Literacy Network Welcomes New Board Members

Print Story | Email Story
LEE, Mass. — Literacy Network (LitNet) welcomes the additions of Sandra Rodriguez Aponte and Jane Lehman to its Board of Directors.
 
Aponte, a native Colombian, is a Certified Public Accountant, and Financial Audit Specialist. She holds a master's degree in risk management and has more than 17 years of professional experience. She volunteers as a member of the English Learners Parent Advisory Council (ELPAC, or CAPEI in Spanish) in the Berkshire Hills Regional School District. She supports the improvement of English Learner programs for the Latino community in the Berkshires and works to get the Latino community more involved in their children's educations by strengthening their presence in BHRSD school activities.
 
Aponte has worked on her English with LitNet tutors since June 2021 and is an advanced-level speaker. She also serves on LitNet's First-Generation College Council, co-leading FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and MASFA (Massachusetts Application for State Financial Aid) workshops, and otherwise working on behalf of first-generation college hopefuls and their families.
 
Lehman is a retired attorney with a BA from Mount Holyoke and a JD from Albany Law School. After a stint as a traditional associate, Lehman worked for a firm that provided research services for other attorneys. She then spent nearly 20 years writing legal treatise material for major publications. She has served on several nonprofit boards relating to at-risk and underserved populations and social justice issues and is a certified trainer in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Resolution. She has sung with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, Berkshire Opera, and opera companies in Connecticut. She currently sings with the Berkshire Hills Chorus, Berkshire Lyric, and the Threshold Choir. She is also a Hospice volunteer.
 
"Sandra and Jane both have valuable personal experience and relevant professional skillsets to contribute to LitNet. I'm excited to be working with them as LitNet grows and evolves," said LitNet Executive Director Leigh Doherty.
 
"We are grateful and excited to welcome these two dynamic women to our Board of Directors," says Board President Merle Kailas. "Their expertise and passion will be instrumental in advancing LitNet's vision of creating an engaged, welcoming, and literate Berkshire community."

 

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

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. 

View Full Story

More South Berkshire Stories