In 1996, Anne Taylor and Roger Ossian launched A & R Marketing, a custom screen printing and embroidery company, located in Campustown. For the past 27 years, they have served the business and Iowa State community with apparel marketing needs.
Thinking back to those early days, Ossian said “the company took off immediately.” When they first incorporated back in 1996, they became a licensed vendor of Iowa State products within a few days and over the past three decades, have worked with nearly every college and hundreds of student organizations on campus.
Their original location was on Hayward Avenue, then in 2010 they moved to their current location on Welch Avenue. In between that time, they opened the retail store of the company, Dogtown University, where they specialize in Iowa State vintage logo apparel.
The name of the retail store has historic roots to campus. For many years, the Campustown area was popularly known as “Dogtown” by students and staff. The name was grounded in the lore that students were not allowed to bring cars to school, but rather had to walk or “dog-it” to get around. At the time, small economic centers sprouted up near college campuses to serve the needs of students, many of which were named “Dogtown.” For years, the name was popular with students before Campustown became the norm.
Custom screen printing and embroidery continue to be the number one driver of business for Taylor and Ossian, but the retail store full of ISU gear is how most people know their company. They have a wonderful relationship the Iowa State and love calling Campustown their home.
“One of the misconceptions of Campustown is that it is only for students,” said Taylor. “We encourage everyone to visit the shops and restaurants of Campustown and to embrace the energy that a university has.”
With the fall athletic season upon us, consider visiting Dogtown University and updating your ISU gear. Dogtown University is located at 217 Welch Avenue in Campustown.
