MILLERTON — From housing the long-time family business, Saperstein’s, to the recent collaborative comprised of three retail vendors, the building at 41 Main St. has long stood as a landmark in the village of Millerton. Just in time for the Fourth of July, the site took on a new life as Andrea Westerlind, the owner and operator of Westerlind, officially opened Westerlind at Saperstein’s for business.
“I mean, it’s kind of the best retail location in Millerton,” Westerlind said when asked what drew her to the spot.
“She’s had her eye on the space for a really long time,” said Simon Kristoph, the store’s retail director.
Before coming to Millerton, Westerlind had successfully launched her catalogue of outdoor apparel across the country, with locations in Denver, Colo.; Powder Mountain, Utah; and New York City. She tested out the waters in the Millerton area two summers ago when she collaborated with Evergreen Antiques owner Laurence Fox, opening a temporary shop known as the Pop-Up Shop, at 3 Main St. Customers responded well, and the following summer, Westerlind and Fox partnered with John Allee from Meta 44 to create a collaborative business, again at 3 Main St.
Westerlind said she worked with the seller, James Hendrick, who had tried to revamp the space himself before putting it back on the market. As far as what ultimately sealed the deal, she credited her acquisition to the size of the building — measuring 9,888 square feet — and her ability to fill it.
“It was hard for him to create a concept like this because it’s such a big space,” Westerlind said of Hendrick. “I think most of the retailers around here want a 1,000 square foot space or a 2,000 square foot space. I think the sheer size here is daunting to a lot of retailers — I think you need a lot to fill the space.”
On Monday, June 15, Westerlind signed the papers and the building became hers. Working together with Kristoph, the dynamic duo transformed the space in just eight days, pouring their blood, sweat and tears into every corner of the store, according to Kristoph. Though the store now belongs to Westerlind, the legacy of the former Saperstein’s will be preserved in her business’s namesake.
An avid outdoors-woman at heart, Westerlind’s store encompasses a diverse inventory of outdoor apparel and gear. From backpacks, rain boots and camping gear to Turkish bath towels, French shirts and Scandinavian products, Westerlind prides herself on her ability to “find and curate all the finest goods from around the world.”
“She really lives what she sells — it’s super authentic in that sense,” Kristoph said. “Basically, anything that’s outdoorsy and really cool will end up in this store.”
As far as how the business stands with regard to COVID-19 protocols, its size plays to its advantage as customers can browse through merchandise without crowding. The store is divided into 10 different sections with two pop-up dressing rooms in the rear, with free face masks and hand sanitizer for customers.
Westerlind and Kristoph have been talking with different vendors about bringing in a grocer — sorely needed in the community — possibly with a juice bar, ice cream and/or takeout downstairs; Kristoph said they’re looking at what’s needed to make that possible, including permits, etc. Westerlind added that she would love to test out a cafe in the space as well as an art gallery, and to be able to host events and start a running club for the community.
“We’re never 100% set,” she explained. “We use all our stores as a sales lab where you can test different things… so being here and talking to people is super valuable to us and super fun.”
Westerlind added, “this is our new headquarters and we’re super invested in this spot… so it’s super important that the concept is successful. We’re in it for the long haul.”
Hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; details at shop@westerlind.us.
NORTH EAST — Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County will conduct a presentation on Thursday, May 9 on buying a three-bedroom affordable home to be built in the Town of North East.
The presentation will be held at the NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex at 5:30 p.m.
Any first-time home buyer interested should attend the information session.
The application for this pilot program home-buying opportunity must be made between May 1 and June 10.Minimum household income for the pilot program is $55,000 while maximum income is determined by family size.
Applications are available at the North East Town Hall.Habitat for Humanity describes itself as a nonprofit with global reach, working across the United States and in approximately 70 countries.
‘Migration Collage' by ransome
If you claim a single sobriquet as your artistic moniker, you’re already in a club with some big names, from Zendaya to Beyoncé to the mysterious Banksy. At Geary, the contemporary art gallery in Millerton founded by New Yorkers Jack Geary and Dolly Bross Geary, a new installation and painting exhibition titled “The Bitter and the Sweet” showcases the work of the artist known only as ransome — all lowercase, like the nom de plume of the late Black American social critic bell hooks.
Currently based in Rhinebeck, N.Y., ransome’s work looks farther South and farther back — to The Great Migration, when Jim Crow laws, racial segregation, and the public violence of lynching paved the way for over six million Black Americans to seek haven in northern cities, particularly New York urban areas, like Brooklyn and Baltimore. The Great Migration took place from the turn of the 20th century up through the 1970s, and ransome’s own life is a reflection of the final wave — born in North Carolina, he found a new home in his youth in New Jersey.
