Owners, from left, Dany Clay and J.D. Clay and manager Amanda Anderson on Thursday, April 20, 2023, pause for a photo while readying their new business, Quickhatch Provisions, in downtown Joseph. The shop, which opened in late April, features responsibly sourced clothing, gear and supplies for backpacking, trail running, hiking, biking, snowshoeing, and backcountry and Nordic skiing.

JOSEPH — What promises to be a go-to place for outdoor gear and apparel for those interested in cycling, Nordic skiing and backpacking is now open in Joseph.

Quickhatch Provisions is the first venture into a business of her own, according to Dany Clay, who co-owns the business with her husband, J.D.

“It’s my first ownership of my own business,” she said.

Meeting a need

From Central Oregon, Dany Clay currently is the chief operating officer of a software company. But she saw a need in Joseph for the type of merchandise she’ll be carrying.

“You have to go all the way to La Grande for a similar shop,” she said. “When I was out recreating with people, a lot of them brought up the need for it. Then this place came available — the owner’s wife is my running partner.”

Formerly The Friendly Canyon, the shop at 100 N. Main St. in the Jennings Building highlighted works by local artists.

But now instead of catering to the artsy, the location caters to the outdoorsy, and Quickhatch Provisions doesn’t plan to be competing with other outdoor-related shops in Joseph.

“We’re trying to not carry things (Sports Corral) does,” Clay said. “They’re geared more to hunting, fishing and ranching. Also, we’re not carrying anything the Joseph Fly Shoppe is carrying. We’re trying to fit into what they don’t have.”

For example, she said, Quickhatch won’t carry hunting- or fishing- or water-sports-related equipment, but it does offer apparel and footwear for other activities and plans to rent electric bicycles. For updates, visit www.quickhatchprovisions.com.

Interest in Joseph

Although Clay has lived much of her life in Central Oregon, she’s had a longtime interest in Wallowa County. Her mother lived in Joseph as a child and her grandfather lived in Enterprise.

“I’ve been familiar with the area all my life,” she said. “We’ve had the property for five years and lived here full time for a little over two years.”

Equally excited in the shop is Clay’s co-worker and manager, Amanda Anderson.

“Dany needed someone to help her run the shop,” she said. “I moved here about two years ago and we met through a mutual friend and it worked out.”

‘1% for the planet’

Clay said one of her main interests is to leave as small an environmental footprint as possible while catering to those who use the environment.

“We’re pretty conscious about what brands we’re carrying in the store,” she said. “We’re ‘1% to the planet,’ which means 1% of all of our proceeds goes to the Greater Hells Canyon Council, supporting them. We try to carry brands that are 1% for the planet — 1% of your proceeds go to organizations that are using that funding for some sort of environmental purposes. Our partner, the Greater Hells Canyon Council, they do the Blue Mountain trails. We also buy from B Corps.”

B Corp Certification is a designation a business achieves by meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply-chain practices and input materials.

“We try to be conscious of where we get our stuff and not just buy stuff that’s the cheapest,” Clay said.

“We’re really excited for this,” Anderson said. “We think we have a lot of good brands.”

Clay said they’ll also be trying to organize community events out of the shop, such as for the Hells Canyon Trail Association and some running groups. The business also will “help facilitate community involvement in volunteer efforts,” she said.