The Black Barn welcomes visitors with an ever-changing gathering of curated objects and goodies including: Peg and Awl tree swings, handmade duffle bags from Bradley Mountain, Saint Olio natural cleansers, Manready Mercantile soaps, Idawild jams, Ranger Station candles, Blanc Creatives steel pans from North Carolina, Vermonter Jesse Savage’s bottle openers, Pillbox Bat Company baseball bats. 
When it comes to what people want to wear and have in their homes, Katherine McMillan might be called prescient; she knows what people want before they knowit, turning pop-up markets into big business by selling quality items produced only in the United States.
It was 7 years ago while living in Minneapolis – she and husband Mac are now back on the East Coast, living in the Hudson Valley – when she hatched the idea of selling the Manhattan-made Pierrepont Hicks ties in a pop-up market alongside other small, independent companies manufacturing in America. “It was really meant to be a one-time thing,” she says with a laugh.
Today, forty-two markets later, selling scores of different labels under the Northern Grade umbrella, many of them unknown outside their places of conception, it is the place to go – be it online or in their two brick-and-mortar stores – for those who want McMillan’s unique take on men’s and women’s clothing, fashion accessories, accents for the home and more.
“The ‘Made in America’ retail landscape is currently at a pivotal point,” declares McMillan. “I’m not sure what will happen, but there will always be consumers who want quality products. I think there are very smart shoppers out there who want to know more about who is making the things they’re buying.”
With this in mind, the couple opened the first Northern Grade store in New York’s Seaport District in 2013. The 4,300-square-foot space is airy, somewhat reminiscent of an airplane hangar. Merchandise is displayed with casual yet precise finesse, some of it on reclaimed-wood tables made in Brooklyn, which are also for sale. With the welcoming atmosphere and the number of brands representing a range of categories that often surpasses 160, it’s easy to understand why the store attracts everyone from neighborhood residents to Wall Streeters on lunch breaks to out-of-towners who want to experience what up ‘til now they’ve only known online.
The couple’s second store, the Black Barn, opened in High Falls, NY in November of 2016 as a pop-up for the holidays, and then reopened the following spring. Very different in look and feel from the NYC store, McMillan describes it as “a general store, but less about food and more about apparel and home goods – all ‘Made in America’, of course – with a good deal of antique furniture curated by our partner Ron Sharkey of Field and Barn, and other treasures.”
“The people who come to Northern Grade,” shares McMillan, “care about quality over quantity. They appreciate the details. They’re looking to discover something more interesting than what you find on Amazon.”
As to the next steps, she declares, “We’re plugging away to grow Northern Grade so we can provide a seamless and beautiful platform for the very best ‘Made in America’ designers and brands and create a place consumers can trust.”
Like what you see? Get it first with a subscription to ASPIRE DESIGN AND HOME magazine.