Brooke Wetmore and Emily Richey are both big fans of the outdoors and realized that the expense for gear can be a barrier for many people, so they launched Great Lakes Gear Exchange. The shop opened in March as a Popup shop hosting monthly events at The Duluth Folk School.

They sell items for all seasons, except anything motor powered and can help gear up anybody to have a great time outdoors.  Richey said "  Their shop offers a way to increase economic and cultural accessibility to outdoor adventure spaces, and it also lends itself to more sustainability in the industry. If you want to try a new sport, but you don’t have the money to buy thousands of dollars in new gear, you can make a smaller investment."

They host gear drop offs and rent space in the basement of the folk school for storage. The cool thing is they let people pick their consignment prices, or they check the items retail price and cut that in half. They decide if they want to buy an item based on what shape it's in of course, but also if either one of them would wear it or use it. For more information about the shop click here.

 

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