‘Square Quilting painting' by ransomeAlexander Wilburn
Map fragments of North Carolina feature heavily in a large collection of eight-by-eight collage and acrylic paintings, sold individually but together mounted on Geary’s wall resembling the stitched patterns on quilts, like the quilts by the late Black American artist Arlonzia Pettway. Along with artists like Annie Mae Young and Mary Lee Bendolph, Pettway was a renowned artist associated with the quilts of Gee’s Bend, generations of women in the town of Gee’s Bend, Alabama who preserved African American culture in beautiful and vibrant textile art with bold combinations of stripes, textures and colors. The influence is also wonderfully clear in ransome large-scale collages and acrylic paintings like “Square Quilt painting” on display at Geary. It’s a powerful symbol of Gee’s Bend’s legacy continuing on, even under a new artistic medium.
In the smaller works, called “Migration Collages,” painted portraits are combined with pieces of floral and pastel paper, evocative of the tradition of “Sunday Best” splendor worn in Black churches in the South. “The women elders at my Baptist church often greeted each other that way on Sunday mornings when one hat was more elaborate, colorful, or wider brimmed than another,” New York Times veteran Lena Williams wrote in her 1996 essay, “In Defense of the Church Hat.” “It was traditional to put on one’s newest finery for church, and in many historically black churches, the wearing of fancy hats by women carried both spiritual and cultural significance.”
“The Bitter and the Sweet” is on view at Geary through Sunday, June 2.
Hospitality, ease of living and just plain fun are rolled into one for those who are intrigued by the leisure-time Caravana experience at the family-owned Four Brothers Drive-in in Amenia. Tom Stefanopoulos, pictured above, highlights fun possibilities offered by Hotel Caravana.
The month-long process of unwrapping and preparing the various features at the Four Brothers Drive-In is nearing completion, and the imaginative recreational destination will be ready to open for the season on Friday, May 10.
The drive-in theater is already open, as is the Snack Shack, and the rest of the recreational features are activating one by one, soon to be offering maximum fun for the whole family.
Tom Stefanopoulos, the second generation helping to guide the Stefanopoulos family’s recreational complex, brings a deep understanding of hospitality and business sense in support of the multi-faceted enterprise, begun in the 1970s, that is now a mainstay of the town of Amenia, located on a corner in the heart of the commercial district. He paused for an interview on Friday, April 26.
Two luxury camping trailers, each with an attached wooden deck and fire pit, make up Hotel Caravana, and each offers a different fun vibe, Stefanopoulos explained. The larger of the two, offers a California lifestyle, retro to 1967, although its modern where it should be. It can sleep four.
The smaller Caravana sleeps two and offers a lifestyle of the future dating to about 2041. It’s a brand-new Airstream, Stefanopoulos noted. It also has an attached deck with firepit.
“We get a lot of New York City people,” Stefanopoulos said when asked what sorts of people are apt to be attracted to Hotel Caravana. “They want to experience the upstate life,” he added. The idea of sitting out on the deck while watching an actual drive-in movie appeals to them, as does room service offered by the restaurant.
The lobster rolls prepared by the Snack Shack, are served on brioche hot dog rolls, either Maine-style or Connecticut-style, and the lobster can be topped with caviar. Four Brothers version is praised by customers for the generous portion of lobster in each, and the price is competitive.
Caravana guests may book for a single night, or maybe two, or even longer, taking advantage of the bicycles to pedal along the nearby rail trail, a local amenity, Stefanopoulos noted.
“We make our guests feel like movie stars,” Stefanopoulos said of the hospitality. And, if they like miniature golf, it is just a few steps away from their Caravana deck.
Asked how and why the Caravana idea began, Stefanopoulos recalled that as the drive-in theater grew in popularity, people were traveling from greater distances away. The last film of the night might start at midnight, he said, so the idea grew that Four Brothers might be able to offer an accommodation to stay the night.
In addition to Caravana, Four Brothers offers an alternative of two or three tent camping sites.
Future plans may include a third Caravana, Stefanopoulos said. Also, there is a giant mastodon skeleton, presently in storage, that should be on display, he said.
“It’s pretty big,” Stefanopoulos added.
The playground might be enlarged in the coming seasons, and perhaps an old-fashioned arcade added for retro amusement.
The community that surrounds Four Brothers remains important to the Stefanopoulos family as they offer substantial summer employment opportunity. Stefanopoulos said that a goal is to contract locally for business needs, such as musical entertainment and advertising. The drive-in also schedules occasion fundraisers to benefit local organizations, including the Amenia Fire Company and area schools.
