To hear Barbara Graves tell it, she did everything wrong when she started her shop specializing in lingerie.
That was 41 years and innumerable ensembles ago.
Come the end of July, she'll close the doors on her shop in Breckenridge Village.
She had been a buyer for Irma Dumas, a women's apparel shop, and someone suggested that what Little Rock needed was a lingerie shop.
She took the advice --"the only bright idea I ever had" -- and pregnant with her second child, she borrowed money from a friend and a bank -- went to market and bought the first of what was to become the stuff of her professional life.
Problem was, she hadn't gotten a place to sell it. So she put it in storage while she looked, finding space on the back side of Colony West shopping center after a couple of months.
She operated out of that store for two years, till Breckenridge Village was opened, and Barbara Graves Intimate Fashions has been there ever since. But she went through four expansions as the 1,200-square-foot space grew to 6,000, with 13 to 15 employees.
Graves relied heavily on advertising , including newspapers, but she's likely to be remembered for her sultry delivery of her radio spots.
Another side of her business is not at all playful.
"We cherish all our customers, but the heart of our business has been the mastectomy" clientele, she said. "We started that department the first year of my business" after a friend had a mastectomy.
Two women who underwent mastectomies, Betty Ford, the former first lady, and Betty Rollin, whose book, First, You Cry promoted awareness and discussion of the medical procedure on the national level, Graves said.
Graves did her part on the local level.
Janet Jones, a Realtor and owner of The Janet Jones Co., said, "I think her business will be greatly missed in Little Rock. She helped a lot of people with mastectomies. She helped them find the appropriate garment and she really had wonderful customer service.
"She was a woman ahead of her time. She was always known for her business acumen. She handled her business in a very distinctive way, with her great radio advertisements."
Graves said her decision to close up shop was aided by the fact that Horton's Orthotics & Prosthetics will take on former Graves clientele. Horton, which has offices in Little Rock, Bryant, Searcy and Fort Smith, will hire some of her employees, she said.
She said Horton has been doing mastectomy fittings on a limited basis, "and now they're going to make a major commitment."
Jones said Graves "has been an effective leader in the community."
Graves was the first woman president of the Little Rock Rotary Club, and the third woman chairman of the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce. She also was a Little Rock city director and ran for Little Rock mayor in 2006.
Elizabeth Small, president of the PDC Cos., which develops and manages apartment complexes, was the second woman who was chairman of the chamber.
"She was a mentor for me. I learned a great deal from watching her through the years," Small said.
When it was time to call it a career, Graves tried to sell the shop, but that didn't work out.
Now, Graves, 66, plans to enjoy life with her three small grandchildren and her husband of 37 years, Barry McDaniel.
Business on 06/04/2014