Friday, July 17, 2009

Scenes from Third Thursday - July 16

How DO you go from stained glass to bluegrass? Well, if you happened to be in Franklin on Thursday July 16th, it was pretty easy to do. The United Regional Chamber of Commerce helped Roger Magalhaes open his new showroom for Shades IN Place at 76 Grove St, Franklin at 11:00 AM. Roger has operated his business from his home in Hopkinton for three years and found the opportunity to showcase the work that he can do for windows here in Franklin. He also collaborates with Carol Collord and Deby Carlson to provide complete window treatments with matching furniture coverings or accessories. Roger focuses on the hardgoods and performs the installation. Carol and Deby will provide the softgoods to complete the whole treatment. A sample of a stained glass effect window at Shades IN Place. The effect is created with a layered plastic decal carefully covering the glass. Roger explained to me that to obtain the same effect from real stained glass would cost four times as much. Additional photos of Roger's new showroom are available online at the Shades IN Place web site here The contingent of United Regional Chamber of Commerce members gathered around Roger (in the center with the cap) to prepare for the official ribbon ceremony. Franklin Planning Director, Brian Taberner talks with Roger proudly holding a couple of welcome plaques from Congressman Jim McGovern's office and from Senator Karen Spilka's office. What is the crowd gathering for at Rick's? Could it be the free single scoop ice cream cone provided compliments of Middlesex Savings Bank? or could it be the bluegrass music? It probably was a combination of the two as folks gathered around enjoying the ice cream on a summer evening listening to the bluegrass band; Obi's Boys, get into real foot tapping music in the parking lot at Rick's. So mark your calendar for August 20th. Look for the Third Thursday signs outside the participating businesses and enjoy the evening in downtown Franklin! Third Thursday is a collaborative effort of the local businesses coordinated by the Franklin Downtown Partnership. This was originally posted at Franklin Matters

Wednesday, July 15, 2009