Small dogs: A lot of people believe that small dogs do not know they are small. This is why they will try to take on much larger breeds. Personally, I think it may be a Napoleon complex, the need to prove themselves equal or better than the bigger guys. I would like to help them.I am thinking of starting a self-esteem camp for small breeds in which they get to do all the stuff the large breeds do. Of course it is not realistic to expect that a 5-pound Yorkshire terrier can equal say, a 60-pound malemute. In my camp we will have dog sledding, but instead of malemutes and huskies we will have the equivalent in Yorkies and chihuahuas. So let’s see, 8 x 60 pounds equals 480 pounds of huskies divided by 5 pounds equals 96 little dogs. Sure, it will take a bit to get them all pulling together, but just think how good they will feel at the end of the day — once they get untangled, that is.How about some police dog training? Piranha-like my 16 pip-squeaks (80 pounds divided by 5 pounds) will engulf the perp and bring him down. One of the advantages here is that unlike a German shepherd, which can be stopped with one good shot, the bad guy won’t have time to get them all before they have him hamstrung.Search and rescue? My 16 dogs will cover more ground in 10 minutes than your average bloodhound will cover in a day. They can get into those impossibly tight places that little children are so good at finding, too. You might want to dye them in bright colors to make them a little easier to find at the end of the task, or you could glue those little visibility flag antennae onto their little craniums.Watchdog? What could be better? This is one case where we can use the little guys where their bigger cousins cannot even function. Let’s say you are going to be in a crowd and you are worried someone might snatch your purse or pick your pocket. Just put your valuables in that PBS tote bag and pop your Pekingese in there with them. Now just wait for the fun to begin as Benny the Dip tries to lift your billfold.Little dogs are famous for giving copious kisses. That is not really what they are doing. If a dog licks your hand, he is probably being affectionate. When they lick around your mouth they are exhibiting puppy behavior, trying to get the adult to regurgitate its food so they can eat. Eeewww!Now that you are aware of this, it just might work.Bill Abrams resides (with his 75-pound dog) in Pine Plains.
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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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