About Us

Time outdoors matters more than ever — whether that means backpacking a mountain trail or just walking the dog around the block. We curate clothing, footwear, and accessories from top outdoor lifestyle brands like Patagonia, Faherty, and Johnnie-O, all chosen for comfort and style that hold up to everything, everywhere. Our mission: outfit people for every adventure, including the everyday one.

That mindset — genuine, welcoming, rooted in community — shapes everything from how we curate the shop to how we treat the people who walk through our door. But honestly, what makes Out There, Out There is not a mission statement — it is two owners with over 50 years of combined experience, a dog who out-recruits our marketing budget, a tight-knit team, and nearly two decades rooted right here in Wayne.

Our Story

Out There Outfitters opened in Wayne, PA in 2008 as an independent outdoor lifestyle shop. Sarah McDonald and Heidi Fenstermacher took over as owners in 2018, bringing decades of industry expertise and a shared love of the outdoors with them.

Sarah brings 30 years of buying and management experience in the outdoor lifestyle sector, and that depth of knowledge shapes every brand we carry and every decision we make. Under her and Heidi's ownership — and with the continued support of the Wayne community — Out There has grown into one of the Philadelphia area's largest suppliers of Patagonia, Faherty, and Johnnie-O. Sarah's always on the hunt for the next great brand to add to the mix, refining how we do business and training the next generation to help Out There grow. We now employ 6 full-time and 9 part-time members of our local community.

Heidi splits her time between behind-the-scenes operations — her main focus — and being out on the sales floor, court, or course connecting with customers. She's also the mind behind many of our marketing and event ideas, brings her eye for merchandising to how the shop looks and feels, and keeps receiving, accounting, and logistics running smoothly.

Meet the Team

You could hire people. Or you could build a team like ours — where a technical guru, a style icon, a data whiz, and a dog with better instincts than most humans all show up because they genuinely love this place.

Adam, our store manager, has spent 15+ years in outdoor retail and knows more about fabric technology than most manufacturers do. Ask him anything — waterproofing, layering systems, boot break-in — he's got an answer, and it's usually right.

Matt, our men's buyer and Creative Director, cut his teeth at Patagonia in Ventura before running the men's buying team at Urban Outfitters. Twenty-five years later, he's still the reason our shop looks as good as it does — and the reason you double-tapped that Instagram post.

Cybil, our accessories buyer, turned an Economics degree into an uncanny read on what people actually want before they know they want it. Supply chains, buying patterns, market trends — she translates all of it into the gift finds you keep coming back for.

Karin runs our data operation from California, which is a polite way of saying she can make spreadsheets do things spreadsheets shouldn't be able to do. Lately she's been teaching herself how AI can help her move even faster — because apparently regular fast wasn't fast enough.

And on any given day, you'll find Cameron, Violet, Kate, Kim, Jake, Ava, and Myles actually running the show — the ones handling the day-to-day, curating the playlist, and turning every customer interaction into a genuinely good one. They're the reason every day at OTO is a good day, and the reason the whole place just feels right when you walk in.

And then there's Sugar, our Shop Dog (or Dawg, depending who you ask), holding down the counter since 2018. She has no shift schedule and outranks most of us, and she still might be our best salesperson.

Behind the scenes, our buying and inventory consulting team — led by our rep, Ryan — keeps the gears turning smoothly so we can focus on the parts of this job we actually love.

We've also had the good fortune of training people early in their careers who went on to do genuinely impressive things — Harvard Law, Sotheby's, Ralph Lauren, a design studio in Paris, Hey Dude in Boulder, even the Patagonia store in Ardmore. We like to think a little bit of Out There went with them.

Rooted in Our Community

Wayne isn't just where we're located — it's who we are. You'll find us behind the scenes at Willistown Conservation Trust and Jenkins Arboretum, cheering on Wheels of Wayne and the Wayne Music Fest, showing up for the neighborhood's kid-favorite traditions — the Elementary School Walk Through Wayne, Wayne Trick or Treat, and the Wayne Easter Egg Hunt — and lighting up the holidays at the Wayne Christmas Tree Lighting. You'll also find us on the platform tennis courts, supporting MAPTA tournaments and For the Love of Paddle Play Day, and pouring into everything from Wine'd in Wayne to the Radnor Conservancy, the Radnor Library, the Wayne Business Association, the Wayne Fall Festival, and more local school auctions than we can count. If it's happening in Wayne, chances are we're out there.

Recent & Upcoming Events

Our Patagonia Retro-X Launch Party and Patagonia Worn Wear event both turned into the kind of nights where the whole neighborhood shows up and nobody wants to leave.

Next up: a Faherty Pop-Up Shop this October, followed by a Patagonia Get Down Disco Party in November. Save the dates — details are on the way.