On Sept. 20, Baldwin Wallace University graduate Noah Mowery launched the physical location of his company, a secondhand clothing store called The Thrifting Tree, at 44 W. Bridge Street. 

Noah Mowery has been in the business of secondhand clothes since his “last year of middle school or first year of high school.” Along the way, his business had many names and rebrands but served mostly as a side gig to his education and other jobs.  

As he entered his last year of college, graduating with human resource management and business management majors and a marketing minor, Mowery faced a major decision—whether to take The Thrifting Tree full time or keep it as a passion project.  

That decision wasn’t made until 6 months ago, and to Mowery, it was the right one. 

With success on its website and Instagram, the business exploded. Mowery said the store’s opening day was “a mad house.” There was a line of people waiting for entrance into the store that ended all the way at the Dollar Tree.  

Mowery credits Caite Lenahan and the staff at LaunchNET, located in BW’s Center of Innovation and Growth, for playing an integral part in the planning process and putting him on track to launch his website in July of 2023. 

The website, he said, really established The Thrifting Tree as a business. In tandem, Mowery launched an Instagram account and YouTube channel to advertise and connect with the community. Those accounts quickly gained many followers and subscribers, even internationally.  

Mowery even said that it’s not uncommon to “get comments like ‘love from South Africa!’” He has even received international orders from as far as Japan and Germany.  

A Baldwin Wallace article posted to Facebook about the Thrifting Tree has also gained traction. The post netted over 1,800 likes. The business has also been connecting with a younger audience through social media. Mowery has said kids from Ashland, Akron, and Kent have been coming to shop and sell clothes to him.  

Mowery said that even older audiences seem to connect to his business, saying he’s “glad that they’re connecting to it in a different way,” and that while younger generations may see vintage clothing as a fashion bandwagon, older generations appreciate the “repurposing and the secondhand nature of it.”  

Mowery said he has seen a great amount of support from the community; and that the whole experience “has been nuts.”  

The Thrifting Tree is open Wednesday to Thursday 12pm-7pm, and Friday to Sunday 11am-7pm.