Books have given so much to author Kyra Wilder, and now she offers her passion and knowledge to others, with her soon to launch book and gift business Needle&Hay. She talks to The HUB:
“I moved to Geneva in 2014 with a one-year-old, a three-year-old and a four-year-old, not knowing anyone, not speaking French, and without any idea how hard living abroad was going to be.
I’d lived in lots of different places in the US and had always been able to build a life I was happy with, finding jobs, friends, and things to do quickly and without too much trouble. Switzerland was different though. It was so, so beautiful, and there was so much that I loved, but for years, I just couldn’t make it fit.
Living overseas is an amazing experience but being away from friends and family can be stressful and lonely and my new life in Switzerland came with lots of challenges. I’ve always been a reader though, and my family gifted me a subscription from my favorite bookstore back home. Every six weeks, I would get a box with a book and a few little treats that went along with it. A bar of chocolate, or a candle or some cards. Something just for me.
Getting those boxes was special: a bit of home, a bit of community, something to look forward to each month in my mailbox.
In 2021 though, the bookstore stopped sending out the boxes and I decided it was time to put out my own. I’m a writer and I read all the time and sometimes I come across things that are just too good to keep to myself.
Needle & Hay is going to launch in June this year with monthly subscription boxes for kids and adults, themed book bundles, as well as personal recommendations for the people in your life.
After years of looking, I’ve finally found a community in Switzerland that I love. While I was in the process of building my life here though, getting those boxes in the mail was a treat, a lifeline, and a gentle reminder to take time for myself. As I start sending out my own boxes, I’m really looking forward to sharing that joy and sense of connection with others, whether they’re new to Switzerland or whether they’ve been here even longer than me.”
A note about me, Kyra Wilder:
“In 2020 I had a novel come out with Picador in the UK (subsequent editions came out in the US, Germany and in the Netherlands). Little Bandaged Days is a psychological thriller about a woman who moves to Geneva with her two young children, it’s partially based on my early impressions living here. My second novel is forthcoming with Les Fugatives press in London.”
You can find me at needleandhaybooks.com
Or Instagram @needleandhaybooks
