passing through Des Moines. For him, the shop is much more than the physical corollary to RAYGUN's webstore.

“We want the store as a whole to be entertaining,” Draper said. “We want to establish ourselves as the kind of place where people will bring people to visit.”

An illustration from Raygun's recent book, "The Midwest: God's Gift to Planet Earth." Win it here!

The face-to-face interaction with store-goers and the Des Moines community is important to Draper, who describes RAYGUN as having a “local brand” mentality.

“This is the kind of store where the people who come in meet the people who work in the store.”

Since its conception, RAYGUN has expanded beyond its original charter of t-shirt printing, partnering with other apparel-makers to offer jeans, bags, hats and other miscellanea. But Draper’s original product—all the wit that’s fit to print on cotton—still remains the biggest draw.