Jim and Katie Compton opened Quiver High Altitude Goods in September last year, but it was a passion project many years in the making. Jim was born on the East Coast and grew up surfing the Atlantic, while Katie was raised in SoCal, where she was plugged into surf, snow and action sports. They both spent years working together in Central America as sales reps for the Quiksilver and Roxy brands. All of this joy and experience was building into what would become Quiver. “Katie and I have been in and around this industry our entire lives. When we moved to Evergreen seven years ago, we fell in love with the community and we wanted to be a bigger part of it,” Jim says. “We wondered what would complement rather than change the community, and felt there was an opportunity for a shop like this.”
A shop like what, exactly? “First and foremost, we are casual mens apparel,” explains Katie. “More than that, we focus on quality, selecting brands that are not found in every other shop. Brands that we believe in, that have an environmental/social component, like fair-trade certified factories or organic materials—brands that are trying to do it right.”
“We also sell snowboards,” Jim adds. “And we’ve lived and breathed the sport since we were kids. But with snowboards, like everything else, we focus on brands that we’re passionate about. We agonize over everything we put in here and are really purposeful. It’s curated, not in the buzzword sense, but in asking, ‘What hole does this fill?’ We proudly say there’s zero filler or fluff. Everything in here warrants being in here.”
Quiver’s concept was inspired by the Comptons’ coastal upbringings mixed with their lifelong love for the mountains. “We’ve always loved boutique surf shops that focus on smaller apparel brands, and also carry very purposeful collections of boards, not only the most commercial stuff. We wanted to bring that concept to the mountains,” says Jim. “We bring in what speaks to us and our friends.”
Their diligence in selection and customer care caters to a mountain-life enthusiast who shares these values. “Our clothing is a little more refined,” Jim says, and Katie adds, “but it’s also versatile. It can go from raking leaves in the yard to hopping in the car to meet your friends for a drink. It emulates the Colorado lifestyle, from inside to outside, from working to playing.”
In committing to their vision and ethos, they have found their people. Located in the Bergen Village Shopping Center, Quiver is one of the many stores that have elevated the commercial space and the community it attracts. “One of the best parts of opening the shop has been meeting people. We’ve made good friends just from opening the doors and having people come in,” says Katie, noting that businesses in the shopping center itself form a supportive micro-community.
“Evergreen is so spread out. We want to be a hub of sorts,” Jim says. “We love when people pop in and say, ‘What’s up?’ You don’t have to purchase something every time you come in here. We don’t want to only be consumer-facing. We want to just be in Evergreen—it’s home.”
Definitely pop into Quiver to experience the shop in person. For the time in between, find Quiver online at shopquiver.com, on Facebook at @Quiver.Evergreen and on Instagram at @quiver_evergreen.
