Her name was announced  a couple months ago, but Annie Selke, president and founder of Pine Cone Hill Inc., was honored Monday as the state's Small Business Person of the Year.

Selke was one of 11 individuals and businesses from Massachusetts recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington, D.C., on Monday as part of National Small Business Week. She will also be honored at an event in Worcester on June 8.

Selke started Pine Cone Hill in 1993 from her home. The home design company has expanded from whole sale fabrics and furniture to include handloomed braided and woven rugs and tableware, linens and accessories with Dash & Albert Rug Co. and Potluck Studio. The company employs 85 in Western Mass. and occupies 200,000 square feet. It's housed in a former textile mill renovated through a SBA loan program in 2004 and also has an outlet in the Lenox Shops.

Also cited was Richard Lafrance, CEO of Lafrance Hospitality Co., of Westfield

For more information on Small Business Week 2010, including information on all award winners, visit nationalsmallbusinessweek.com/. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It turns out the term "co-working" might not mean what you think.

Berkshire Creative sent us an email announcing an upcoming Co-Working Community Discussion, which it's holding in partnership with Cultural Pittsfield this Thursday, May 27, at the Lichenstein Center for the Arts. In this case, co-working means sharing a workspace with someone who does not work for the same organization as you. According to Berkshire Creative, examples of co-workers include work-at-home professionals, independent contractors, or people who travel frequently who end up working in relative isolation. Such individuals might seek a shared workspace with someone else.

The event runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

Scott Tillitt of BEAHIVE in Beacon, N.Y., will speak about the BEAHIVE co-working space and set the stage for an open, group discussion on co-working in the Berkshires.

It's an interesting idea... imagine an artist, computer programmer, inventor and gossip columnist working in one room.

In any case, if you're interested in learning more, contact Helena Fruscio, director of Berkshire Creative at info@berkshirecreative.org or 413-822-8324 or Megan Whilden, director of Cultural Development, Pittsfield at mwhilden@pittsfieldch.com or 413-499-9348.

Qualprint's 2010 calendar nabbed a silver award from the 2010 Calendar Marketing Association.

We especially like the calendar full of Berkshire scenes was dedicated to the late Joel Librizzi, a professional photographer who served for 26 years as one of the calendar contest judges for the company. Joel, who died in June 2009, spent his career as a photojournalist at The Berkshire Eagle. He was well known as a talented artist and generous friend.

The National Calendar Award was given in the division of Most Creative Marketing Application for a custom/corporate calendar. The annual full-color calendar is produced, printed and distributed each year by the company. It's printed on FSC certified stock using soy-based inks.

The calendar was designed by Lisa Kirchner, a graphic and digital production artist at Qualprint, and more than 10,000 have been circulated throughout New England.
Winning criteria included the quality of photographs and graphics and complete execution of the calendar subject and theme. The images appearing in the calendar are chosen in an annual photography and art contest sponsored by Qualprint for the past 27 years.

This year's Buy in the Berkshires Expo will be held on June 23, from 3 to 8 p.m., once again at Jiminy Peak Ski Resort.

The initiative was launched last year as a way to encourage residents to explore the many products and services available in the county. The expo also acted as a networking event for industries ranging from hospitality to printing to cultural venues to retail outlets to demonstrate their capabilities to each other.

Some 1,000 people attended last year's inaugural expo.

Both indoor and outdoor booths are available; Berkshire Chamber member rates are $125 for a 6-foot table and $175 for an 8-foot table.

The premier sponsor for this event is Greylock Federal Credit Union. Sponsorship opportunities at a different level are also possible. For more information, call 413-3499-4000, Ext. 26, for more information. Sponsors will be given great exposure before, during and after the event.

Click here for an application and site maps.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Walks along the Hoosic River inspired Martha Flood's line of designer fabrics displayed in her new studio space on Eagle Street.

The fabrics also mark the freelance surface-pattern designer's first step in producing and marketing her own patterns.

"It's so fun to take a concept and produce it as a reality," said Flood recently in her new studio. "I spend a lot of time engineering the pattern so it looks like it just fell out of the camera."

A sign announcing the store sat the window of the former Skiddoo retro shop since she'd received Planning Board approval last September, but elements had conspired to prevent its renovation and opening until late last month. https://www.iberkshires.com/story/32378/North-Adams-Planners-Approve-Ballet-Textile-Spaces.html

Flood, a Syracuse (N.Y.) University graduate, has been working in textile and wallpaper design for 30 years. She was working on a camouflage design a couple years ago when she got involved in the North Adams Artists Cooperative and expanded upon the concept. The results were shown at the co-op's gallery during Downstreet Art.

That became the jumping off point for The Woodlands Collection, a set of six designs echoing the Berkshires forests and riverbanks of bark, leaves, stones, water and brilliant Queen Anne's lace.

The very green-inspired cloth is also green in intent. The heavy canvas weave is produced by a company in North Carolina out of recycled plastics. The digital printing non only reduces waste, it signficantly cuts the time from concept to production. "It opens up a range of possibilities for what designers can produce," said Flood.

The fabric, which runs $64 a yard, is heavy enough for upholstery and light enough for use in products such as totes, pillows and shades. Right now, Flood has four designs - Black Cherry Bark, Hoosic River, Autumn Leaves, Lichen Wood, Savoy Birch and Queen Anne's Lace. She's considering with playing with color for several of them, such as a bluer "Hoosic River." 

She's shopping the designs commercially but the fabrics are available off-the-rack at her studio.

Flood's decision to move her studio from the Eclipse Mill to the more visible Eagle Street location comes in part from her participation in the local Assets for Artists program, a collaborative effort of several cultural, educational and business entities that helps artists develop business plans and access grants. 

"I felt really empowered to have a place and to know what to do," she said.

Store hours are Wednesday to Sunday from noon to 6 and at other times by appointment or chance. For more information: Martha Flood Design.