Great Lakes Gear Exchange: Support the Shop!

Wow. We are ecstatic! Your support over the weekend has enabled us to meet our base goal in 4 DAYS! This is incredible and we are deeply grateful.

We are pushing on to our $10,000 stretch goal! With these funds we will be able to build out the best shop we can - with resources for you to fix gear, to learn about repairing, and to explore tricks and tips for getting outside with the proper gear. 

We are grateful for your contribution. And we ask you now to share this campaign with your friends and family to help us meet our stretch goal! Help us spread the word! 

With deep gratitude, 

Emily & Brooke

                                     STRETCH GOAL!

After meeting our goal of raising $5000, all other funds up to $10,000 total will go to building out our Work & Repair Benches, Phase 2 of our store front build out. We will have three Work & Repair Benches with all the equipment needed to repair simple bike fixes, wax and tune skis and boards, and a sewing machine for patching, all paired with a tablet for google searches and youtube video to teach you alongside the tools. We will rent these work spaces out for a nominal fee and have the materials needed for repairs for sale, such as bike inner tubes and patch kits. This space would be a community resource space so folks could be empowered to fix their gear, even if they never have before or they don’t own the tools.

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We want YOU to get outside and explore! Yes, YOU!

We know it can be intimidating to get into a new outdoor activity because of price, culture, or accessibility. The Great Lakes Gear Exchange is here to change that. Our mission is to ensure that folks are getting outside, experiencing all that this amazing Western Lake Superior region has to offer, by offering a comfortable, affordable, knowledgeable space to acquire the gear and knowledge needed to get them there. Together with this goal, the creation of this community resource will also increase sustainability in the outdoor industry by recycling clean, gently used gear and giving it new life. 

Your contribution will also send a slough of rewards your way! Check out the packages to the right, pick on that fits your wallet, and support the Great Lakes Gear Exchange today! 

We are lucky to live in the Western Lake Superior region as it is a prime locale for outdoor pursuits - whether that’s walking around your neighborhood or expeditioning into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness for a month. The Great Lakes Gear Exchange provides gently used gear to new & experienced users, allowing them to explore and keeping our landfills a little less full. All while helping consignors make a bit of cash on the under used gear in their closets! We are excited to showcase the amazing gear hidden in garages and under the beds of our consignors and get it into the hands of people who want to use it!

The Great Lakes Gear Exchange is an outdoor gear consignment store in Duluth MN. Our mission is to make outdoor adventure culturally and financially accessible to all, while promoting sustainability in the outdoor industry. We sell used outdoor adventure gear including packs, skis, bikes, clothes, tents, fishing gear, boats, and so much more! The Great Lakes Gear Exchange was founded in January of 2019 and after nine months of successful pop up shops, we want to open a retail store front! Bricks and mortar, baby! 

We have found the ideal space to rent - but need your help to build this community resource! We will use the funds raised to build out Phase 1 in the space. Phase 1 will include purchase the equipment needed to run the store (ie, computer, consignment management software, build racks for canoe displays, paint the walls, etc). This storefront will have the necessary storage and display needs of our inventory, changing rooms, an office and bathrooms, as many stores do. BUT it will be more than that. The Great Lakes Gear Exchange store will have: 

• A plethora of gently used outdoor gear and equipment ranging from boats to skis to clothing to camping gear to surf gear. 

• A trip planning loft equipt with a slough of guide books, maps, tables for laying out maps, and a cozy couch. 

• A place for folks to share ideas, stories, information, tips, and questions about all their outdoor interests and pursuits. A giant chalkboard for folks to share stories and tips about getting outside. 

• In the future, we hope to host speakers to teach us about new places and ways to explore.

• A well educated staff whose goal is to get folks outside, whether they have been down the trail 1,000 times or this is their first trip.

Brooke Wetmore and Emily Richey have spent years outside, literally. We have, combined, slept outside for over a year. We know outdoor pursuits, exploration, and adventure. Brooke is a white water boater (she kayaked the Grand Canyon!), downhill and XC skier, mountain biker,  trail runner, hiker, and is former backpacking and kayaking guide. Emily lives to downhill ski, has spent countless days canoe camping, has thru hiked the Superior Hiking Trail, is an environmental educator by training, loves to fish, and is learning to mountain bike. We are THRILLED to bring you the Great Lakes Gear Exchange.