Thank you!
Your support is sustaining the future of local news in our communities.

West Cornwall design studio gives space a soul

West Cornwall design studio gives space a soul

Macaire + Kristoph Estate Furniture & Studio in West Cornwall, Connecticut. Featuring artwork by Tom Goldenberg, Don Bracken, James Rosenquist, Marthe Keller, Peter Cusack, Cathy Halloran.

Provided

CORNWALL — Well known for its covered bridge, West Cornwall has a vibrant art scene bubbling just below the surface.

With spreads of local meat, vegetables, and freshly baked bread at the Local, and the opening of fine dining establishment the Pink House, the village is more colorful than ever. The Wish House, Michael Trapp Antiques, and Ian Ingersoll Cabinetmakers offer a diverse selection of handmade textiles and furniture by craftsmen of the community.

Artists, however, can be hesitant to promote themselves. Liz Macaire and Simon Kristoph urge talent into the open, knocking on studio doors to discover hidden creators and masterpieces.

Macaire and Kristoph acquired the West Cornwall location of Macaire + Kristoph Estate Furniture & Studio on July 1 and opened four days later. Their original store in Cornwall Bridge is still open, but the new showroom has more space to experiment with fresh arrangements of contrasting art and furniture: modern and vintage, reasonable and expensive, simple and elaborate.

Today, amid the clutter of mass market consumerism, people ache for individuality. They want to learn about the history of products they buy and understand their value beyond basic function. Handpicked by Macaire and Kristoph, each item in their store is unique in both origin and design. “Retail for us is about physical interaction and inspiring people,” said Kristoph. He and Macaire work to help customers curate their living spaces meaningfully and intentionally.

The two designers spend their lives matching things with other things. They believe art and charity go hand-in-hand and are both integral to any community. On June 14, they put on the Arty Party at the White Hart in Salisbury, showcasing the work of 30 local artists. The event raised money and awareness for East Mountain House, which aids individuals in the process of aging and preparing for the end of life. The Arty Party embraced this taboo subject in celebration, with attendance of 700 people, and is set to become an annual tradition.

In the future, Macaire and Kristoph hope to draw crowds directly to West Cornwall. “How can we keep that momentum going with curiosity and discovery and get people to get in their car and travel 10 minutes up the road,” said Macaire. They envision their store as a hub for creativity: hosting events to highlight individual local artists, movie nights in appreciation of art from different time periods, and a town wide block party under the covered bridge.

Ruby Citrin

Latest News

Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Doug Tallamy’s work in progress: saving the planet one backyard at a time

Windacre, a 25-acre property in Millerton will be the site of “Work in Progress,” an afternoon with acclaimed entomologist, New York Times bestselling author and Homegrown National Park co-founder Doug Tallamy.

Provided

For nearly three decades, Doug Tallamy, a professor at the University of Delaware and co-founder of Homegrown National Park, has studied the intricate relationships between native plants, insects, birds and the ecosystems that sustain them. His books, including “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope,” have helped shift the conversation about conservation from something that happens primarily in parks and preserves to something ordinary people can practice on the land around them.

On Sunday, Oct. 4, Tallamy will bring that conversation to Windacre in Millerton for “Work in Progress: Toward Native Fields,” an outdoor gathering exploring both the possibilities and the complications of restoring private land for biodiversity.

Keep ReadingShow less
community

Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Celebrating Dick Hermans’ life built around community

Dick Hermans in the Oblong Bookstore on Millerton\u2019s Main Street in 1985.

Provided
No matter what I’ve done, I’m trying to be useful to the communities I’m associated with.
— Dick Hermans

When Dick Hermans receives the Estabrook Community Leadership Award on Oct. 11, he will accept it for a lifetime of work that has taken many forms: bookseller, radio host, school board member, advocate for the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, business owner, volunteer and, perhaps most importantly, a person who has consistently looked for ways to be useful to the communities around him.

The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News will present Hermans with the 2026 award at the annual Jubilee celebration at the Sharon Playhouse. The award honors outstanding leadership in community service and was inspired by Mary Lou and Robert Estabrook, former owners of the newspapers who believed that strengthening a community extended well beyond the work of publishing a newspaper.

Keep ReadingShow less
our community

Tending the Fire: Homelands PowWow brings Mohican culture home to the Berkshires

Tending the Fire: Homelands PowWow brings Mohican culture home to the Berkshires

Members of the Stockbridge-Munsee tribe at Homelands PowWow in 2025.

Joeseph Plante New Media Storytellers
Our goal is to continue building an annual gathering that honors the history, culture and traditions of the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans in their original Homelands.


For the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican people, the Berkshires are not simply a place to visit. They are ancestral homelands.

Keep ReadingShow less
community
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity

Ancram Center’s “A Number” doubles questions of identity
Ledbetter (left) and Wojda (right) on the set of “A Number” at Ancram Center for the Arts.
Jeff Mousseau

How would you feel if you found out you weren’t the only you — if there was an exact replica of you? What if you found out that you’d been cloned? Would you believe that you’re the real you? Would you suspect you might be a copy of the original? How could you be sure anything about your life was real? These are some of the questions posed in Caryl Churchill’s play “A Number,” opening at the Ancram Center for the Artson Oct. 1.

Churchill was born in London in 1938 and has been hailed by the theaterl world as one of the strongest voices of her time to take on sexual politics and feminist themes. Her works garner pointedly considered analysis from the highest levels of theatrical intellectualism. Basically, it’s about as far from “The Lion King” as you can get. While she’s experimented with dance theater in the past, “A Number” is much more stripped down, highlighting Churchill’s chosen themes and the skills of both actors on stage.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

Dispatches from the Farm

Dispatches from the Farm

Adamah Farm crew members planning out the day’s tasks on a late September day.

Janna Siller

“Dispatches from the farm” is a new, periodic column offering a firsthand look at the rhythms, challenges and rewards of farming through the eyes of a local farmer.

The thing about plants is that they can’t get up and move. When a storm like last weekend’s nor’easter threatens to roll through, you can’t just round everybody up and settle them safely on the sofa for movie night.

Keep ReadingShow less
dispatches from the farm

Pinchas Zukerman brings an all-Beethoven program to Hotchkiss

Pinchas Zukerman brings an all-Beethoven program to Hotchkiss

Pinchas Zukerman to perform at Hotchkiss Oct. 4

Cheryl Mazak

The passion, drama and energy of Beethoven will fill Katherine M. Elfers Hall at The Hotchkiss School on Oct. 4, when world-renowned violinist Pinchas Zukerman is joined by pianist Shai Wosner for a special recital.

The 4:30 p.m. program at the Esther Eastman Music Center will feature three of Beethoven’s celebrated violin sonatas: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23; Violin Sonata No. 5 in F major, Op. 24, “Spring”; and Violin Sonata No. 7 in C minor, Op. 30.

Keep ReadingShow less
concerts
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.