Friperie Berkshires Moves to New Great Barrington Location

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Friperie Berkshires has moved to new quarters on Bridge Street and will reopen this Friday, Feb. 13.

Owner Elizabeth Conkey has relocated her store from Lee above the Berkshire Co-op at 34 Bridge St., in Suite 101. 

The space is twice the size of her former spot in Lee, which is better for her, she said, because she needed it to add more services for her customers.

"I've been looking for a permanent space to land, and this space is perfect, because it's twice the size of where I was and I needed more room because I'm going to start doing men's and children's clothing as well," she said.

Besides adding more clothing, she will also be implementing a wardrobe service for her customers. 

"In addition to just constantly stocking the store and finding treasures, I started offering a capsule wardrobe service," Conkey said. "So it has three tiers, and basically, people can hire me depending on what tier of offering they're interested in, and I will go and thrift specifically for them based on a mood board that they send me from Pinterest, or just a file folder of photos that they like."

Conkey kept the Lee storefront through the summer and had been renting a space in Great Barrington from a friend. She finally found her new space around New Year's, and will be launching a website.

She is excited to open just a short distance from where she was. 

"I've really grown pretty exponentially in the past six months. I'm launching a website. I'm so thrilled with the growth. So it just seems like appropriate to finally move into the forever space, and have room to spread out and offer more categories of clothing," she said.

She also wanted to express her gratitude for her customers and friends' support to keep her dream alive.

"I am just so grateful to the people who have continued to shop in my store from the day it opened. Through the holidays, I had an incredible holiday season, and I just felt so grateful to everybody for telling their friends at my store, sharing about what they bought on Instagram, encouraging co-workers to come in," Conkey said. "It's been such a gift to feel welcomed by the community, and I feel like now my customers are becoming my friends, and I'm just excited to start this new chapter and never have to move all of this inventory ever again."

She will be open Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. She encourages people to check her Instagram for updates on clothes and her store.


Tags: business changes,   clothing,   thrift store,   

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Reps. Leigh Davis, Bud Williams Filing Legislation Honoring Freeman

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — State Reps. Leigh Davis of the 3rd Berkshire District and Bud L. Williams, of the 11th Hampden District, are filing legislation establishing Aug. 22 as Elizabeth Freeman Day of Equality, Healing, and Remembrance in the commonwealth.
 
The legislation would direct the governor to annually issue a proclamation recognizing the courageous contributions of Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved Black woman known as Mum Bett, whose landmark freedom suit helped spark the legal end of slavery in Massachusetts.
 
"Elizabeth Freeman's story began here in the Berkshires, but its impact reached every corner of the commonwealth," said Davis. "More than two centuries later, her legacy continues to inspire us. Establishing Elizabeth Freeman Day will ensure that future generations learn not only about her extraordinary bravery, but also about the power of one person to change the course of history."
 
In 1781, Freeman, of Sheffield at the time, challenged the institution of slavery by filing suit against her enslaver, Col. John Ashley. In the landmark case Brom and Bett v. Ashley, a Berkshire County jury ruled in favor of Freeman and her fellow plaintiff, Brom, granting them their freedom. The case demonstrated the power of the Massachusetts Constitution's declaration that all people are born free and equal and helped pave the way for the Quock Walker decisions that ultimately ended slavery in the commonwealth. 
 
"Freeman's courage changed the course of history in Massachusetts," said Williams. "At a time when the odds were stacked against her, she stood up and demanded that the promises of liberty and equality contained in our Constitution apply to her as well. She risked everything to challenge an unjust system, and her victory helped lay the foundation for the end of slavery in our commonwealth. Her legacy deserves to be recognized and remembered by every resident of Massachusetts."
 
Although unable to read or write, Freeman understood the meaning of freedom and equality and took extraordinary action to secure those rights for herself and others. Her story remains one of the most powerful examples of individual courage in the face of injustice. 
 
Elizabeth Freeman Day will provide an opportunity for reflection, education, healing, and remembrance, said Williams. 
 
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