The thrifting trend has exploded in recent years.
And nobody knows that better than NoMAD consignment shop owner Lindsay Dalton. Because of its recent popularity, Dalton has opened a second location in Silverton and expanded her market across county lines.
On a national level, the sale of used clothes is expected to exceed $70 billion in revenue by 2027, according to data from consignment giant, ThreadUp’s 2023 resale report.
And to that tune, the new location on Blair Street has already garnered much interest from the town of just over 700 people. Part of thatis attributable to bringing on Coffee Bear owner Holly Huebner as a co-owner of the shop, Dalton says.
“Silverton had been kind of off my radar until Holly mentioned it,” Dalton said.
Dalton said there are plenty of novelty stores in Silverton that sell items like T-shirts, shot glasses and stickers, but nothing that fits the mold of what NoMAD is trying to accomplish.
“There really isn't anything up there that does hand-picked curated secondhand clothing,” Dalton said.
The town’s strong summer tourism market is a good fit for the secondhand store.
Summer sales tax collections continues to increase year-over-year, said Silverton Chamber of Commerce Executive Director DeAnne Gallegos.
Annually, San Juan County, for which Silverton is the only municipality, attracts about 2 million visitor trips, according to data from the Colorado Tourism Office in 2022.
Adding more local-centric businesses has been an objective for the town’s chamber of commerce, Gallegos said. But where NoMAD aligns with Silverton’s values is with its dedication to upcycling clothes.
“Reuse-repurpose is really important to the Silverton community,” Gallegos said. “And so having a business that focuses on repurposing, recycling, reusing – whether it's home goods, furniture or clothes – and just having that type of shopper is very beneficial and important.”
Few places exist in Silverton to dispose of secondhand clothes and knickknacks. T
Dalton said there are slight differences in styles with what each store offers. She describes the clothing collection at the Durango shop as “bohemian,” “Western” and “vintage,” whereas Silverton focuses more on cold-weather garments such as vintage fleeces and jackets.
For the time being, NoMAD Silverton will be a seasonal business operating from May to the end of October. Because her building is not winterized, NoMAD Silverton cannot be open year-round.
“When we first took possession of the building a couple months ago, snow was blowing underneath the door,” Dalton said. “So we had to shovel out the floor before we could start moving stuff in.”
Dalton is looking for more permanent infrastructure solutions but nothing has been finalized.
“We're really excited to see what local folks are going to be pulling out of their attics and closets to bring in,” she said.
An official grand opening will be held June 8.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
