The concept of The Hōm Market, a unique home goods store that also functions as an events and art center, began as many great ideas do, over a bonfire. Even when they met for the first time in late 2020, co-founders Britt Summers and Sandra Dawn found they had a lot in common. “We just couldn’t stop talking. It’s as though everyone else faded away and we carried on all night long,” Dawn explains. “Within a week, we’d come up with our name, our vision, and formed our LLC. Within seven-and-a-half months after meeting, we opened our doors.”

Fast Friends, Slow Design 

What began as a mutual admiration for well-made objects and the desire to be further involved within  their communities has blossomed into The Hōm Market, a flagship store situated in the charming Hastings-on-Hudson, just north of New York City. The shop, a “marketplace of makers,” includes a mix of artisanal, handmade, vintage and sustainably designed objects, plus a homey BOXI by Semihandmade kitchen, dining area and living room-style seating. From hand-carved furniture to vintage mugs, many of the items offered at The Hōm Market are designed to make your house feel like a home. 

The shop’s items are driven by conscious consumerism, a philosophy Dawn describes as “buying fewer, consciously made goods.” The objects that shoppers can find at the market are ones that Summers and Dawn hope last a lifetime. “Say, a mug you bought on a trip that reminds you of being there, and it’s just so beautiful, you’re going to hold onto that piece. You know, that mix of beauty, function, and emotion towards something, means it’s not likely to end up in the landfill, which is really important to us,” Dawn says.

 A Place For Inspiration 

While Summers gathers her inspiration from nature –she is constantly clipping branches and flowers from her garden to use as decor in her house– Dawn’s inspiration is derived from family traditions. Her grandparents grew up in the Mennonite community. “My mom and both my grandmothers are huge inspirations. My mom made all our clothes, dolls, and many of our toys when we were young. For instance, beads in a decorated yogurt container became a rattle,” Dawn says. Her mother spoke on the importance of quality, artisanship, and how to reuse and repurpose objects. “Her philosophy and my grandmothers’ was all about a light touch on the earth and knowing that handmade objects would last,” she adds.

More Than Retail

Another important aspect of the shop is its ability to unite the community through interior design, art, and education. “We saw so many businesses closing—we wanted to be more than a shop, we wanted to create a space for our community to come together,” Dawn says. An average week at The Hōm Market could offer art classes or community gatherings. “Hastings-on-Hudson is filled with talent: artists, writers, bakers, chefs, it’s brimming with experts in every field—we feel that’s true of every town, village, and city in Westchester and are eager to meet and provide a platform for people to share their work,” Dawn explains. 

A community kitchen also functions as a way to showcase an organized and modern two-tone BOXI by Semihandmade kitchen design featuring the Salt Slab and Peppercorn Edge fronts. “As we evolved our ideas and realized that classes would become very central to what we did, it became obvious that we needed to blow out the walls and create a banging kitchen. This way too, we’d be able to really showcase what a BOXI kitchen and dining area could look like—open, welcoming, functional, just so beautiful,” Dawn says. 

For fast friends, Summers and Dawn have come together to create a unique space where their neighbors can feel at home. “We want people to feel so welcome when they come in—as though they’re entering a friend’s home, feeling at ease and inspired,” Dawn explains. “We often talk about casual elegance. I think that’s very much what we’re about”.