Proctor adds T Town Trading Co. to its business roster
The local retail scene has expanded for Pat and Gail Ringrose, owners of Tacoma-centric T Town Apparel.
The couple recently opened T Town Trading Co., 2614 N Proctor St., just a few doors down from Teaching Toys & Books.
They wanted to grow their retail beyond screenprinting and embroidery with even more Tacoma-themed products, and their new space, at 1,500 square feet, allows for that.
“We have a little bit of everything,” Gail Ringrose told The News Tribune during a recent site visit. “From tiles to photography. We’ve now been able to get a space that will house all this creativity here in Tacoma.
“Everything here is created for Tacoma by Tacoma.”
Its original T Town Apparel site, 1934 Market St., is staying put.
“That’s just going to be our manufacturing area,” she said. “We’ve expanded that space actually twice, and it got to a point we couldn’t expand the retail any further. So we were in the right place in the right time and were able to lease this space.
“We thought maybe we needed to stay downtown because, we’re T Town, but this was kind of our-meant-to-be.”
The new name, she said, opens the store up for more collaboration with local artists, moving the business into a broader retail realm.
The new location means they’ll eventually introduce Proctor-specific products.
“Still working on that, but I think customers will be happy,” Ringrose said.
She said the Proctor shop will be a continually changing gallery, with a new local artist featured every three months.
More is on the way, with mugs, pillows, mats and evening artist events, perhaps even a spotlight on local history.
“We’re thinking of having a historian come in and have a little wine, cheese and see what the history of all of this was,” Ringrose said.
After feeling like they were off the beaten path downtown, the business is pleased to have a prime spot in Proctor.
“We’ve gotten so much support. It amazes me that our audience we have built followed us here, and they’re glad we’ve got a final home,” she said.
T Town Trading Co.
▪ Address: 2614 N Proctor St.
▪ Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
▪ Online: https://www.facebook.com/ttowntacoma/
This story was originally published December 22, 2018 at 9:00 AM.
