Railroad Street Youth Project Culinary Arts Dinner

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Railroad Street Youth Project (RSYP) announced that this year's Culinary Apprenticeship Dinner will take place on Wednesday, May 20 at 5:30pm at Barrington House, 246 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington.
 
A celebration of the accomplishments of local youth, this special event features a five-course meal prepared by young participants in the Culinary Arts Apprenticeship Program, the awarding of the Railroad Street Youth Student Empowerment (RYSE) Scholarship, and honoring Melissa Mae, the long- serving past President of RSYP's Board of Directors.
 
Created by and for South County youth in 2000 during a crisis of opioid-related deaths among their peers, RSYP has steadily grown from a small, grassroots organization into the region's leading authority on youth empowerment. Its services and programs have evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of local young people, stated a press release.
 
The annual Culinary Dinner is the culmination of RSYP's signature Apprenticeship Program, launched in 2006 as a response to growing interest in the culinary field among the community's young people.
 
Through eight-week apprenticeships led by local professional chefs, youth are empowered to gain real- world work experiences that increase their skills in teamwork, problem-solving, leadership and communication. The annual dinner is the culmination of the program, allowing apprentices to use the skills that they learned to create the meal under the guidance of No. 10 Steakhouse Chef Zee Vassos, who has been working in various capacities with RSYP since 2013 and has been the lead mentor chef for
the Culinary Arts Apprenticeship program since 2019. 
 
"Each student gets something different from the program," said Vassos. "That's what I really love about it." 
 
The 2026 event also recognizes Berdy Cheramy, the recipient of the 2025 RYSE Scholarship. This $20,000 annual scholarship is awarded as part of the Railroad Street Youth Student Empowerment (RYSE) Program, which provides an opportunity for students to explore their options after high school in a safe and supportive space. The scholarship may be used over the next four years to assist with tuition at a state or private college or university, a community college or vocational school, a focused curriculum for
a gap year, or any GED program.
 
The evening will also offer an opportunity to honor Melissa Mae in recognition of her dedicated support of young people in the Berkshires. A Berkshires native, Melissa has served as a member of RSYP's Board of Directors for over ten years, and is the co-founder of EvoQue Investments, an investment firm focused on connecting financial planning with personal values.
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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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