Berkshire Home Expo Returns To Mall This Weekend

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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File photo of the 2011 expo that attracted 40 or so vendors.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Chamber of Commerce's annual Home Expo is returning to the Berkshire Mall this weekend.

Starting at 10 a.m. on Friday, 50 local home-improvement businesses and related companies will display their goods and services. From windows to solar to landscaping, the expo brings an array of options for people looking for some spring projects.

According to Christine Hoyt, director of programs and events for the chamber, this year's expo will be the biggest one with 10 new exhibitors.

"We're really excited about the quality of exhibitors and the number of exhibitors," Hoyt said on Thursday. "This is the most we've seen in four years. Over the last few years, we've been in the low 40s."

The exhibitors will be at the mall from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Forty of 46 exhibitors from last year have returned, some boasting big benefits from "getting their name out," Hoyt said, such as a landscape company that nearly booked its entire summer based on those few days.

"There are quite a few returning. It just continues to grow," Hoyt said. "It's also a good time of the year for a lot of these companies because it is before they get busy."


While it is difficult to tell exactly how many people browse the exhibits because the tables are in the middle of the mall, Hoyt said mall officials believe there is a boost in attendance.
 

Are you planning a home improvement project?
Yes, a large one
Yes, a small one
Maybe
No, too expensive
No, no projects left to do
Depends on what I see at the Expo

"They estimate a few thousand people come through," she said.

The business generated is also difficult to tell because sometimes a business won't see the benefits until months later. The chamber surveys all of the exhibitors asking about sales leads but those have been varied depending on the company.

"Home-improvement projects are not something people go into lightly, so it could be eight months down the road when they remember they met someone at the home show," she said.

Based on talking to exhibitors, Hoyt said the home-improvement business is picking up since the recent recession.

"They're starting to see more business come their way in the last year. They are seeing a change," she said. "While they are seeing people spend a little bit more money in home improvement now, it still isn't as great as it once was so they still have to get their name out there.

"It is a way to showcase our member organizations who fall into those categories."


Tags: Berkshire Chamber of Commerce,   Berkshire Mall,   expo,   home & garden,   

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Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

The company uses digital printing to create the upholstery fabric, saving water and saving vintage furniture from ending up in landfills.

STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — A unique furniture store has popped up on Elm Street this month.

Mom-and-daughter store Pryor & Peacock is hosting the pop-up storefront from Aug. 13 to Aug. 25 at 6 Elm. The New Marlborough business is co-founded by Rosalina Wright and Luca Shapiro, who is also the creative director. 

Their online shop was created in 2024 but they wanted people to see the pieces in person, so they're renting the space for a limited time before a long-term tenant moves in.

The store sources prints to create unique fabrics and reimagines vintage and antique furniture acquired at auctions, local shops, and online.

"We source prints from all over the world that date from the late 1600s up through mid-20th century, and Luca turns those prints into fabric by manipulating them, scanning them, oftentimes has to add or subtract things, and then we manufacture the fabric using only digital printing, which is very environmentally friendly, unlike traditional textile printing," Wright said.

Upholstering the furniture can take weeks of work. Shapiro looks for the perfect design for each piece and, if need be, uses Adobe Photoshop to extend the art work to fit or enhance the print.

"One of the most difficult parts comes in marrying the fabric to a piece of furniture because we only use antique and vintage frames also to be earth friendly, and they're also more beautiful and durable than new furniture," Wright said. "So the image has to go with the furniture, so that takes a lot of work."

One of Pryor & Peacock's missions is to be environmentally friendly. Digital printing doesn't use the same amount of water as traditional textile productions do nor does it contaminate water with ink according to their website.

Not only are they saving water, but they are saving furniture from going into the landfill while also using more durable furniture that doesn't break as easily as current pieces. They started their business to create something unique and to help the environment together.

"It's creating something nobody else is doing. People can't continue to buy throwaway furniture. Six percent of American landfills is furniture, and digital printing not only opens up the possibility of being able to put unique images on a piece of furniture, but it also is, as I said, environmentally friendly. So, for us, the excitement is to take an old East Lake settee that somebody's going to store in their barn and forget about, and make it something completely new and surprising," Wright said.

They hope their furniture helps bring a pop of fun to someone's home.

"We think our furniture is very whimsical and surprising, and most furniture today is oatmeal colored couches and gray neutral chairs, and it's boring," she said.

The two named their business after their mothers' maiden names to honor them and believe the name reflects their pieces.

Shapiro works in interior design outside of the business and the two liked working together and thought it would be great to start a business together. Shapiro says they can work well together and that her and her mother, Wright, has flipped houses before and have the same eye for design.

"So it's very easy for us to work together. When we see something, generally we agree on whether it works or doesn't work on a piece. We agree on the color schemes and that sort of thing. So it's very fun and fulfilling to work together," Shapiro said. 

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