Former state Rep. Deborah Heinrich is the new nonprofit liaison to the governor, a position created this year to advocate for nonprofit agencies. Gov. Dannel Malloy, in creating the new position, noted that he would look for sacrifice from everyone but would not cut the safety net of services provided by the nonprofit community.On Monday, March 14, the CPO Council of the Connecticut United Way went to Hartford to meet with Ms. Heinrich to talk about how she sees her new role and how the United Way can help be a part of the solution. She has four major goals she will hope to accomplish in her position: 1) to promote nonprofit networking and exchange; 2) to determine what the state government can do so that nonprofits can perform their work as effectively as possible; 3) to encourage best practices, including innovative collaborations among nonprofits; and 4) to create a relationship between state government and philanthropy.Lofty goals indeed!Heinrich requested the help of United Way to convene people in our communities to begin to discuss strategies for addressing the pressing needs, but to overcome the siloing of services — in other words, finding better ways agencies can work more collaboratively and efficiently so as to provide more services to the people of the region. At the meeting, we described our work in convening community leaders to address the community needs — health, education, homelessness, food, etc. United Ways are very good at bringing people together — businesses, nonprofits, community leaders — to work toward the goal of advancing the common good.u u uAs a result of the meeting, United Way representatives committed their time and energy to help Ms. Heinrich in her outreach efforts to communities across the state. To do this, we will be working with local communities on a needs assessment. We might consider forming advisory councils for each town in the Northwest Connecticut United Way territory to be sure we are addressing those needs once they are determined and to assure each resident of each town that they are being heard.United Way of Northwest Connecticut funds 24 agencies in the 16 towns and 25 communities in the Northwest Corner of the state — including Lake-ville and Salisbury. More than 58,000 of your local friends and neighbors are touched by the services of these agencies. With the exception of $8,900 annually, which goes to United Way Worldwide, all the money raised here stays here.National Volunteer Week is April 10 through 16 this year. Be sure to commemorate it.Give. Advocate. Volunteer. Stephanie Barksdale is executive director of the United Way of Northwest Connecticut. Email her at Stephanie.uw.nwct@snet.net.
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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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