An Outstanding Outlet: Pine Cone Hill's New Pittsfield Store

On January 12, Pine Cone Hill opened an honest-to-goodness warehouse outlet at its world headquarters in Pittsfield. For several years, the 17-year-old company founded by Stockbridge native Annie Selke has had a store on the Lenox Road, where it sold its distinctive, beautifully-made and often winsome comforters, quilts, sheets, rugs and pottery at deep discounts. "Opening the outlet at our headquarters is more exciting than I thought it would be," says Selke, who employs nearly 100 people at the campus on Pecks Road (about half a mile west of the Berkshire Medical Center.) "It gives Pittsfield a fresh and affordable shopping venue, and it has also energized the entire Annie Selke Companies family. Employees enjoy showing off our headquarters to the general public."

Located next to the distribution center—which will make it easy to stock the outlet's industrial shelves and bins with overruns and other excess inventory—the store has a lofty, cheerful attitude and stylish vignettes that show off Selke's fresh American style. There are bargains galore: colorfully woven shawls ($25 and $50), silk throw pillows ($18 and $40), striped shirts for men and women ($18), flannel pajamas ($28), and cozy "sleepy fleece" bathrobes ($42). There are quilts ($90 - $130), sheet sets ($55 - $75) as well as placemats ($3 and $5) and bath towels ($5 - $18.) "For many Berkshire residents and Home store shoppers, the Home Store in Lenox was all they knew of what we do, when in fact, it was really the tip of the proverbial iceberg," says Selke who is also the creative force behind Dash & Albert rugs. "The new outlet is a colorful and happy extension of all that goes on at our 200,000 square foot campus." And if you can't make it to Pittsfield, you can shop at Pine Cone Hill's online outlet. For the month of January, Rural Intelligence readers will get an extra 25% off their purchases by using promotional code RURAL25 during the month of January.