Bites from the Big Apple: now's the time to do upstate in style
Upstate New York offers exploratory shoppers and cultural detectives an adventurous aside from Manhattan. The state never looks better than in the autumn as nights draw in and wood smoke curls from the chimneys of chic hotels and guesthouses.
The area redeveloped after industry died out along the Hudson River during the last century and enclaves of craftsfolk and artists set up in the small towns dotting the easy train route to Albany. Sarah Jessica Parker’s HBO show ‘Divorce’ is filmed in Tarrytown, Alison escapes to super cool Cold Spring in ‘The Affair’ and Don Draper calls Ossining home in ‘Mad Men’.
The town of Hudson itself was an early adopter of the arty set. The well established main drag, Warren Street offers some of the best mid-century antique shopping anywhere in the country. This is also an area where creative entrepreneurs make real their dreams. Hudson is the U.S. home of Face, Stockholm.
The shop sits opposite The Maker, a luxury hotel comprised of a string of quaint, 19th Century buildings along Warren Street, due to open fully in 2019. The hotel is owned co-incidentally by Lev Glazman, founder of another skincare company, Fresh.
Eating in Hudson is easy and fabulous. Wm.Farmer and Sons is a small hotel with huge dreams foodwise, featuring meticulously prepared big plates such as crispy Mediterranean octopus or smoked Berkshire pork shank for the hungry, kale salad with drunken raisins for a lighter touch. For real pub-style fun, you can buy a beer and a book in Spotty Dog Books and Ale.
A few miles south of Hudson lies Germantown. From the outside, it seems like a small drive-through village with only a few shops but boy, what shops! Alder and Co is symbolic of the new wave of high-end, crafts and local maker-stocked retailers on the rise in the region. Founders Carla Helmholz and Rebecca Westby moved to Germantown two years ago after life circumstances encouraged a move east from Portland, Oregon, where Alder and Co began.
“Our website has allowed us to set up shop anywhere” says Helmholz, “and luckily the new building came for sale as we were preparing for the move east. Our ethos has always been to offer product that we use or wear. Also, if possible, meet the designer personally to understand more about his/her process and finally, try to be different.”
Across the road from Alder and Co is Otto’s, a local deli freshened up this year by new, young owners from Brooklyn, supplying sandwiches, coffee and groceries to the town.
A growing wave of young Brooklynites visiting at the weekends has re-invigorated towns such as Rhinebeck and Kingston, situated opposite each other on a wide sweep of the Hudson. Rhinebeck’s shopping streets branch out from a central crossroads in the town and feature original stores such as Haldora.
The store’s owner works on site, making and selling strong, easy designs in pure fabrics alongside essential ski outfitters for the Catskill region and classic vintage stores.
Kingston is home each October to Field + Supply, a makers fair attracting small but ultra-luxe brands from across the state and this year, media sponsors and a VIP area. NYC based Interior designer Brad Ford founded the fair five years ago after falling for the town of Kingston, with it’s sloping high street and beautiful bridges. ‘Country glam’ sums up the Field + Supply look, where felt hats, big knits, cowboy or gumboots, dungarees and a touch of stealth wealth reflect the newer vibes in the region.
Brooklynite Moses Nadel’s hand-crafted, yet luxe-feeling leather accessories are a perfect fit. “Stylistically, Upstate New York is what we like to call “farm to table”, Nadel tells me. “There are a lot of creative people literally bringing distinct, regional craftsmanship to the table. People come prepared to buy and be inspired by the incredibly expansive and awe-inspiring landscape.”
Low-fi thespian Daniel Day Lewis recently staked a claim by the Hudson, south of Germantown and Soho House is rumored to be doing reconnaissance in the area, framed by the Catskill and Adirondack mountains in the north and Massachusetts forests to the east . For magical mists, cozy nights and cultural finds, this must be the place.
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