Fabrics Etc

Deborah Henry is "the textile lady." She grew up around fabrics, worked at her parents upholstery supply company, dreamed of designing fabrics, and started her own fabric store 24 years ago.

Ms. Henry's parents, Stan and Jean Rushin, own Rushin Upholstery and Supply Co., where a 10-year-old Deb started out cutting fabric samples and later learned just about all there is to know about textiles.

"So I grew up in this business. I have been taught by the best as far a running a business. I learned a lot from both of them," Deb said. "They'd put out books for the upholsterers. I'd help choose the fabrics. I was able to work in every aspect of their business, which made it easier to start my own."

That's Fabrics Etc, 11121 North Rodney Parham in The Market Place Shopping Center, where she offers thousands of fine fabrics, custom upholstery, draperies, bedspreads, wood blinds, and shutters.

Fabrics Etc first opened on Big Oak in Southwest Little Rock in 1982 as a discount fabric shop offering overruns and bargain fabrics in a building Deb had purchased previously as an investment.

"That worked for a while, but the customers were wanting the more up-to-date materials, and I wanted to do more than just sell fabrics. I wanted to do custom drapery. Alice Barrentine, a seamstress, educated me on drapery." Next came upholstery. "I loved to do antiques and bring them back to life."

Deb decided to move her shop to West Little Rock on Shackelford and began selling first quality fabrics and offering custom work for upholstery, drapes, and bedding. Finally, in 1989, she moved Fabrics Etc to The Market Place.

"I like it over here. I am one of the oldest tenents in The Market Place now."

Her shop is a great place to find just what you need for everything from material for one chair cushion to fabrics to make over every room of your home.

"My shop offers fabrics, trims, tassels, custom drapery, custom upholstery, and custom bedding. It offers hard window treatments, such as blinds and shutters, and we have a line of rugs at really good prices."

But the best thing it offers is Deb's eye for color and putting fabrics together. She has an uncanny ability to put fabrics together in a pleasing way. This gift was on display the day Shoppe Talk came to take a photograph to accompany this story.

Edna Edick came into the shop looking for material to cover a lamp shade. She was gracious enough to allow Shoppe Talk to follow her and Deb through the process of finding just the right fabric. Next the bolts of trim and tassels came out. The process took less than 15 minutes, and Mrs. Edick, a first-time customer at the shop, was very happy with the result: a floral linen for the lamp shade, a looped chenille fringe for the bottom, and a small decorative cord to trim the top.

"I love to do something like that," Deb said. "I love doing something as simple as a lamp shade or as complex as a whole bedroom. We try to give the best customer service for everything. She was pleased. It was perfect. It just worked."

Sometimes customers come in with their carpet and paint samples and just kind of camp out. It's that kind of laid-back atmosphere. "It's friendly, and that's the way I want it to be. Sometimes people just sit on the floor and spread out their projects. Our customers come in and tell us how comfortable they feel."

Sometimes customers come in with their decorators, and those professionals make their selections from Deb's stock. There's a large variety of cloth on bolts - silks, chenilles, linens, Jacquards - from all the leading mills. And the shop offers a large library of fabric books as well as fabric samples arranged by color along one wall.

You'll find bold colors, fun geometrics, embroidered silks. "One of my dreams was to go to design school in New York. I wanted to design fabric. It just wasn't possible (for financial reasons). But now I get to pick all the designers I like.

"We carry a nice run of children's fabrics, from the whimsical to the sophisticated. The cornice board is sophisticated," she said, referring to a custom baby ensemble. "The cornice board is red faux suede with (ivory) embroidered initials. The bumper pads are done in ivory diamond quilted and red faux suede and piped in a read and black small check. The ties and cording are in the small check, and we did a plaid silk dust ruffle, in ivory, black, and red plaid."

Amanda Pannell, who works in the shop, designed the gorgeous ensemble, and Deb's wonderful seamstress did the work.

"My seamstress does all the drapery and bedding. She has been with me for 18 years, and I think she is one of the best. And I have two people who upholster." (And the names of all three are a closely guarded secret.)

Several women work in the shop, including Renee Rushin and Lois Moffatt, and all are available for consultation to help choose fabrics. Or Deb will go to your home to work with you there. Her residential customer list reads like a Who's Who of Little Rock, and textiles from Fabrics Etc may be found in business around the city too.

Whether you want to spend a lot or just a little, Deb wants to please you. "I can cover just about any budget. My customers tell me I have the best prices in town." Fabrics are prices from as low as $6 a yard in the "bargain barrel" to $200 a yard and every cost in between. "We've got a lot of good fabrics in the bargain barrel, and we always have a bargain barrel. And I have impromptu sales."

Deb has a lot of repeat customers. One, for example, has had her do six houses over the years, and now Deb is working on selecting fabrics for her seventh home.

"This year, we're seeing an influx of customers from about 10 years ago. The styles have changed, and they're ready for a new look.

Getting to know Deb Henry

Where were you born? Little Rock.

Do you have children? I have a daughter, Shera Henry. She is the light of my life. She lives in New Orleans. She survived the hurricane. Shera came to work in the store (in Little Rock) for two or three months. She has a natural talent; she was great at it. She has an anthropology degree and is looking for work (in New Orleans). The place where she was working is still closed.

Do you have pets? I have a cat named Chuck who is a female. She is the most loving animal I've ever had. I adopted Chuck from one of my daughter's college friends. When Chuck was named, they thought she was a he. And I have Oscar, a weenie dog.

What's your favorite restaurant? Lilly's.

What's your favorite book? The Bible. Right now, I'm reading The Wind Is My Mother written by Bear Heart with Molly Larkin.

Favorite writer? Charles Stanley.

Movie? Dancing with Wolves.

City? Eureka Springs and New Orleans.

What do you do in your spare time? I like to go trout fishing. I love the Little Red River. My parents have a cabin on the Little Red. Every chance I have, I escape to there.

Is there anything you'd like to learn how to do? I would like to learn stained glass and pottery.

What would you do if you won the lottery? I would probably build a shelter for the homeless. I have this great need in my heart to help people. I would pay off my daughter's student loans and then reach out and spread the wealth among the less fortunate.

Is there anything you'd like to see Little Rock do differently? I'd like to see Little Rock stop cutting down our trees and taking away the natural part of the state. There's too much concrete. ... Senior citizens need to be taken care of. When they have to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine, attention needs to be paid to that. (Deb described an elderly woman she helped through St. Francis House.) They've worked all their lives and have to choose between food and medicine. I paid her pharmacy bill. All she wanted was someone to pay her pharmacy bill.

Is there anything you'd like to see the nation do differently? I'd like them to stop the war and take care of our own. ... 'Love' is a big word, but I think we need more love. People were reaching out, helping the Katrina victims. I think that showed a lot of compassion. I was impressed.

If you could have a dream dinner party and invite any three people, past or present, who would you ask? Einstein. John Kennedy. George Washington and Abe Lincoln. That's four. That's okay. And John Lennon.

(This story was written by Bobbi Nesbitt and appeared in the March 2006 edition of Shoppe Talk.)