Rochester attorney Sharon P. Stiller has partnered with design firm Abigail Riggs and the National Women’s Hall of Fame to create a commemorative scarf that will go on sale at the induction ceremony on Sept. 16 to help raise money for the organization in Seneca Falls, Seneca County.

Stiller, a partner at Abrams Fensterman, in Perinton, funded the project to produce the limited edition silk scarf designed by the Abigail Riggs Collection, the same company that designed the commemorative Susan B. Anthony “Purse with a Purpose” in 2010, to help raise money for the Nation Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester.

The 70- by 25-inch silk scarf that will sell for about $150 depicts layers of images including architectural renderings of the future home of the Hall of Fame at a former mill on the edge of the Erie Canal, coupled with a 19th century map of Seneca Falls, the birthplace of the women’s rights movement, overlayed with a colorful patchwork of colors, and a bold red and blue border.

Gail Riggs, CEO and head of design for the Abigail Riggs Collection, said she was inspired by the ideas of the all-women design team at CJS Architects in Rochester that planned the repurposing of the mill building where the new Hall of Fame is expected to open in 2018.

“They utilized kind of a patchwork theme. When I was asked to do the scarf as a fundraiser I really thought it was applicable to continue this theme that they created,” Riggs said.

“It really does coincide with how women’s rights have evolved. There’s a layering effect to it and that’s really what I wanted to try to portray in the scarf,” she said.

The border “ribbon effect” was added as a celebratory element, she said.

“Everyone who wears the scarf should feel like a winner because they’re helping support an amazing cause,” she said.

Stiller is on the Hall of Fame Board and has been active in the organization for about 20 years. During that time she has seen the Hall transform from a local organization to one of national stature.

Stiller grew up in Irondequoit and graduated from Albany Law School in 1976 where she was one of 20 women in a class of about 200.

When she went to work at the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, she was one of the first full-time female assistant DAs. And when she left to go into private practice, she was the first female associate at Abrams Fensterman to become a partner.

“I want to be able to support he Hall and the mill in any way that I can. This is a great project because it’s a project that continues to give; it’s a project that publicizes women and women’s achievements; it’s a project that publicizes the great work of women and the importance of Seneca Falls in all of this,” Stiller said.

2017 National Women’s Hall of Fame induction

When: Saturday, Sept. 16. Luncheon, noon. Induction ceremony, 2:15 p.m. Gala reception, 7 p.m.

Where: Luncheon and induction ceremony, New York Chiropractic College, Athletic Center, 2360 State Route 89, Seneca Falls. Gala reception, The Gould Hotel, 108 Fall Street, Seneca Falls.

Inductees:

Matilda Raffa Cuomo
Temple Grandin
Lorraine Hansberry
Victoria Jackson
Sherry Lansing
Clare Boothe Luce
Aimée Mullins
Carol A. Mutter
Janet D. Rowley
Alice Waters
More information: www.womenofthehall.org/event/2017-induction-weekend/

Originally published by the Rochester Business Journal