Community, Economy, and Climate Panel with Local Leaders

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Join the Berkshire Community Land Trust for a panel with local leaders on May 7, at the Guthrie Center.
 
Moderator Katy Sparks will lead a panel of diverse non-profit experts in the fields of farming and food production, food access, housing, local business support, and environmental advocacy in a discussion about how to make life in the Berkshires sustainable for everyone. 
 
The panel will run from 6 to 8 pm. Doors open at 5:30. Free with reservations.
 
Speakers Brittany Ebeling (Berkshire Environmental Action Team), Jim Harwood (Community Development Corporation of the Southern Berkshires), Dennis Iodice (BerkShares), and Margaret Moulton (Berkshire Grown) will share their work and thoughts.
 
The panel will be preceded by a brief Berkshire Community Land Trust annual meeting. A reception will close the evening. Everyone is welcome; you need not be a member to attend, but please do make a reservation.
 
Katy Sparks is an award-winning chef and culinary and food systems consultant who lives and works in the southern Berkshires after spending over 25 years in New York City.
 
Panelists:
 
Brittany Ebeling is the Executive Director of Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT). Brittany has worked as an advocate on climate justice issues, collective land ownership models, and sustainable food systems. She has an undergraduate degree in International Economics and Peace Studies from the University of Notre Dame and a Master’s in Urban Policy from Sciences Po Paris. Brittany lives in Sheffield, Massachusetts, where she co-owns Little Bean Farm and Pantry, where she and her partner Ben grow unique heirloom dry beans.
 
Jim Harwood is the president of the board of Community Development South Berkshire. Trained as an architect, he relocated to the Berkshires with his family in 2007 and started his own practice. He was drawn to the region by its wealth of Natural and cultural resources. He has worked with CDC SB for 15+ years, helping to build community and drive economic development in the Berkshires one apartment at a time.
 
Dennis Iodice is Business Manager at Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Board President of BerkShares, and a Board Director of the Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire. He moved to the Berkshires with his family from Oakland, CA, ten years ago, and is the manager of the Great Barrington Farmers Market. 
 
Margaret Moulton is the Executive Director of Berkshire Grown where she works to create a thriving local agricultural economy by expanding direct market opportunities for local farmers, raising awareness and understanding of the issues challenging our local food system, and making fresh local food available to all members of the community, especially families facing food insecurity. Margaret is also visual artist, gardener, and educator. She holds a BA in Philosophy, and an MFA in Photography. She volunteered at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture, which led her to follow her passion to support small local farmers. 
 
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. 

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