From Wisconsin to Winsted, it is impossible to escape the fiscal nightmare being played out in towns and states across the country, where political leaders are bickering over mountains of debt. But beyond the disagreements over cutting spending versus raising taxes, American taxpayers should have been flabbergasted and outraged last week when they were reminded that nearly two-thirds of U.S. corporations pay no income tax and that 83 of the top 100 publicly traded companies here use offshore tax havens to shelter their income from taxes.Consumer advocates have complained for years about the abuses, to no avail. U.S. companies continue to send profits through post office boxes in the Caribbean in order to reduce taxable income here in the states, evading billions of dollars in taxes and in some cases receiving tax rebates. For Americans who are wondering why the government appears to be going bankrupt, this would be a good place to start investigating.Ordinary Americans who pay their taxes do not have the same resources enjoyed by major corporations, but the playing field began to level out last week, when a new organization, US Uncut (usuncut.org) exploded onto the national scene, citing the latest statistics on tax-dodging corporations and encouraging citizens to get involved. US Uncut’s first day of action was Feb. 26, and on that day alone, protests against Bank of America’s use of tax shelters took place in 50 cities, making national headlines. Demonstrators noted that Bank of America made $4.4 billion in pre-tax income in 2009, paid zero dollars in taxes and received $1.9 billion in tax benefits.US Uncut’s website encourages visitors to start their own “actions” in their hometowns. The site maintains a list of action events that have already been scheduled and offers tips on how to get organized. The entire concept evolved from the highly successful UK Uncut movement, which has become a Youtube sensation.From a guide to civil disobedience to printable posters and latest news, US Uncut provides just about everything you’ll need to become a one-person revolution. If the movement keeps growing, the government might just end up finding where all the money went.
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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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