Cheshire Twins' Lemonade Stand Inspires Cancer Charity

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
Four-year-old twins Eva and Emma Msibi lemonade stand has taken off as fundraising vehicle to help families dealing with cancer. Less than a week after setting up their lemonade stand, the project's come to include a wish bracelet, too.

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Not long ago there was a commercial about a little girl who grew her lemonade stand into an industry giant with the help of a certain phone.

Emma and Eva Msibi are rapidly growing their stand, too  — but with love and plenty of helping hands.

The 4-year-old twins have kickstarted a successful campaign to raise money for local people and their families who are struggling financially because of cancer. And they've done it in barely a week.

"We were planning to have a yard sale over the weekend, so I asked if they would like to have a lemonade stand," said their mom, Kelly Msibi. "I asked them what we should do with the money we raised.

"They both said we should give it to Anthony's dad."

Anthony's dad is 31-year-old Michael Talora of Cheshire who was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic melanoma. The community has rallied around Talora — friends recently raised enough money for the family to go to DisneyWorld — and Eva and Emma wanted to help, too.

Msibi didn't expect much for a last-minute fundraiser.

"I thought they would raise maybe $50," she said. "Instead, we raised $300. The girls and I brought it over to their house."

Eva and Emma's Lemonade Stand's success created another goal:  Help more families.

But the girls can't operate the stand every day. And they're set to start preschool at Cheshire Elementary School this week.



So the nascent charity branched out with the help of Msibi's friend Ashley Priester, a crafter and owner of AP Home Decor at the corner of Ashland and Main streets in North Adams.

More than 100 of the "No More Cancer Wish Bracelets," launched just this week, have been sold at $2 a piece.

"People are asking about them, they're coming in off the street looking for them," said Priester on Friday, as she prepared to package 40 or so of the hemp bracelets. Three were ready at around noon; by the end of the day she was sold out.

The bracelets are simple hemp twists with a card that asks you make a wish to end cancer and when the bracelet falls off (it is biodegradeble) someone's cancer will be cured.

"It lasts longer than you think," said Priester. "The wetter the hemp gets the stronger it gets."

Msibi has been taking orders for the bracelets and Priester, who designed the card, is trying to keep them in stock.

The project has taken off so quickly that Msibi and Priester are racing to keep up. They're talking with Moments House and Pop Cares, local nonprofits that provide support for cancer patients and families, about participating on sales. They're also planning to set up a lemonade stand at some craft fairs this fall. Priester said woodworker Corey McGrath of Corey's Country Creations in Cheshire, who made her store displays, had offered to build a lemonade stand.

Msibi said the girls are excited about the project. On Friday, they opened a bank account for the proceeds that are pouring from the lemonade and bracelet sales.

"One hundred percent is going to help people," said Msibi. "We want to help families who are struggling with cancer to pay their bills."


Tags: benefit,   cancer support,   fundraiser,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Pryor & Peacock's Whimsical Furniture Environmentally Friendly

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
 

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. 

View Full Story

More South Berkshire Stories