JOSEPH – Wolfe Fleece on Main Street in Joseph, owned and operated by DeVee Wolfe, celebrated the 10th anniversary of business in Wallowa County on March 8.

The home-grown operation offers versatile fleece apparel, locally designed and assembled in all colors of the rainbow, for all ages, sizes and occasions.

A couple of years ago, a clothing boutique in town went out of business and Wolfe had the opportunity to buy the fixtures and inventory there. She now displays other products including shoes, bags, jewelry and hats along with her own fleece designs.

“We didn’t plan it that way, it just happened, and it’s working very well,” she says.

On display at the anniversary celebration was the first pair of fleece socks DeVee made as a Christmas gift for her mother.

DeVee said that socks started the whole business. She quickly expanded into fleece scarves, hats, mittens, vests, jackets and baby clothes and accessories. The five-point star-shaped bunting for babies is, along with the socks, scarves and vests, a signature item for Wolfe Fleece.

“I started making the baby star bunting five years before I had my son. When I had him, I found it was the only thing that I could put him in that still allowed for strapping into the seat or carrier,” she says.

Products are available in several kinds of fleece, including curly fleece, which is very soft with a longer nap; berber, which has a short nubby nap; polar and micro fleece, which is as warm and moisture resistant as polar, but is less bulky, making it perfect for layering.

There is something for almost everyone at Wolfe Fleece. Active wear for outdoor activity, upscale outfits and accessories, a variety of clothes and infant necessities as well as play clothes for young children.

“This isn’t just a gift shop anymore. Men used to come in to shop for gifts, but they come looking for the socks and lots of other items,” DeVee says.

Wolfe Fleece employs seven seamstresses and four retailers, some of whom do both. Denise Kuppinger, Gretchen Piper and Leslie Sherwin are seamstresses; Karen Perry, Naomi Carlson are cutters, Trudy Meyers, Dawn Leper and Alyse Fischer are salespeople. DeVee’s mother, Laidee Ann Wolfe, works in sales, staff, as a seamstress and in product development.