Furie, Noel

The Bloodroot Collective, a feminist-lesbian work collective formed in 1977, grew out of a women's cooperative exchange hosted by Selma Miriam in her Westport, Connecticut, home between 1975 and 1976. The collective opened Bloodroot, a vegetarian restaurant and feminist bookstore, at 85 Ferris Street, Bridgeport, Connecticut, in March 1977. At the suggestion of animal rights activist friends, the group decided to focus on providing seasonal vegetarian food. Bloodroot is named after a native northeastern wildflower whose root system supports several vertically furrowed blooms, each stamen independent yet fundamentally connected, a system reflected in the collective's organization.

The original members of the collective were Betsey Beaven, Pat Shea, Samm Stockwell and Selma Miriam. Beavan, Shea and Miriam lived together and worked full-time at Bloodroot. Stockwell left the collective in 1977 and Noel Furie, then a part-time worker, was invited to join. Pat Shea left the collective in 1984, Beaven in 2001. Liz Seaborn was a collective member between 1985 and 1995. The women, committed to the practical and political dimensions of a feminist work collective, formed intense relationships: as lovers, friends, co-workers, and political cohorts.

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