By Cynthia Hochswender
Photos by Cynthia Hochswender
It begins with the bread. Shoppers come to Westerlind on Main Street in Millerton, prepared to pop downstairs and just pick up a crusty sourdough (delivered daily by Creature Bread in New Marlborough, Massachusetts).
And then somehow they find themselves falling in love with a luxury ski suit, Japanese Levi’s, or perhaps a pair of Japanese socks.
Westerlind’s wares are dangerously tempting. They epitomize the Hudson River aesthetic of rugged chic—but at a premium price. And yet they just feel so nice, they’re cut so well, the colors are so dreamy.
Store owner Andrea Westerlind has a gift for turning utilitarian items into fashion “crack.” The Swedish native first came to the U.S. to market a backpack from her home country called the “Fjallraven Kanken.” Her marketing plan worked so well that even now, a dozen years later, the bags remain an essential item for fashionistas.
In 2009, Westerlind opened her first shop in Manhattan’s NoLita. She continued to do what she had been doing in Sweden, seeking out distinctive products from around the world for national chains such as Nordstrom and Orvis. But she also sells a phenomenal amount of customized, limited edition items from these companies at her sparsely designed 12,000-square-foot Millerton shop—which for decades was called Saperstein’s and was the place to go for local families in search of basic dry goods (jeans, sweaters, shirts).
Like its retail predecessor, Westerlind sells everything from caps and boots and backpacks—to bedding, Swedish Fish candy, and impossibly plush beanbag chairs. Downstairs there is a food shop with prepared meals, fancy olive oil, exotic kitchen tools (and, of course, the bread).
Unlike Saperstein’s, though, there aren’t products piled on every surface. There is space. There is air. There is light. It’s zen.
Westerlind believes that the open plan of her upstate shop is part of the secret of its success.
Shopping in New York City has become stressful, she believes. Stores are small and crowded and hard to get to. In Millerton, “You have the time and space to hang out, bring your kids, bring your dog.”
And you needn’t fear that your kids and dog will fall desperately and irrevocably in love with something you need to cash a CD to pay for. Westerlind is adamant that, although there are expensive items at her shop, there are just as many lower-priced goods.
“I’m Swedish; it’s very Swedish to be democratic,” she declares. “I want to have something here that everyone can buy.”
Top 10 best-selling items at the Millerton store
In no particular order they are:
1. Bread.
2. Fluffy slippers, which are adorable—but at Westerlind, it’s redundant to say that. Everything is adorable.
3. Accessories (caps, backpacks, books about the Swiss Alps). Especially popular is a bendable felted wool hat designed exclusively for Westerlind by a cowboy hat manufacturer in Pennsylvania.
4. Felted wool jackets and coats made in Italy by Harris Wharf.
5. Norwegian sweaters with classic patterns.
6. Japanese socks from RoToTo (“The Japanese always perfect the craft; they make the most amazing socks,” Westerlind says.)
7. A custom version of the classic Danner hiking boot, that is waterproof and has a slip-proof sole.
8. French down vests and jackets from Pyrenex.
9. In winter, Cordova ski suits that look like they escaped from a James Bond movie.
10. In summer, Westerlind-designed one-piece cotton jumpsuits.