Senate Candidate Lynch Getting to Know Berkshires

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Stephen F. Lynch is hoping to bring what he says is a different perspective to the U.S. Senate.

"You really have to have somebody who has their sympathies with regular families," said the representative for the 8th Mass District on Monday morning during a swing through the region.

Lynch spoke of his "humble beginnings" and his working-class experience in the Quincy shipyards and mills and construction sites around the country, sometimes working from paycheck to paycheck.

"I think I bring a perspective to the United States Senate that is not there right now," he said, noting he'd been "strapping on work boots" for longer than he'd been a lawmaker. "I think we have multimillionaires and career politicians that never ever worked in the private sector."

The ironworker-turned-congressman from South Boston is running for the Democratic nomination to fill the seat left by John F. Kerry, who is now secretary of state.

Lynch had dropped in for breakfast in Dalton before appearing on WBEC's "Up Front" on 1420-AM and then heading east for lunch with the mayor of Springfield.

He spoke of his strong support for unions (he was the youngest president of Iron Workers Local 7) and the social support system, including unemployment insurance and the Social Security and Medicare programs on which his elderly parents rely.

"I grew up in public housing, that's not a program that's my home," said Lynch. "I know what public education offers people, I wouldn't be sitting here as a United States congressman if it wasn't for a good solid public school education."

But he voted against the Affordable Care Act because he said it did not address the issue of cost.

"I'm hearing from a lot of unions who originally supported the Affordable Care Act but are now asking me to implement changes, and asking the administration to implement changes, because they will no no longer be able to provide health care," he said. "That's not the way this thing was supposed to work."

More small and medium-sized businesses are dropping their workers into the health exchanges created for the uninsured, and cutting off a prime benefit of union organization, he said, and that's hurting both business and labor.
 

He followed his father into iron working, only to see the shipyards and automobile plants close as employers pushed jobs overseas. In between, he graduated from Wentworth Institute of Technology and later from Boston College Law School. He served in the state Legislature before being elected in what was then the 9th Mass. District in 2001.

"I think because of my experience, I'll look at trade agreements a heck of a lot differently, they're not just policy, they're somebody's jobs, they're my job," he said. Rather than incentivizing corporations to ship jobs out, the tax code needs to be reformed to grow the job base here, he said. "We need to re-engineer our economy."

Lynch says the Berkshire expansion in hospitality and culture is a winning way to play to the region's strengths while also providing "fertile ground" for the life sciences field. especially as companies begin looking outside the high-cost urban areas.

Commuter rail (which is also being expanded in Western Mass.) is both propelling companies into smaller towns and providing more moderately-priced real estate for workers.

"There's fatigue out there," he acknowledged. "I met with unions who put their heart, souls and treasure into the Warren-Brown race ... They're like, 'your kidding ... .'"

The Democratic establishment did try to sidestep the issue by quickly backing Markey, the state's senior congressman, when he announced last month. (Markey's making an appearance Tuesday night at a reception hosted by the local Democratic organization).

"Unfortunately, I gummed that up a little," grinned Lynch. The short time span for the special election may help the fatigue factor but it will be hard to get out the vote. "A very small number of people are going to decide this race."

He vowed to be the region's champion in the same way he's represented his congressional district.

"I know there are folks who get elected and go to Congress and are never seen again in Massachusetts," said Lynch, which might have been a jab at Markey, who's had to fend off questions of residency. "When the gavel drops I'm back here. I am very much engaged in the areas I represent ... .

"My most important relationship is not with Nancy Pelosi. It's with the folks I represent."

Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Friday, August 21, 2026

 

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.