Despite some negativity expressed by a small group of malcontents, Winchester voters overwhelmingly agreed last week that the town should continue to fund its share of the public Main Street Enhancement Project. Phase two of the project got its final approval from voters at a Jan. 10 referendum at Town Hall.The approval of phase two means a median and improved sidewalks, lights and fencing will be extended hundreds of feet east and west of the current downtown median, which was installed during phase one work back in 2002. The improved streetscape will likely slow down traffic in some of the most dangerous areas of the road, making it easier for pedestrians at St. Joseph’s Church and the Winsted YMCA to safely cross the street.Years of stalling this three-phase project has been at the hands of both Democrats and Republicans on the Board of Selectmen, along with several town managers. The fact that the project has been approved now is a feather in the caps of the current board and Town Manager Dale Martin.Local business owners, members of the Economic Development Commission and the Friends of Main Street organization also deserve applause for showing their support and getting out the vote. Hopefully this kind of teamwork will be shown later this spring when the town will have another opportunity to pass its annual budget on the first try.Those of us who remember phase one Main Street work being completed will recall there were some hassles getting traffic through town while the work was being done, since it required tearing up the street one side at a time and forcing vehicles from four to two lanes during construction. But when the work is completed in an estimated three months, the downtown area will look much more attractive. Motorists will be encouraged to slow down, sidewalks will be safer, and there will be an increase in pedestrian activity. All of these things are good for local businesses and the town in general.There are always complainers who will tell you change is a bad thing but the naysayers are usually wrong when it comes to making positive and effective progress in town. Winchester residents and business owners who voted yes on this latest project can be assured they are on the right side of history and have done their part in making Winsted a better place to live, work and shop.
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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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