Berkshire Agricultural Ventures Hires New Development Director

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Berkshire Agricultural Ventures (BAV) announce the hiring of Kristen Moriarty as the nonprofit's new Development Director.
 
"We are thrilled to have Kristen in this crucial role," said Executive Director Rebecca Busansky.
"Kristen brings a wealth of development expertise, extraordinary interpersonal and relationship-building skills, and a passion for creating more vibrant and resilient local communities. In addition, she has a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has already brought leadership and thoughtfulness to these vital aspects of our work at BAV."
 
Moriarty joined BAV from Shakespeare & Company in Lenox where she held positions in development and program management. At BAV, Moriarty leads a multi-pronged fundraising effort, including cultivating and stewarding individual donors, orchestrating donor events, and overseeing BAV's grant portfolio of private and corporate foundations.
 
"I am delighted to join BAV's outstanding team to build support and capacity for the organization," said Development Director Kristen Moriarty. "I am deeply impressed by the work BAV is doing to strengthen local farms and food businesses and expand local food access. Food is fundamental – and it begins with our farmers. It is exciting to bring donors and funders into our work, especially at this moment in time. I am honored to continue growing BAV's base of support so that we can sustain and amplify our impact – with local farmers, local communities, and local economies."
 
Moriarty previously held leadership roles at Shakespeare & Company, serving as Senior Manager of Individual Giving and as Program Manager for the Center for Actor Training. She is a professional actor and an acting teacher as well as a development officer. Her background also includes event management, sales supervisory experience, and copywriting/content creation. She lives in Lenox with her husband and two daughters. Moriarty served for four years as PTO President at Morris Elementary in Lenox, among other commitments.
 
Moriarty began her role at BAV earlier this fall. In tandem with her hiring, BAV added a Program and Development Associate to support development efforts and expand capacity for farmer-focused programming. Based in Great Barrington, BAV has a staff of nine and serves farmers in parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York.
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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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