Great Barrington Residents to Judge at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show

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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Residents Nioma Stoner Coen and Thomas W. Coen are among the judges at the 146th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in New York, New York on Jan. 24-26, 2022. 
 
The dog show is set to return to New York City after the 2021 event was held outdoors at the Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, NY due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is Nioma's first judging assignment with Westminster and Thomas' second. Both will officiate over several breeds at Pier 36 on Manhattan's lower east side.
 
Nioma will be judging the Collies (both Varieties), Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Shetland Sheepdogs. Thomas will be judging the Australian Cattle Dogs, Australian Shepherds, Belgian Laekenois, Belgian Malinois, Belgian Sheepdogs, Belgian Tervuren, Icelandic Sheepdogs, Norwegian Buhunds and Old English Sheepdogs. All Best of Breed winners they select will advance to the Herding Group competition on Tuesday evening at Madison Square Garden.
 
Nioma Stoner Coen has been breeding Shetland Sheepdogs since 1968. A Life Member of the American Shetland Sheepdog Association, she has bred and owned numerous National Specialty winners, all-breed Best in Show winners, and Register of Merit Sires and Dams. As a professional handler, Nioma specialized in Collies and Shetland Sheepdogs.
 
Nioma has judged both Collie and Shetland Sheepdog National Specialties and assignments in Canada, Japan, China, and Scandinavia. She is approved to judge Collies, Australian Shepherds, Pembroke Welsh Corgis, and Shetland Sheepdogs.
 
Thomas Coen became interested in the world of purebred dogs at the age of twelve and whelped his first Shetland Sheepdog litter in 1964 while still in high school on Long Island, NY. Over the past five decades of breeding Shetland Sheepdogs, Madega has bred or owned seven National Specialty Best of Breed winners, eight All-Breed Best in Show winners, and more than twenty Register of Merit producers, including the breed's All-Time Top Sire. 
 
After graduating from college, Thomas taught art on the Junior High level outside of Woodstock, NY. In 1970 he obtained his handler's license.
 
In 2000, he retired from handling and received his AKC judging license. He is approved to judge the Herding group, Dachshunds, and Best in Show. Thomas has judged Best of Breed at the Collie National, the Australian Shepherd National, and twice at the Shetland Sheepdog National. His assignments and his "Quest For Quality" seminar have taken him to Canada, Japan, China, Denmark, Norway, and Brazil. Together Nioma and Thomas were named the 2004 AKC Herding Group Breeder of the Year.
 
For 2022, Westminster Week returns to Manhattan starting with the Masters Agility Championship on Saturday, Jan. 22, the Masters Obedience Championship on Monday, Jan. 24 and the breed competitions on Monday (Hound and Herding), Tuesday (Toy, Non-Sporting and Terrier) and Wednesday (Sporting and Working), Jan. 24-26 all on Pier 36. The evening Group judging will be held at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 25-26, 2022.
 
 
 

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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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