OUR STORY

Driftless Quality Wear was founded by college roommates Clayton Lieb and Jake Dale in the fall of 2018 in the small Northeastern Iowa town of Fayette. Being college baseball players and full time college students, time was something they didn’t have a lot of. When they did have time, it was spent exploring what became know as the “Driftless”. This area along the Upper Mississippi River watershed was left untouched by glaciers. The region has an extremely unique geography and boasts features such as towering limestone bluffs, spring-fed trout streams, vast underground caves, and deep river valleys. They realized how little people knew about the area and wanted to give people opportunities to explore it, the same way that they had. In October of 2018, Driftless Quality Wear was born. The company focused on creating quality outdoor goods, durable enough for the outdoors, but comfortable enough to wear every day. The first batch of hats were designed and they began shipping orders right out of their dorm room. As the product line grew, they decided to take a big step and obtain a storefront. Driftless Quality Wear opened a temporary pop-up shop in downtown Fayette in the fall of 2019 (while still full-time college students and athletes!) to show the brand to the world for the first time. They also added their first retailer in Clermont, IA at the Green Door (big thanks to Lisa Davis for believing in a couple of college kids with a small box of hats!). Immediately, the brand was a hit and became a favorite in the area, and the number of retailers started to expand exponentially. 

Since the beginning days, not a lot has changed. Driftless Quality Wear is still owned by Clayton Lieb and his wife Ellie, with the employees being made up of friends and family throughout the Driftless. DQW is still cranking out quality outdoor-themed clothing, teaching people about the Driftless, and exploring whenever they get the chance. DQW can now be found being worn throughout the world, and our family of explorers continues to grow every day. Currently you can find Driftless Quality Wear in shops and stores throughout the Midwest, at local markets and events in our home Driftless area, and right here on our website. So grab some gear and do some exploring, all while repping Driftless!