Detroit’s Best Shops for Local Goods

Detroit has style. It has always had style. From cars to music to art, the city has influenced good design and curated good sense since long before it received its current reputation that would suggest otherwise. Walking into Hugh is a reminder of just how great Detroit can be for those with good taste. Owner Joe Posch opened his current boutique after a short break from the retail scene in Michigan, and his latest endeavor is a refreshing blend of midcentury modern antique furnishings, specialty men’s grooming products, bar accessories, housewares, and miscellany such as framed vinyl albums. Much of the floor set the day I visited seemed to channel the best of Mad Men‘s Don Draper—a very good thing. Yet I suspect it will change often, as the pieces Joe chooses won’t stay long. They’re simply too nice to sit around without being snatched up. Hugh should be very high on your shopping list when you visit Detroit; whether you’re a man or a woman, there’s no doubt you will find something you can’t live without.

The eat-fresh, know-your-farmer trend that’s sweeping the United States hasn’t skipped over Detroit. But lest you think Eastern Market is just like the pokey farmer’s markets cropping up all over the country, know this: Eastern Market is an entire neighborhood with a goal no less grand than becoming the food district for Detroit, and doing it in a way that retains the neighborhood’s intrinsic funkiness. There’s produce aplenty at the Saturday and Tuesday farmer’s markets, but if you miss one of those days, you’re in luck: The neighborhood is stocked with butchers, bakers, fishmongers, and everything else you’d need to prepare for your next city picnic.