For us in the Berkshires and at 1Berkshire, it’s important that we draw attention to the wide variety of women-owned businesses, leaders, and entrepreneurs in our area in celebration of Women in Business month. From arts and culture to manufacturing and healthcare to politics, the Berkshires is home to so many outstanding and committed women leaders. In fact, the Berkshires outpaces the national average for women-owned businesses. To honor this we are highlighting a variety of capable and dynamic women all month long in our e-communications, at our Good News Business Salute as well as on our social media networks. Be sure to acknowledge all the strong women around you this month and all year long.
We are excited to be able to give our first shout out to Methuselah Bar and Lounge owner Yuki Cohen. Yuki works as the Vice President and a Financial Advisor at Alexandra Dest Capital Management during the day and at night pursues her passion: owning and operating one of the most popular nightlife destinations in the Berkshires. Methuselah won the Newcomer of the Year Trendsetter Award at our Celebrate the Berkshires event last year. She says “I wanted to create a space where people felt transported out of their everyday life, into a world where love, hearty belly laughs, and connecting face to face presided over all else.”
Yuki continued by saying “I wanted the bar to reflect my background, my Korean heritage, and my deep love for the Berkshires. Juggling both while being a single mom to two daughters has taught me so much about time-management and how it’s not the quantity of time that matters with my children, but the quality of my time with my daughters.”
The block that Methuselah resides on, is home to at least five other wonder women-owned businesses, such as Radiance Yoga and Kidding Around Consignment. “It’s quite the sisterhood we have on our block,” Yuki adds.
We now turn our attention to a female entrepreneur and designer Annie Selke. Annie is a “traveler and flea market hunter,” turning her vision and inspiration into a multi-million dollar business. Founder and CEO of the internationally recognized Annie Selke brands, her designs have been featured on television, in hundreds of magazines, and more.
At the company headquarters in Pittsfield, Annie heads a staff of 140 people and oversees another 40 at a production facility in India. Annie recently opened 33 Main, a “luxury lodging destination” in Downtown Lenox with an accompanying Annie Selke Pop-Up Shop right across the street. According to Annie, “as the owner of a lifestyle retail brand and someone who travels over 175 nights a year, I feel uniquely qualified to enter the hospitality world and I’m excited to bring the best of my hotel experiences to the Berkshires.”
Finally, we look at SHINE Wire. It was around the Shine family’s kitchen table in 1984 that Patricia Shine decided to put everything on the line to create something out of a huge loss of jobs in North Adams when Sprague Electric closed. Out of this idea, SHINE Wire was born and to this day her company continues to be a successful electronic contract manufacturer of custom cable assemblies, wire harnesses, and electro-mechanical assemblies in the Berkshires.
“People before profit” is how the company’s employees describe their experiences with SHINE Wire, which lives true to Patricia’s original mission of the business: putting others first, providing opportunities for all. On the floor, women outnumber men. In fact, the first two employees were women and former Sprague employees. Karen Sherman was one of those first employees – and she’s still with the company today.
These women are just a few of the extraordinary people that help make our county such a great place to live and work. With any luck, next year the number of women-owned/run businesses will be even higher and we can continue to outpace the national average. Take a moment to thank them for all they do!
A special thank you to our Women in Business month sponsor: Smith Green & Gold
