Colorful Stitches Sponsors World Traveling Fashion Exhibitio

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Rowan 30th Anniversary Exhibition to appear at Welles Gallery in Lenox, November 6-28
 
LENOX, Mass. - Colorful Stitches, Lenox, MA retailer of fine designer knitting yarns, announces that it is sponsoring the Massachusetts portion of the North American tour of the Rowan 30th Anniversary Exhibition, bringing the show to the Welles Gallery in the historic Lenox Library this November. The exhibition, presenting 30 years of hand knitted garments and quilts from Rowan, U.K., international leader in the fashion knitting yarn and design industry, is on display through Thanksgiving weekend.

Rowan is the U.K.’s leading premium yarn company and the Exhibition will showcase examples of vintage designer garments tracing three decades of design in the hand knitting industry. This touring exhibition has already appeared in several European countries as well as Australia and the Lenox venue is part of a year-long North American tour.

The Exhibition will feature a selection of iconic designs and profiles the key designers who have helped create the individuality that is the Rowan brand, designers like Kaffe Fassett, Kim Hargreaves, Annabel Fox, Louisa Harding, Jean Moss, Brandon Mably, Marion Foale, Erika Knight, Sarah Dallas, Sasha Kagan, Martin Storey and Marie Wallin. The exhibit showcases a wide range of garment styles for women and men: cardigans, jackets, sweaters, coats, dresses, vests and shawls. The work involved in the exhibit garments is evident. An outstanding knitted garment on view in the show will be Kaffe Fassett’s Long Leaf Coat with some knit rows requiring over 30 color changes. This amazing coat is made from over 70,000 stitches and is a testament to what hand knitters can achieve. In all the exhibit’s thirty-three garments span the years from 1983 to 2008.

The past 30 years have seen Rowan develop from life in a small office above a grocery store into an internationally recognized center of hand knitting excellence. Rowan’s aim over the years has been to produce hand knit and crochet designs that echo the world of fashion, yet remain timeless and unique in the wardrobe of today.

Colorful Stitches saw the opportunity to pair the style and classic elegance of Rowan’s designs with the knitters of New England and negotiated the exhibit for Massachusetts at Lenox Library’s Welles Gallery. Colorful Stitches has long been one of the largest suppliers of Rowan yarn and designs nationwide, earning the sought-after title of “Rowan Stockist”. Styles created by British designers have been well appreciated by Colorful Stitches’ customers through both the retail store in Lenox and the full online store at www.colorful-stitches.com.

In addition to the Exhibition, Colorful Stitches will host two Rowan workshops with Sharon Brandt, Rowan Retail and Brand Development Manager for Rowan Yarns on November 14-15 to coincide with the Exhibition. Ms. Brandt will present “Rowan’s Autumn/Winter Collection Workshop” on November 14 and “Design Your Own Accessory Workshop” on November 15 at the Colorful Stitches store. Author of several knitting books, Brandt has been operating her own knitwear business for 20 years.

The Exhibition will formally open at the Welles Gallery in the Lenox Library, 18 Main Street, Lenox, MA on Friday, November 6 and continues Tuesdays to Saturdays through November 28, daily from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. Admission to the Exhibition is free. The Welles Gallery has its own provate entrance; it is also accessible for visitors through the Lenox Library’s ground floor Sedgwick Reading Room.

The Workshops, held at Colorful Stitches, 48 Main Street, Lenox, MA, are available while space permits with pre-registration through Colorful Stitches. A full workshop itinerary and prices are available at http://www.colorful-stitches.com/. For workshop registration, please contact Colorful Stitches: 413-637-8206, 800-413-6111.
 
Colorful Stitches operates a two-story fashion yarn retail store at 48 Main Street (rear of building) in Lenox, MA as well as the full online store at www.colorful-stitches.com. Colorful Stitches specializes in natural fiber yarns including exotic fibers from around the world, patterns, books, notions and equipment for fine knitting and crocheting. Colorful Stitches is co-owned by Mary McGurn and Bonnie J. Burton.

Rowan of Holmfirth, United Kingdom distributes yarn and pattern instructions/books worldwide.

Their yarns and patterns are distributed in the U.S. by Westminster Fibers, Inc., Nashua, NH.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

A Boutique Hotel is Bringing Guests a Luxury Stay in Lenox

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff

LENOX, Mass. — A new Inn is bringing a boutique-style stay for visitors and locals to enjoy.

Owners, Sullivan Capital LLC, purchased the property, located on 135 Main Street, in 2024. After a year or renovations, Garden Gables Inn is open for business. 

"Garden Gables started off as one of the many Berkshire cottages, 1790 was the date on that, and it's always operated as an inn," said Hospitality Manager Yvonne Walton. "It's just a great gathering place and relaxation spot for people to come and get the feel of Lenox, and just slow down and enjoy the nature and the surrounding area...get culture and art and see some great concerts. I think it'll be a wonderful place, definitely does more of the upper-scale hospitality." 

Owners Niko Giallouis and Eric Sullivan bought the property from the former owner. Sullivan had his eye on Lenox since attending a wedding almost 10 years ago.

"I came to a wedding in Lenox, probably six or seven years ago. Personally, just kind of fell in love with the area, and I guess that's kind of how it got on my radar. So you know from that perspective, as we got into the hotel business out towards an area, it was a place I was kind of monitoring and waiting for the right property to show up."

After purchasing the two underwent a full renovation, a project that cost around $1.5 million. The building, first built in 1780, required some TLC. Sullivan's wife, Jessica, who owns Jessica Sullivan Design, designed the inn.

Sullivan said they installed a new roof, repainted everything, renovated the bathrooms, installed new floors, a new HVAC system, and new plumbing.

"We really touched everything from the outside...I mean, all the aesthetics and layouts changed a bit," he said. "As I said, put about a million and a half into it. All new furniture, fixtures, everything. The design's completely different. It wasn't a full gut, but it was a heavy, heavy renovation."

The two like to collaborate with local businesses, and they make a point to direct visitors to local restaurants, businesses, and attractions.

"If guests are asking for recommendations, our customer service team, our guest services team, will relay that kind of information. Even if we can call and make a reservation for somebody, happy to do it," he said. "We aren't doing breakfast, but what we do is we have partnerships with a lot of the breakfast places downtown. We actually purchase a gift certificates for each person each day, so that they can use that to go downtown."

Sullivan hopes that guests don't see their inn as just a place to sleep and dump their bags, but make it an experience for anyone who stays.

"We really focus on kind of the experience side of things, so again, we want to give you the best experience you can have here...and we want that not just to be the place you put your bag and go do things. It's important to think of everything," he said.

Sullivan said partnerships are important to their business and are a way to connect with locals.

"The local partnerships, I can't stress that enough, because no matter how much and how great the room is, people are still going to want to go do other things," he said. "So, I think it just benefits everybody if we're all working together and so forth, and supporting the community, being neighborly too, because we are surrounded by residential homes...But we really try to put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, a lot of love into the building, all the details, really care about the senses," Sullivan said.

The Inn's check-in and reservations are completely online. When guests arrive, all they have to do is check in online and receive their code that they will use to enter their room. Sullivan hopes this helps create less stress for guests and gets them to their room as fast as possible, especially after a long trip.

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