BMM CEO Joins South Berkshire Development Board

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The Community Development Corporation of South Berkshire (CDCSB) has welcomed Allen Harris as its newest member to the Board of Directors.  
 
Allen, a Berkshire native and longtime resident of Dalton, was elected to serve a three-year term this week on the nonprofit's Board of Directors.
 
He is the Founder and CEO of Berkshire Money Management (BMM), a full-service financial management firm, located in Dalton. Allen is a professional investment management veteran who, for more than 20 years, has used his expertise to help his clients increase their investment portfolio value while protecting their wealth during economic downturns. 
 
He has grown his company to more than 15 employees and is in the process of opening BMM's first satellite office on the corner of Castle and Main Street in Great Barrington.
 
"BMM's community development outreach includes nations across the globe, but the emphasis has typically been in Berkshire County. In particular, the towns near our headquarters," said Allen.  "Our move to Great Barrington means we'll widen our primary target area, which we have already begun by making donations to area non-profit organizations. But a check can only go so far. The CDCSB has presented me with an opportunity to apply time, experience and physical effort to helping the southern Berkshires become an even better place."
 
In his personal life, Allen has a passion for philanthropy, with a particular focus on animal welfare. He has personally fostered scores of pets in his own house as he tried to find them "forever homes."
 
Allen is also a strong supporter of both economic revitalization and the arts in the Berkshires. He will be a member of both the Economic Development and the Marketing/Fundraising subcommittees of the board helping to move forward the CDCSB's mission to build affordable housing and support small businesses.
 
 CDCSB Executive Director Allison Marchese welcomed Allen to the board, remarking, "Allen brings to us his immense talents as both a business leader and a caring, dynamic human.  
 
"The CDCSB has already benefited from his generosity as the lead sponsor of our upcoming Virtual Film Fundraising event taking place on Zoom on Friday, October 8, at 7pm." 
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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. 

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