The small business scene in Kalamazoo is a flowering industry with new businesses opening up every year. These new business owners are aspirational and driven individuals who are working hard to create their footprint in Kalamazoo with new experiences, new products and new services.

One of these businesses is a local thrifting resale store “Kalamazoo Pickers.” The store was started in downtown Kalamazoo, on Kalamazoo Avenue across from the train station, in June of 2021 by business owner and Loy Norrix alumni, Noah Silvey. Silvey drew inspiration from his time at Norrix when it came to starting his business. He sees people’s appreciation for fashion at Norrix to this day.

“I love Norrix man,” Silvey continued, “I played sports at Norrix. I enjoyed that part of it, but I also enjoyed the clothing part of it – like it was almost like a little fashion show when I was there – everybody had their own style, everybody had their own fits, so it’s still cool to see kids like that that still do that.”

Kalamazoo Pickers’ has already made its mark as a part of the Kalamazoo fashion community, especially when it comes to teenagers: whether it be for skaters, musicians, high school students who appreciate fashion or just the average person looking for style. Clothing that appeals to a diverse group of people can be found at Kalamazoo Pickers.

Noah Silvey graduated from Norrix in 2017 and decided to start his business to make cool clothing accessible in Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo already has many people who are interested in fashion and is a great place for people who enjoy finding new clothes as well. Kalamazoo Pickers is a core spot to help people find those clothes that they enjoy wearing.

“I think Kalamazoo as a whole has a lot of really cool styles, and this just helps people find their style,” said Silvey.

Many students from Norrix regularly attend Kalamazoo Pickers, finding new fashion pieces that they can wear to school or just around their friends.

“Kalamazoo Pickers is fire! They got cool clothes and they’re really nice people,” said senior Sean McFinton who shops at Kalamazoo Pickers.

Because of the support from younger people, Silvey feels very welcomed as a small business owner in Kalamazoo. Silvey’s favorite part of running Kalamazoo Pickers has a lot to do with the people of Kalamazoo.

“Kalamazoo definitely supports a lot.” Silvey said, “We couldn’t do it without the kids of Kalamazoo.”

“It’s a cool hang out for people, I hang out with people all the time so it doesn’t really feel like work” said Silvey.

Regardless of where Kalamazoo pickers will be in the future, there will always be fashion enthusiasts in Kalamazoo willing to support Silvey and his business. One year from now Silvey is optimistic about the future of Kalamazoo Pickers and plans to continue to do what they have been doing.

“One year from now…hopefully we’re just grinding doing the same thing we are,” said Silvey.