Film enthusiasts huddle in Lenox

12:00AM / Wednesday, December 05, 2001Print Story | Email Story

A group of film enthusiasts and professionals met in the Foundersâ€™ Theatre at Shakespeare & Company's Kemble Street headquarters on November 28 to discuss ways of luring film to Lenox. They met with the blessing of the Lenox Select Board, town manager and Chamber of Commerce. The group is already planning a second meeting, to get a feel for further interest. The next session is scheduled for December 12 at 1 p.m. at Kimball Farms. Tina Packer checked in on the meeting during a break in a workshop she was teaching. Julianne and Stephen Glantz, screenwriters who collaborated on "A Tanglewood Tale" at Shakespeare & Company shared their experience of many film festivals. Millerâ€™s gathering also included Lenox Historic District Commission Chairman Francis G. Newton; Mary Jane Kreiger, director of residential services at Kimball Farms; Lenox business owner Charles Flint; Dick Houdek, who runs the Walker Inn; and Tom Daly, curator of adult programs at the Norman Rockwell Museum, among others. William Parker writes and directs films; a official Shakespeare & Co. representativewho has done public relations work with Canadian films; another woman moved to the Berkshires from Los Angeles with her husband, who does special effects. Estelle Miller called the meeting with the mission to form a group that would watch films, she said, and perhaps to invite documentary filmmakers to show and discuss films. They might work toward building a cinema â€” Lenox residents now have to travel to Williamstown or Great Barrington to find an independent movie house. They might go further and create a film festival in a year or two. She proposed to organize these things. She asked her audience for their expertise. The discussion of the developing groupâ€™s goals ran generally on two lines, which might or might not converge: a cinema and a film festival. Several members remembered a survey the townâ€™s future. The largest single item mentioned was a movie house. The group suggested that a small cinema would stimulate the townâ€™s economy and give foliage seekers something to do when it gets too dark to see the leaves. Packer said Charlie Schulze, a Lenox entrepreneur, approached her over a year ago to talk about having a film showing place at Shakespeare & Company. She would be amenable, sure, she said in answer to a question, but Shakespeare & Co. has no funds for such a project. Houdek had researched the basic cost showing a film on the big screen, and produced some figures. The group would have to rent a projector at $25 a day for a 16mm film â€” larger film projectors cost more â€” an amplifier at $35, and speakers $35 and another $35 for surround sound. He talked to a guy who books for 25 theaters along the Eastern seaboard, he said. A film that has been out for a while runs $200-300. Without a screen, Houdek calculates that each showing of a 16mm film would cost $600-800. He has a 16mm projector he would willingly allow the group to use, he said, but a a 25 mm or 30mm projector would have to come out of Boston. He added that he would like to be able to show the short films that win Oscars and no one ever sees, because they cannot find distributors. Miller has talked to the town clerk, and said the Town Hall auditorium would be available. It has a screen, but no projector. Packer said the ice hockey rink at 70 Kemble St. will be a prop, set and costume shop, rehearsal and storage space and sound booth, but still has space in it that needs to be used if the building is to earn its keep. It has enough electric wired into it to make films, she said. â€œThe right reverend set it up as a film studio because he wanted to be a televangelist.â€ The auditorium is still there. Packer said she is also interested in putting some of Shakespeare & Co.â€™s productions on film. She showed enthusiasm for the second line of discussion, the film festival. What kind of festival, she asked, was Miller interested in investigating: a festival to attract young filmmakers to show their films, or simply a festival to show enjoyable films to the public? Films from the 1930s to the â€™50s, the Great Classic â€™20s or a gathering for filmmakers? She pointed out that many people in Berkshire County make films. The area has a range of filmmaking assets. The Berkshires have high technology â€” she mentioned Kleiser-Walczak Construction Co. in North Adams. Others in the group mentioned Doug Trumbull of Mass Illusion and the Visionary Institute, which produces PBS documentary series on nonprofit institutions. The Berkshires can offer composers, screenwriters, actors, theater and film directors, and resources for all of the above. Steven Glantz said film festivals usually offer some of both: public screenings and workshops for professionals. There are so many film festivals, the difficulty is to attract people, find a niche. The Glantzes agreed that even the least respected festivals can draw 800 entries easily. Most festivals get a couple of stars and throw a big dinner for filmmakers, they said: they offer a free trip, free food, networking, but not a lot about the culture of film making. Juliane Glantz said the group should ask, if they were going to have a film festival in a specific place, what about that place are people coming for? She agreed that the group should think about working with the art the Berkshires already have developed: bring in a famous film composer to conduct a score at Tanglewood, find a part of film making that isn't showcased elsewhere. Most festivals, she said, focus on the director. She warned against â€œthe other kindâ€ of film festival, a kind she had encountered often while on the road with her first film, which is set in the Berkshires. These festivals belonged to towns that wanted to extend their â€œon season,â€ and the least amount of good films went to them. In these festivals, the towns simply â€œinvited all these wealthy people in the community to see the films,â€ she said. They were only a free trip and free food, in other words. Filmmakers did not respect them. She added that one problem with shooting films in the Berkshires is putting people up, and it is also very expensive to shoot films in Massachusetts. The film actorsâ€™ unions here are some of the toughest in the U.S. Stephen said he would like to see exhibits of costumes and the histories of films and their making, screen writing workshops, actors to staging new or classic scenes. He added that to decide to find a projector and show films is not hard, and Miller does not need filmmakers or sound booths to do so. â€œTo develop film festival will require a lot more thinking, planning and scheming.â€

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North Adams Jewelry Store Has New Owner

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:34PM / Thursday, December 18, 2025

Cheryl Coppens put out a call for someone to take over the jewelry business she began last spring — jewelry maker Alexandra Padilla answered the call.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Artful Jeweler has a new owner who is looking to expand its offerings.

Cheryl Coppens opened the jewelry store in May, showcasing local artists, offering fine jewelry, and jewelry repair.

But a new grandson in Texas, and the difficulties in flying back and forth to see him, had her looking to move closer to him.

Last month, she posted on the business's Facebook that she wanted someone to take over the space and continue the venture. Alexandra Padilla reached out to her and Coppens said she met all her criteria she was looking for in anew owner.

"You have to really want to be in retail. You have to want to be in this community, priced where people can afford it. Alex is native to North Adams. Her husband, she's got two great kids, so it just felt like they would be able to continue the store," Coppens said. "So the criteria really was somebody that would work the store, not somebody that would just come in and hire employees. I didn't want that."

Padilla started taking over the store in the beginning of December. She has been selling jewelry for about three years, and has an online shop, and has worked in wholesale jewelry for about 15 years.

"I always wanted to have my own thing on it, and I wanted to bring something new, and I want to involve my family, my kids do something, and I want to be independent," she said.

Now Padilla showcases her jewelry in the Ashland Street store and plans to keep some of the local artists' items, like stained glass made by Coppens' mother.

Padilla customizes jewelry and tailors pieces to her customers.

She plans to work around her job at Berkshire County Head Start so she can open store for more hours.

She also plans to redesign the store a little bit and bring in a couple more lines, like more rings and pearls.

The store is open on Saturdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursdays 9 to 2, Fridays 9 to 6, and Sundays 9 to 3. The store has also been open on Mondays 10 to 5 and Tuesdays 10 to 3 for the holidays.

Padilla thanks Coppens for trusting her and hopes customers continue to support the Artful Jeweler.

"Thank you for trusting me. I'm going to try and do my best and work hard to make it happen," she said. "This is our first time selling retail, so we hope the community supports us in here."

Coppens will be helping Padilla until she is comfortable operating the store on her own. She said it will continue to be a space of community support.

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