HARLEM VALLEY — The Harlem Valley Chamber of Commerce (HVCOC) is joining forces with the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce (DCRCOC) in its campaign to lower prices at the pump. The chambers are providing an online petition for both members and nonmembers to complete, which will then be sent to federal elected officials in hopes of encouraging them to find effective ways to lower gas prices.“Higher energy prices are a chain reaction to all price increases,” states the DCRCOC’s site, explaining that according to economist Nouriel Roubini of Roubini Global Economics, “an increase in oil prices to $140 a barrel could even cause the recovering economy to revert back into recession.” The introduction to the petition claims that “if anything, it will surely slow the economic recovery. “Another concern regarding gas prices is that in the summer refineries will switch over to the summer blend, a more expensive process,” it states. “Join us in this unified effort to encourage our elected officials to find a way to act on behalf of our businesses and taxpayers.”The petitions are being sent to President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Speaker John Boehner, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, Congressman Chris Gibson and Congressman Maurice Hinchey.Tammy Cilione, vice president of communications for the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the idea for the petition “rolled out” of a breakfast on May 3.“Basically, with the rising gas prices, everyone understands it’s impacting everything and industries are seeing costs rise,” she said. “From food prices going up, with the cost of transporting goods putting more of a burden on the business community, especially small business, it’s been difficult.”Cilione said the petition is meant to let the region’s and the nation’s elected officials know “that they need to step in and help business owners, as business owners are already facing so much hardship in this day and age.”Harlem Valley Chamber of Commerce Vice President Brad Rebillard agreed the idea was a good one, especially when considering one’s options.“I think standing by and doing nothing is worse,” he said. “Doing nothing is more or less a vote of confidence that things are fine and that they can do what they want to do. I think you have to do something if you don’t like what’s going on.”That’s why Rebillard is hoping chamber members around the county, as well as nonmembers who make it to the county’s website, take action.“The more people that know about this the better,” he said, adding that the high gas prices have definitely hindered businesses throughout the Harlem Valley, just as they have others throughout the nation. “I think if you go around town and ask any business if it’s been impacted, they’ll tell you less people are coming in. I’ve even spoken to a person who has a towing business who said business is down because people are not driving and having accidents. Maybe that’s a good thing, but I think gas prices affect all levels of business, especially seeing how rural we all are [in the Harlem Valley].”When asked for solutions, Rebillard replied with humor, and a glimmer of desperation.“I think that when I’m going down the road I should put one leg out and push,” he said. “Anytime I get in the car and turn the key I think about where I’m going and plan as many things that I have to do from point A to point B, so I don’t have to go out again. That impacts us all.”So far the petition has been drawing receptive participants. According to Cilione, after the first week online, about 663 people had submitted the form. She did warn those interested in doing the same to follow the instructions carefully, especially the section that asks for a phone number, because if it’s done incorrectly the petition won’t be processed.The link to the gas price petition is www.dutchesscountyregionalchamber.org/GasPrice_petition.php. One can also go to the DCRCOC website, www.dutchesscountyregionalchamber.org, and then follow the prompts to the petition.
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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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