Can it be denied that good sources of alternative energy are important to the continuation of life as we know it in the United States today? While conservation should be part of the approach to energy consumption, the demands for power usage grow every day. The more Americans depend on digital devices, for instance, the greater the amount of electrical power that is needed. In order to meet those demands, there will have to be alternative ways to harness power and more creative ways in which to heat our homes, as well.But change doesn’t come easy. The Larsons in Cornwall, as reported in this newspaper by Karen Bartomioli, tapped into an alternative energy source by installing a free-standing wood-burning furnace with which they’ve heated their home and hot water since 2005. Now, there have been complaints from neighbors on the effect the furnace has on the air quality in the area surrounding the Larson home. The safety of the air around the furnace affects all in the vicinity, including the Larsons, so it would be expected that they would want the furnace to be safe from both an environmental and a personal health point of view. No matter the energy source that’s in question, whether wood furnaces or stoves, wind turbines, solar panels, you name it, there are now often objections raised by those in proximity to these energy producers. The Not in My Back Yard, or NIMBY, syndrome, while certainly sometimes justifiable, should not be the basis for obstructing all energy innovation in this country. Something has got to give.There is now a bill pending in the Connecticut Legislature that would impose a moratorium on permits for wind turbines in the state, as reported by Bartomioli last week, until the Connecticut Siting Council adopts newly written regulations covering them. Such regulations would give the council and individual municipalities something concrete for reference in deciding the fate of proposed wind turbine projects such as those under consideration this year in North Canaan and Colebrook. The proposal to North Canaan was rejected precisely because the Planning and Zoning Commission had no regulations by which to judge the viability of the project. The pending bill in Hartford takes a responsible approach to requiring a definition of the parameters for wind turbine projects. This kind of legislation should be the precursor to more of its kind, which will be helpful to state and local officials trying to maintain quality of life for their communities while also giving alternative energy a chance.Some real change will need to be accepted and conservation become a part of our lives, and so addressed by our laws, if there is to be enough energy to go around for all in the long run. That will mean opening our minds to different approaches of energy production. Environmental and health issues, which are inexorably intertwined, have to be considered carefully in assessing the best ways to heat our homes and produce energy. However, there has to be a balance that is fair to all yet still allows for independent alternative energy innovation.
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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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