Rivertown Inkery
Doug Burns, Founding Owner of Rivertown Inkery
Doug Burns started Rivertown Inkery from the momentum of a handful of hobbies. He’s always been fond of hunting for vintage clothing and furniture and fascinated by screen printing, a skill he taught himself years ago that he eventually turned into a budding small business. “I was laying in bed one day and was like, ‘I wonder how you screen print shirts.’ I looked it up, got on Craigslist and bought all the stuff. I kinda stumbled into it,” Doug says.
These days Rivertown Inkery sells a wide variety of vintage-leaning clothing and merchandise exalting the iconic institutions of Cincinnati—the Reds, the Bengals, the Bearcats—you get the idea. Doug often tags in local freelancers, or even employees with a creative bent, to create new designs for the shop. “I can’t illustrate, so I hire freelancers to do at least part of the designs, if not the whole thing. But I do most of the printing,” Doug says.
He has a handful of employees who have been with him for years or regularly come back to help out during the summers, a testament to the workplace culture Doug has cultivated. “I treat [my employees] like friends. I ask about their lives, and stay out of their hair. I want them to enjoy what they do,” he says. “I’m always rooting for my people. If they get a new job and it’s a step up, I’m happy for them! They spent their time here, and now they’re doing something better. Why would I hold them back?”
Prior to opening Rivertown Inkery’s flagship location in Oakley, Doug was making and selling shirts online, then popping up at local markets around town. He and his staff have always been active market participants. They’re almost always popping up at City Flea in Washington Park during the summer, and they had been a regular at our Outdoor Market for years prior to opening their second location on Race Street a few years ago.
“There is a community of vendors at these markets. I know a bunch of people just because we’re vendors together. And just being able to talk to that many customers at once is great,” Doug says.
Not only are markets an excellent way to meet new people and connect with customers, it’s an opportunity for Doug and his team to test out brand new designs before printing a large batch to sell in the storefronts. “If they don’t do well at City Flea all summer, they probably won’t do well in the storefront,” he says. Being able to soft launch products with a niche audience helps fuel creativity in his team without as much risk.
Though they offer an array of unique Cincinnati-inspired designs in their storefronts, custom merch orders are their bread and butter. They’ve produced high-quality work for tons of local businesses. You may have seen their handiwork in Findlay Market’s merchandise in recent years!
Being a small printing business, Doug is able to take on one-off orders here and there that a larger printing company may turn away. He can reshuffle his schedule to squeeze in small orders between the big ones. Often these smaller orders are being placed by fellow small businesses who may not be able to place a bulk order large enough to meet a minimum, or to warrant top priority from a larger printing shop. Small businesses supporting each other creates a cycle of revenue that reverberates through the local economy. “Honestly, even small orders like that help me out more than people know,” Doug says.
Published: May 2025