LitNet Revamps Website to Better Serve Learners, Tutors

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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LEE, Mass. — The Literacy Network has launched a new website that furthers its mission of serving the county's immigrant population through language assistance, U.S. citizenship information, and other resources.

This is the first overhaul of LitNet's website in eight years and features improved translation and an intranet gathering space that allows around 160 volunteers to communicate with each other and staff.

The new page was created by Brickhouse Web Design of Pittsfield and was made possible by a grant from the Feigenbaum Foundation.

Executive Director Leigh Doherty compared the former page to a closet in an old house that was so jam-packed it was hard to find anything. The organization is excited to have a clean website that helps be the face of its services and programs.

"Now it's like we are in a new modern home where everything has a place and it's clean, you can find everything," she explained.

"From behind the scenes that's awesome for management and we're just excited about this tutor intranet, which makes it different than just a stagnant website. It's really meant to be active for our tutor community who enjoy talking with one another about tutoring and resources."

Titled the "Tutor Cafe," the feature allows tutors to create a profile and identify what level of learning they work with, how long they have been tutoring, and where they are located.

"There are sections about the kinds of services we offer so there is a section for tutors who are working with beginning learners and someone might say, 'Hey, I'm working with a beginner and I'm using this book and what do you think about chapter seven?' or 'Hey, has anybody used this audio component of the book?'" Doherty said.

"So it just allows the users of the materials to ask questions, answer questions, see conversations. There are different categories and they can start a new one too if they have a new thread to begin."

Founded 32 years ago, LitNet is a volunteer-based nonprofit that offers free tutoring in English for Speakers of Other Languages, U.S. citizenship test preparation, and adult basic education.  It currently serves 200 individuals and the leaner base is said to be growing rapidly.


A majority of learners are immigrants from South and Central America who are working on their English language skills.

To better serve this population, the new website has an improved translation function that allows leaders to browse LitNet's programs and services in their native language.

"We have multiple languages now too. It's always been multilingual but we opted for a better service that translates more accurately because we felt that was important," Doherty explained.

"And really, there are sections for our learners, there are sections for tutors, and there are sections for the public to learn about LitNet so it has different audiences too."

Both learners and tutors can sign up through the website and there is also a section that celebrates donors and partners while providing information on how to become one.

The organization is hosting its annual fundraising celebration at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Sept. 9.  This year, it is in honor of former Berkshire Bank CEO Bill Dunlaevy, who was very involved with the community.

The event will be Latin-themed, featuring drinks, food, and dance.

Doherty was also happy to report that LitNet has two Yale University interns doing research for them.  One is focusing on the dropout rate in Berkshire County and what adult learners need to be welcomed back to schooling and the other is studying first-generation college services in the community and how to best serve that population.

"So we're looking forward to rolling out plans on those two fronts once the research is complete," she said.


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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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