The newly opened WYLDE in Hudson is many things rolled into one: retail store, café, local hangout. When founder Hillary France moved from New York City to Hudson eight years ago, she encountered an openness and ease of conversation that was new and welcome. She began to feel more like herself, and she hopes that her new business, WYLDE, will provide that same comfort to customers. “I’ve always loved the sense of community upstate,” France says.
A hybrid space, WYLDE’s offerings are threefold: caffeine, collectibles, and culture. While the retail component opened April 17, the cafe, with its beverages and locally made bites, is still in the works. France conceives of WYLDE as a “cafe, clubhouse, and retail space,” which will have a two-tiered membership program. While the retail area, flush with antiques, vintage products, and local makers’ wares, will always be open to the public, the cafe and communal space will be for members only on weekdays. For those who choose to become WYLDE members, there’s also a gathering area and private meeting rooms, with interiors designed by local artists. Eventually, there will be social programming featuring speakers, panels, and workshops.
France describes the retail style as “upstate comfort meets Western flair,” an expression of her personal aesthetic. All products are made either locally or sustainably and include brands such as Doen, Kordal, and Apis Apotheca. With the inventory at WYLDE, France strives to select well-made, lasting items that “you’re not going to throw away or are trend-based.”
The retail aspect of the business isn’t new for France, who has worked in wholesale and retail buying for brands such as Kate Spade, DVF, and Guess. In 2013, France founded Brand Assembly, a business rooted in the fashion and lifestyle community that helps support brands with trade events, logistics, and accounting to make the highly competitive fashion industry accessible. She wants to incorporate the community of brands and makers she built through Brand Assembly into WYLDE.
Last October, France put together a pop-up market in Hudson with more than 50 brands in attendance, and she sees the WYLDE concept as an extension of that event. WYLDE has its own pop-up market on Warren Street, running bimonthly on Saturdays through October 30.
Above all, France built WYLDE around a sense of community––a place where locals can come and stay awhile to work or to chat, even to build relationships. “I always go back to the word ‘comfort,’” France says. “It’s really about the community and the people in it.”
WYLDE is open 7:30am-7pm Monday through Friday, and 8:30am-7pm on weekends.
WYLDE
35 South 3rd Street, Hudson, NY 12534
https://www.wyldehudson.com
