Hiking backpacks hang like artwork on a pegboard wall. A fly fishing rod sits in the hands of a wooden sculpture of a man in a boat. Nearby, hand-forged Japanese gardening tools share floor space with ultralight trail-running apparel.
This is not what most people imagine when they think of a sporting goods store.
Opening June 13 in Woodstock, Routine Pleasure is the new venture from Russ and Natalie Tannen, a husband-and-wife team whose backgrounds span music-tech startups, fashion, and entrepreneurship. Their goal is to create something that feels as much like a community gathering place as a retail business—a home for what they call “fast and slow pursuits.”
The couple arrived in the Hudson Valley with resumes that looked more at home in Manhattan than the Catskills. Russ spent more than a decade helping build DICE, the ticketing platform that became one of the live music industry’s most successful startup stories. Natalie built her career in fashion, spending a decade at Rag & Bone before working with bridal designer Danielle Frankel and later launching OSSA New York, a cell phone accessories company whose products are sold through major retailers.
Routine Pleasure occupies the former Catskill Art Supply building at 35 Mill Hill Road (most recently Casa Ziki), and the Tannens have embraced the space’s creative heritage rather than erasing it. Inside, the store feels more like a gallery than a sporting goods retailer. Pale blue carpeting and warm wood paneling frame carefully arranged displays of technical apparel, camping gear, gardening tools, and fly-fishing accessories. Vintage display cases hold magazines and small accessories.
The idea for the store emerged from the couple’s own interests. “Russ is an ultra-marathon runner,” Natalie says. “I’m into more of the slow gardening stuff.” That contrast became the organizing principle behind the business. “The tagline of the store is outdoor equipment for fast and slow pursuits,” Russ explains. “Fast is running, cycling, and then in the winter months, skiing. Slow is everything that makes you move a little slower through nature—gardening, hiking, camping, fly fishing, birding.”
What interested the couple wasn’t simply stocking products for those activities but exploring the tension between them. The technical fabrics and performance-driven gear associated with endurance sports sit alongside handmade gardening tools, woven baskets, and natural materials. Together they create a store that feels like a thoughtfully assembled cabinet of curiosities for the outdoorsy set.
That sense of discovery is intentional. Rather than packing the shelves with endless options, the Tannens have approached the store the way a curator might approach an exhibition. Technical running apparel from Satisfy and District Vision hangs alongside handmade gardening tools from Japanese artisans. Ultralight camping gear from Snow Peak and Muraco shares space with fly-fishing equipment, woven baskets, and vintage magazines.
The Tannens first discovered Woodstock after Russ relocated from London to New York City in 2021. Weekend trips north for hiking and concerts gradually became more frequent. After the couple got together, those visits evolved into something more permanent, culminating in the purchase of a home nearby at the end of 2024.
Opening a brick-and-mortar business in an era dominated by e-commerce might seem counterintuitive, especially for someone whose career was built in digital products. Yet for Russ, the physical location is central to the concept. “This is the gateway to the Catskills,” he says. “This is somewhere where people are going to buy these products to use them probably that day.”
The goal is not simply to sell merchandise but to connect products to experiences. Someone might stop in for a new pair of trail-running shoes before heading to Overlook Mountain, pick up binoculars for a birding excursion, or leave with a set of gardening tools destined for immediate use.
The building itself helped shape the vision. For four decades, the space housed Catskill Art Supply, a beloved institution that served Woodstock’s creative community. Russ and Natalie were drawn not only to the building’s prominent location but also to its history as a gathering place. “They weren’t just an art supply store,” Russ says of founders Paul Solis-Cohen and Maria De Franco. “They were also, in a sense, a community hub.”
The Tannens hope to continue that tradition. Alongside retail, Routine Pleasure plans to host talks, workshops, group hikes, runs, and cycling events designed to bring together the region’s growing outdoor community.
That emphasis on community may be the thread connecting Russ’s former career to his new one. DICE was built around helping fans discover artists, venues, and experiences. Routine Pleasure aims to create similar connections, albeit on a much smaller and more local scale.
Notably, the Tannens aren’t trying to compete with traditional sporting goods stores. You won’t find rows of bicycles or racks of skis. Instead, they’ve focused on apparel, accessories, and carefully selected equipment. Rather than offering dozens of options, they’ve chosen a handful of products they consider the best in their category.
“We’ve really been thoughtful about sourcing what we consider to be the best of the best,” Natalie says.
For now, their ambitions are relatively simple. “We’re just trying to come into this in an authentic way,” Russ says. “If we can achieve that through the summer, then that would be a huge success.”
Routine Pleasure officially opens June 13 at 35 Mill Hill Road in Woodstock. A grand opening celebration will take place from 3 to 7pm.
