MILLBROOK — Most libraries struggle to get teenagers into the library. In small towns and rural areas teenagers struggle to find a central hangout to spend time after school. The youth services coordinator for the Millbrook Free Library, Joan Frenzel, has figured out a way to fill both needs at once. Back in November the library held its annual Teen Alternative Fashion Show where teenagers were able to design, model and work with different mediums to create their fashions. Although the fashion show has become more popular over the years, Frenzel wanted the program to run more frequently and encompass more activities.“I decided just to keep it simple and open up the community room with food, video games and regular board games. I even bring the LEGOs in and just let them have a space to play in,” she said. “I bring my iPod with some music and it’s just a space for them.”The program is called the Teen Café, where once a month teens from the middle school and high school are welcome to stop by the Bennett Room of the library to hang out, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., on the second Friday of every month. Frenzel said that when Teen Café first started about 20 kids would show up, however word of mouth spread and now attendance is up to 40 participants. The Teen Café used to run whenever the Millbrook Central School District had an early release school day, but since there are no more early release days Frenzel changed the cafe days to Friday afternoons. “It’s a real mix; we have kids in grades six and seven all the way up to seniors,” said Frenzel. “One of the biggest things I have been impressed with is how nice the older kids are and how patient they are to the younger kids. There is an age difference and they are really cool with it. There are no problems at all with behavior or anything.”Frenzel said she has gotten a very positive response from those who do attend, who say they wish Teen Café could be open more often.“It’s a fun hangout,” said Ryan Wolff, age 11. “My older brother and his friends come here also. It’s the only place were you can do this.”Jared Liakos, age 12, said that if he wasn’t at the Teen Café he would be at home watching television. Meanwhile, Chad McLaughlin, age 11, said he enjoys attending the Teen Café for the candy and video games. Older kids also have their own reasons for joining the Teen Café.“This is my fourth time coming here,” said Kevin Gou, age 17. “I like it because it’s a nice place to relax instead of going to my family’s restaurant where I have to work and get stressed out.”Teen Café may lack structure, but its simple concept makes it popular among Millbrook’s youth.“Sometimes kids don’t need any more structure. They have a lot going on with sports and play and whatever else they’re involved in, so this is a place where no one tells them what to do and they can just hang out,” Frenzel said.Frenzel provides the food, games and Wii. Those who attend can participate in the activities if they want to, but if they want to just chill and chat with friends that’s OK too. Frenzel said the teens are starting to really catch on to the idea and spread the word among their friends, now they’re even making plans for the next meeting of the Teen Café.“Teens, they need a hangout,” said Frenzel. “They can go to the park if it’s nice but where else will you find free food and music and play games and Wii and not be asked to move?”That, teens agree, is the crucial question. The solution, they say, can be found at the Teen Café.The next Teen Café will be Friday, Feb. 10, at the Millbrook Free Library, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.
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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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