DEAR DR. GOTT: I developed eczema on my hands about six months ago, at the age of 46. I have tried three different prescriptions to no avail. Do you know of anything else that I can try?DEAR READER: Eczema typically starts with a patch of excessively dry skin that begins to itch. As you scratch it, it becomes red and inflamed.It is important to keep the skin moisturized. Preventing the initial dryness can prevent scratching and the resulting rash. Because your hands are affected, this can be especially difficult since we, as humans, use our hands for just about everything.First, when washing your hands, doing the dishes or even showering, use cool or lukewarm water. Don’t rub the skin dry, but gently pat it. Follow that immediately with a moisturizer. Whenever you feel that your skin is becoming dry, apply more. My readers have had success using mentholated chest rubs, regular ChapStick, Bag Balm and glycerin on dry, cracked or chapped skin. You may also choose to use a good-quality lotion or cream, particularly one with a petroleum or lanolin base. Perhaps a short trial of a hydrocortisone would help. Avoid fragranced or dyed products because these may further irritate your already sensitive skin.It may take some time to adjust to the new routine and for results to be seen, primarily because you appear to have a severe case. Stick with the regimen for at least a month. Then if you fail to see improvement, make an appointment with a dermatologist to discuss other options, including testing to determine whether what you have is really eczema.For more about skin disorders, order my Health Report “Dermatitis, Eczema and Psoriasis” by sending a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order to Dr. Peter Gott, PO Box 433, Lakeville, CT 06039-0433. Be sure to mention the title or print an order form off my website’s direct link at www.AskDrGottMD.com/order_form.pdf.Peter Gott practiced medicine in Lakeville for 40 years.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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