Nonprofit Center Announces Retirement of Founder

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.— Liana Toscanini, founder of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC), is stepping down from her role as Executive Director in the spring of 2026.
 
NPC was founded in 2016 with a mission to help nonprofits connect, learn and grow. Toscanini turns 65 as NPC celebrates its tenth anniversary next year. 
 
"It seems like an opportune moment to introduce new leadership to guide the organization to the next level," said Toscanini.
 
The idea for a nonprofit support center evolved from Toscanini's decades of involvement in numerous small civic and nonprofit groups, including a nine-year tenure at Community Access to the Arts (CATA). Toscanini pursued her vision of an infrastructure organization to help support the large and growing Berkshire nonprofit sector. She funded the start-up nonprofit herself and tirelessly developed multiple revenue streams to keep programs and services free or low-cost for nonprofits. Similar to a Chamber of Commerce, NPC serves as the trusted clearinghouse for practical information for Berkshire nonprofits, and is now a vital resource for the community.
 
"NPC has been a steady, genuine force for good. They meet you where you are and create a true sense of community among nonprofits," said Natale Monroe, founder of Embrace & Empower, a nonprofit focused on health equity and cancer survivor support.
 
Today, NPC serves over 200 nonprofit members thanks to strong support from the business community, individuals, foundations, and the Commonwealth in the form of an earmark. Seventy percent of the organization's annual budget of $400,000 comes from contributions. "Anticipating continued growth, we recently added the positions of Associate Director and Operations Manager," said NPC Board Chair Emily Schiavoni. 
 
An award-winning organization, NPC currently offers two dozen programs and services. Its signature offerings include The Giving Back guide, the Berkshire Nonprofit Awards, and a philanthropy curriculum for 8th graders. Over ten years, NPC has presented nearly 200 workshops and facilitated thousands of referrals and requests for advice. NPC's programs are seen as a model by other nonprofit support centers around the country.
 
Hari Kumar, NPC Board Vice-Chair and Chair of the Search Committee, said NPC has engaged a search consultant (Catherine Bradshaw of Eos Transition Partners) and the Executive Director job opening is posted on their website.
 
Kumar remarked on the transition. 
 
"Liana has served Berkshire nonprofits selflessly, graciously, and generously in building NPC as a true labor of love over 10 years. It is genuinely awe-inspiring to see how Liana pours herself into responding to every nonprofit, from fledgling to established," Kumar said. "And she finds time amidst it all to warmly welcome newcomers to the community as well, such as myself when I arrived here three years ago. We, as a board, are deeply thankful for the hard work that Liana and the NPC team put into serving nonprofits. Knowing her love for gardening, I can attest that she has carefully cultivated a vibrant and thriving garden for the next Executive Director, and we are looking forward to hiring the right person to nourish and grow the organization even further."
 

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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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