The intense sorrow following the horrendous massacre in Newtown has had a strong grasp on the consciousness of all Americans, including the town’s neighbors statewide and those across the nation who have seen and heard unfolding media coverage of the tragedy. The horror of first-graders and the defenseless educators trying to protect them being gunned down is more than most of us can even begin to fathom.We all want to know details of how and why this could happen, leading to the media going public with preliminary information that has subsequently evolved and changed as the chain of events surrounding the shootings has become clearer. Will understanding such details help us comprehend why and how such a thing could happen, and help prevent anything like it in the future? Surely we want to think so, want to hope so. If this horrific action is not a tipping point in the U.S. national mind-set on assault weapons and mental health care, what will be? It’s time to reconsider the federal assault weapons ban that stood for 10 years, ending in 2004, affecting the legality of 19 types of assault weapons. California Democrat Sen. Dianne Feinstein vowed to introduce an updated version of her legislation that was in force from 1994 to 2004. Now is the time for this legislation to find bipartisan support. If not, voters will have to question the judgment of their elected representatives in Washington. There should also be consideration of legislation around the handling and security of residential guns, which was an issue leading into this shooting.Much of the public discussion has rightly been about gun control and improved access to better mental health care, but without personal vigilance and action all the legislation in the world cannot end violence. A change in the way Americans view the world needs to come from many sides of our society, from movies, TV and video games to educational initiatives to meaningful political and religious leadership. The leadership shown by Gov. Dannel Malloy and President Barack Obama during this crisis has been a good model. Their inspiring words at an interfaith memorial service in Newtown following the tragedy seemed some comfort to those survivors present who are suffering in the wake of this violence.The actions of the shooter cannot have been more heinous, more wrong, and they should not and do not define who we are as Americans. The evidence that such violence is not at the core of who we are is that surrounding this devastating crime and its aftermath there was so much heroism, so much mutual support, so many good people helping one another cope with the unimaginable.There have got to be ways to fix this violent and uncontrolled part of our culture. Now is the time to find them and take positive action to implement them, on a personal level and a national level. According to The Newtown Bee, the United Way of Western Connecticut and Newtown Savings Bank have created the Sandy Hook School Support Fund.Check donations to underwrite support services, immediate needs and funeral expenses for the immediate families of victims can be mailed to Sandy Hook School Support Fund, c/o Newtown Savings Bank, 39 Main St., Newtown, CT 06470. Credit card donations may be made at newtown.uwwesternct.org. For more information, call 800-461-0672.
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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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