SHARON — Old books, new books, books of all shapes and sizes. If you have a favorite book, one that you love today or loved as a child, Darren Winston would like to see it, and perhaps share some of its secret history. Winston, who lives in Sharon and has a shop on the Green that specializes in rare and vintage books, is hosting an event Sunday, Jan. 27, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Hotchkiss Library of Sharon.It’s perhaps quaint that Winston is leading a discussion of tales printed on good old-fashioned paper with good old-fashioned ink. But what the event underscores is that there is more to a book than just the story it tells, or the information it imparts or the illustrations that enliven the text.It’s also what Winston refers to as the provenance of a book. “Some books are like talismans,” he said. A precious volume can help someone get through a difficult period (such as childhood). A beloved but tattered book might get passed down from generation to generation, until the binding has all but disappeared. Signatures are also an irreplaceable part of an older book, Winston said. “Whenever I give a book to someone, I inscribe it, because that person means something to me and I want it to be remembered that I chose this book to give to this person,” he said. He encourages all givers of book gifts to do the same. Often, he said, people come to him with older volumes that have a name and a date on them. The first thing he does is to try and place the date in its historical context. “It’s not about the value of the book, it’s more about, ‘Did you notice,’” he added. “Dates and signatures are meaningful.“Books have a mojo they become imbued with. They capture a moment in time. “You can’t replace mojo and you can’t create it,” he added. “It happens in the dark when you’re not looking.”It’s that mojo that Winston hopes to find with the volumes people bring to the talk at the library. He’s hoping people will bring in “books that are near and dear to them, their dog-eared ‘Grapes of Wrath.’”For the most part, he said, he’s there to listen to the stories people want to share about their favorite books.“I’m simply there to add to the conversation any information about the journey a book might have traveled to get to you.”And, perhaps, to help people see the wonderful patina that sentiment and memories can add to a volume.Wine and refreshments will be served. There is no charge to attend.
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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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