The “family store” stocks (clockwise from top) locally sourced wood cabinets, Aspen Bay Candles, steel hooks, and baby items.
New Glarus, known for its brewery and Swiss façades, is undergoing a bit of a renaissance these days. Although the main shopping street is still obviously connected to the town’s Swiss roots, the downtown is home to a growing number of stores geared to a 21st-century aesthetic (perhaps catering to Epic employees buying homes in the area). Hutch + Hide is a big part of that transformation.
Hutch + Hide is a self-described “family store” that opened in April 2016. It combines goods for the home with an array of children’s items and grown-up comfort enhancers. Hutch + Hide also sells custom-designed, custom-made bars and cabinetry. It’s an unexpected twist, but it works.
Owners Tory and Kelsy Hutchison met as teenagers in New Glarus, then attended UW-Whitewater together. Eventually the couple married and settled in New Glarus to raise a family. Kelsy’s parents own Madison’s Roughing It in Style furniture store, which started in New Glarus, and both had experience working there.
The front of the store boasts rustic home elements. There are woodsy scented candles hand-poured into hammered metal containers from Aspen Bay Candles of Mississippi. Unique steel hardware pieces include state-shaped bottle openers and attractive, sturdy hooks on which to hang your hat, perhaps your Stormy Kromer (also sold here). Stormy Kromers, the iconic wool plaid ear-flapped hats, are made just over the Wisconsin border in Ironwood, Michigan. Hutch + Hide carries sizes for the whole family.
Also on display are examples of the custom cabinetry and bars made from locally sourced reclaimed wood. Tory drafts the design after measuring your space; once a final design is determined, the pieces themselves are built in central Wisconsin with a turnaround time of six to eight weeks.
The rear of the store is dedicated to a collection of baby items like super-soft rattles, burp cloths and swaddle blankets in adorable animal prints. There are vintage board books and classics like Alice in Wonderland, as well as clothes in infant to 4T sizes made in the United States by socially responsible brands like Tea, Go Gently Baby and MilkBarn. If you’re looking for a gift for someone under 5, this would be a good stop.
The store also carries a full line of Minnetonka moccasins and slippers, perfectly cozy and smart-looking, too. Sizes are available for wee footsies on up.
New Glarus is closer to Madison than most people think. If you haven’t been in a while, take the 30- to 40-minute drive southwest of Madison. You’ll find some lovely hidden treasures.
Hutch + Hide, 600 1st St., New Glarus, 608-636-2300, hutchandhide.com, 10 am-5 pm Sun.-Fri., 10 am-6 pm Sat.
