GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Community Radio Alliance (BCRA) broadcasting at 97.7FM as WBCR-lp has received a $20,000 grant from The Feigenbaum Foundation to support the renovation of their studio at 320 Main Street.
The grant kicks off a 5-year project to enhance and upgrade the studio’s broadcast, recording, and training studio, which is currently being renovated as part of the extensive Mahaiwe Block renovation. The station is temporarily broadcasting from the 2nd floor of the Mahaiwe Building until construction is complete.
"We are most grateful for the generosity of The Feigenbaum Foundation," said John Prusinski, BCRA Board President. "This gift has sparked our fundraising campaign and energized our volunteers. We are so grateful the Foundation is partnering with us to continue to fulfill our mission of bringing high quality community radio to southern Berkshire County. There is no way we could embark on this extensive studio upgrade without their leadership gift."
WBCRlp is an independent, volunteer-based, non-commercial radio station serving the Berkshire community by providing training and access to the airwaves to members of the local community. The on-air signal can be heard 24/7 across a 10-mile radius at 97.7FM and via internet streaming at www.berkshireradio.org.
The projected cost for the five-year project is estimated at $73,910. The station is currently accepting grants and gifts to support the project.
This year, BCRA is celebrating 20 years on the air.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
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.
During his visit, Congressman Neal met with CATA artists and their families, including artists with disabilities from many of CATA's 65 program partners. click for more
Now, just steps from the original playground, a new ninja park is nearly complete to soon offer adults a unique opportunity to reconnect with that childhood sense of adventure.
click for more
Second- and third-grade students at St. Mary's turned their creativity into real-world advertising by designing ads for Meadow Farm Equipment — wrapping up our Junior Marketers Create an Ad series.
click for more
This season, Allen returned to the Berkshire Theatre Group's Unicorn Theatre in Abi Morgan's "LoveSong," a play about how love changes people over time. click for more