LIME ROCK — Chris Little has loved cars since childhood. “I started with Matchbox cars. Then I built plastic models. By middle school I was building remote-controlled models.”After a stint selling Acuras following graduation from Bates College in Maine in 2002, the New York City and Salisbury resident has been driving along the road that leads to his own bliss. His new Northwest Corner Classic cars, at 483 Lime Rock Road (the former Paradise Garage), specializes in what many connoisseurs consider to be the flower of American automaking: muscle cars with throaty engines and unabashedly masculine designs.Some classic muscle cars — the ones that are in absolutely mint condition — cost a small fortune, defined by Little as “well north of $100,000.”But others are $20,000 or less — not an insignificant amount, but inexpensive enough to get started.He fairly glows with enthusiasm as he walks around the showroom. “Yes, these cars are exotic,” he said. “They have character, individuality.”He said that while he can appreciate a Ferrari or a Porsche, “I’d rather drive one of these.”And he enjoys selling them to other enthusiasts. “These cars invoke memories, emotions. People come in and they have stories” about similar cars they had in the past.Little purchased the property last August, and began to show cars around October. But the business’s official debut will be this Memorial Day weekend. Little said he sources cars from all over the country, and depending on what kind of shape they are in, they will attract the serious (and well-heeled) collector — or someone who will actually drive the vehicle.Little and his team put the finishing touches on the cars; they don’t do ground-up restorations. He pointed to a 1972 Buick Skylark in the workshop area, which required relatively minor fixes — air conditioning recharge, fiddling with the cable on the emergency brake, replacing the fluids.When this particular car is finished, it will sell for around $30,000.Little said the business has an expanding Internet presence, and he gets a lot of word-of-mouth trade.Locals know his mechanic, Rick Peppe. And of course having a racetrack across the street doesn’t hurt.The shop is holding an open house Saturday, May 28, from 1 to 7 p.m., and everybody — not just muscle car fans — is invited to see the gleaming machines, such as the 1969 (“and a half”) Dodge A12 Super Bee, a factory racecar that is in such superb condition that the factory markings are clearly visible.Or the more prosaic Mustangs — the one muscle car that the layman inevitably picks out.Little said his goal is “to have cars for everybody.”For more information visit www.northwestcornerclassiccars.com or call 860-782-1997.Hours are Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, 1:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday by appointment (though the shop will be open during major race weekends).
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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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