"Linen is bringing a carefully selected line of leading international and European fabrics to the Berkshires," said Caligari. "We believe that the market for really beautiful home furnishings in the region was calling out for this."
Linen will be working closely with sister company The Drapery Workroom, a full-service fabrication studio, at 85 Main St. in providing customers with access to custom alteration, monogramming and design services for the home. Store hours for Linen are Wednesday through Saturday 10 to 5. More information is available by calling 413-429-8005 or on the website.
William Caligari Interiors is a full-service commercial and residential interior design firm specializing in residential interiors, spa and hospitality properties, and commercial interiors. It recently completed work on the Crane AP 2.0 project for the Technical Materials division of Crane in Dalton.
Denim Depot's Grand Opening Set for Feb. 2
By John Durkan On: 12:05AM / Friday February 01, 2013
Tom Quinton shows his products at Denim Depot, which will open on Saturday.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Tom Quinton's soon-to-be-open Denim Depot sets to offer an "affordable alternative" to high-price denim.
"It's a type of thing most people can appreciate," Quinton, a North Adams native, said of his roughly 600 square-foot store located at the Oasis Plaza on the corner of Ashland Street and American Legion Drive.
The shop's grand opening is set for Saturday, Feb. 2, with store hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The initial regular hours will be from Tuesday to Saturday, 10 to 5, but Quinton said he'll be considering offering later hours on certain days, like Thursday.
"I'm going to get a feel for what the customers want," Quinton said.
Quinton's store offers new and gently worn denim products, which includes men's, women's and children shorts, pants and jackets, as well as handbags and toddler clothes. Quinton hopes to offer more denim products as time goes on.
The products range from $8-$15. Quinton explained the prices are cheaper than other retail outlets because most of his stock comes from store closeouts and factory seconds — clothes that have defects, usually minor, such as slightly improper stitching.
On opening day, Denim Depot will have a buy two, get one half-priced sale (of up to equal-value) for jeans. Quinton said he's flexible with making deals on quantity.
"I'll do my best to make everyone happy," Quinton said.
In addition, Quinton said the shop will buy denim items, as a chance for the shop to pick up on inventory and for others to make an extra couple bucks for their unwanted clothing.
Quinton hopes the location of his low-price denim shop attracts customers who frequent the nearby shops — Angelina's Sub Shop and Whitney's Beverage Store for example — as well as college students looking for a cheap pair of jeans.
Quinton said he doesn't expect the store to be "a big money maker," but aims for it to be sustainable.
"Jeans just seem to be a staple in everybody's wardrobe," Quinton said.
North Adams Shop Offers Geological 'Treasures'
Staff Reports On: 08:10PM / Friday September 14, 2012
Update, Oct. 11, 2012: The rock shop closed Oct. 5 after being open less than a month. Owner Marcia Brown told the North Adams Transcript that a lack of paying customers led her to shut the doors before getting into financial trouble.
Marcia Brown is opening Berkshire Geological Treasures in the Oasis Plaza. The shop features stones, crystals, fossils and related merchandise. Saturday's grand opening features free raffles.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — For years, Marcia Brown and her husband, Mark, have been bringing interesting bits of the planet back from their vacations.
Now they've turned their hobby into a business — Berkshire Geological Treasures. The shop in the Oasis Plaza on American Legion Drive opens Saturday at 10 a.m. with a ribbon cutting and free raffles.
"There's nothing like this in the area," said Brown on Friday. "It's something my husband and I have thought about for a couple years."
The shop offers treasures such as geodes, fossils and agates, children's items like a dinosaur "dig" kit, and Lucite merchandise from jewelry to staplers with real bugs trapped inside.
Overseeing the little shop is door-greeter Matthew, a mannikin clad in treasure-digging gear. (Her husband's idea, said Brown.)
"We haven't had gone out digging, but every time we're on the beach or walking in the woods we're picking up rocks or looking for crystal," said Brown. That includes trips they make to California a couple times a year. It's become such a tradition that their children and grandchildren are always eager to see what they've brought back.
The shop itself was put together in about two weeks, after Brown learned that T&T Tailors had left the plaza. The store was approved by the Redevelopment Authority on Monday night.
"It was a lot of work but we're excited," said Brown.
The store is open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 to 7; Sunday, noon to 6; and Monday and Tuesday, 10 to 4.
Brown thinks the location is a good one — both Boston Sea Foods and Whitney's Liquors draw a lot of traffic.
"We've had people just walking in curious as to what's going on," said Brown. "I had to tell them we're not open yet."
Greylock Federal Moving Into Former ToyWorks Space
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Greylock Federal Credit Union has signed a long-term lease for the former ToyWorks building in the Allendale Shopping Center.
Officials say the 18,000-square-foot space will enable Greylock to bring together credit union operations functions and provide convenient access for Greylock Insurance Agency customers.
Renovations are under way and credit union officials expect to move several teams to the location later this year.
"This location solves our long-standing need to consolidate numerous operations functions," said Greylock President Marilyn Sperling. "We have looked at more than a dozen locations and were pleased to obtain lease terms in Allendale that will actually decrease our real estate expenses while accommodating the long-term growth of the credit union."
The company's doubled its staff and tripled its assets since moving in 1998 into its 20,000 square-foot headquarters, a location expected to accommodate 20 years of growth. Sperling said the building was completely filled by 2004.
The end space on the L-shaped shopping center has been leased sporadically since the closure of KB ToyWorks and the company's liquidation several years ago. The KB headquarters on West Street next to the credit union was recently purchased by Laurin Publishing.
As the credit union has grown over the last 15 years, operational personnel have been scattered in three locations throughout Pittsfield, said Sperling. "When the moves are complete, we will have a larger footprint with greater efficiency and lower costs."
The Allendale site will also become a new central sales and processing site for Greylock Insurance Agency, providing a more convenient location for members in Cheshire, Dalton and other towns.
In addition to the insurance presence, Greylock plans to move the following functions and departments to the Allendale space, representing about 75 employees in total:
Deposit & Loan Operations
Call Center
Electronic Services
Marketing
Learning Center
The credit union as 245 employees and $1.2 billion in assets.
ADAMS, Mass. — A plastic sheet supplier and recycler is opening a new site in the Adams Corporate Park.
Optiglass PC LLC is a supplier of polycarbonate sheet and film, in association with bGreenplastic, a customized recycling service for plastic companies, both headquartered in North Carolina.
Rick Filiault, president and found of both companies, is a former account manager with GE Plastics.
Filiault said his goals is to "reawaken the foundation of plastic services in Berkshire County, and facilitate this process with passion and integrity."
"After growing up and working in Berkshire County, I felt that I needed to expand my business here, as Pittsfield is a global center of the plastic industry," he said.
Filiault said he is dedicated to the practice of sustainability and preventing plastic from reaching landfills.
Carrie Loholdt, the manager for the business's newest site, said the expansion will only better the quality of service for both Optiglass PC and bGreenplastic.
"Because our spectrum of business is continuously growing, the move to Adams ... made sense logistically in order to serve our customers ranging from northern New Jersey up to New York and Vermont with greater convenience."
Optiglass and bGreenplastic has two sites in North Carolina and one in Massachusetts, which allows the business to more efficiently service customers, as well as sustainable procedures, said Loholdt.
