Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Board Names New Director

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – The Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires (NPC) announces the appointment of Samantha Anderson as the new executive director of the organization, following the retirement of founder Liana Toscanini at the end of April of this year.
 
Anderson, a Berkshire resident, brings 30 years of experience managing mission-driven organizations in both the nonprofit and private sectors.
 
Board Vice President Hari Kumar, who chaired the search committee, said that the NPC Board undertook a national search.
 
"With the support of our external search firm Eos Transition Partners. Our focus was on finding the right person to steward and grow NPC as an organization that centers the needs of the vital nonprofit sector in Berkshire County, which is home to over 1,200 nonprofits serving a wide range of community causes. Samantha emerged as the clear choice from an extensive pool of highly qualified candidates," he said. 
 
Anderson will enter this new role from her previous position as president of West Stockbridge-based Essential~Wholeness LLC, where she led philanthropic advising and nonprofit capacity-building work while also serving as a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach. 
 
Her career has been both local and international in scope, and she has demonstrated a consistent ability to design programs that respond to community needs, grow and diversify revenue, and elevate organizational visibility. These skills and capacities are at the forefront of NPC's work. 
 
Additionally, Anderson brings direct experience with the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires itself, having previously served as a board member. 
 
Her existing familiarity with the organization allows her to enter her new role with a firm grasp of the organization's membership, programs, finances, and stakeholders.
 
"I'm thrilled to step into this role, and deeply grateful to Liana for founding and nurturing such a vital organization and to the Board for their confidence in me," Anderson said. "It's an honor to carry the baton forward into the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires' next chapter."
 
"Samantha is the whole package and then some," said Toscanini of her successor. "The Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires will benefit greatly from her experience and skillset as the organization enters its next phase of growth and impact."
 
NPC's Board of Directors invites the Berkshire nonprofit community to join them in both welcoming Samantha Anderson into her new role and celebrating the work of Liana Toscanini in founding and stewarding the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires for 10 years.
 
 
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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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