SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Mount Everett Regional School has announce that Benjamin Vella has been named valedictorian, and Philip Enoch has been named salutatorian of the class of 2026.
They will speak at graduation exercises to be held Saturday, June 6, at 10 a.m. at Tanglewood in Lenox.
Vella has completed a demanding course schedule, which includes eleven honors courses, eight early college courses, and one Advanced Placement course — Spanish Language and Culture, for which he earned the Seal of Biliteracy.
In addition to his academic endeavors, he has participated in extracurricular activities, making positive contributions to the Mount Everett Regional School community. Some of these activities include a member of the National Honor Society chapter, writer for The Bold Eagle student newspaper, Prom Committee member, Vex Robotics team captain, cross country team captain, track and field team captain, Rotary Interact Club secretary, and various positions on the
Student Council, including secretary, treasurer, student representative to the School Committee, and president. His leadership in the aforementioned areas has been notable.
In the fall, Vella will attend Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, to pursue a degree in biochemistry.
Enoch has completed a rigorous course of study, taking 11 honors courses, three early college courses, and four AP courses. A leader in the school community and three-sport athlete, he has contributed to the Mount Everett community through the following extracurricular activities: tennis team, captain of both the soccer and hockey teams, Rotary Interact president, The Bold Eagle's
editor-in-chief, National Honor Society treasurer, and the school band and choir.
He has also been on a team of Mount Everett musicians who have written
and produced their own music for a self-driven Studio Music class.
Enoch will attend Williams College in Williamstown in the fall, entering as an English major with a focus on pre-law.
"Ben has worked extremely hard in his time at Mount Everett. He has been an outstanding student and community member. He has shown leadership in our classrooms and in extracurricular activities. His work ethic in these activities and his dedication in his studies has been exemplary," said Principal Jesse Carpenter.
"Philip has thrived at Mount Everett. He worked diligently in the classroom, on our athletic fields, and in all of his extracurricular clubs. His leadership in these clubs has been vital to their success. He has also been a model citizen and a role model that our younger students can look up to."
Please join the Southern Berkshire Regional School District in congratulating these fine scholars on their achievements.
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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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