Business ladies of the Camellia City

By Kaitlyn Neese

The Greenville Standard

 

More on the successful business women of the Camellia City: Modest Apparel, Court Square Café, Marilyn’s, and Artitude on Main.

Shirley Huff opened Modest Apparel in 2005, but she has been sewing since she was eight. She has always sewn for the public. In high school, she would make clothes for her classmates. “If they were my size, I could sew for them,” said Huff.

Huff’s divorce brought her and her children to Greenville. She began her career in Phyllis Armstrong’s backroom, but started her own business downtown in 2005.

Like Huff, Patty Powell was also inspired at a young age. She worked in a café when she was 15, and she knew that she wanted to have one of her own.

In 1995, Powell opened the Court Square Café on Commerce Street. She worked for Faye Cummings, who owned the building, then bought it a year later.

Marilyn’s Hair Designers was also opened in the 90s. Marilyn Reaves opened her hair salon on Commerce Street in (year).

Reaves was drawn to the building because of its proximity to the courthouse and the downtown area.

Reaves passed on her passion for beauty to her daughter, Mona Hennis. Since her mother’s retirement, Hennis has been managing the salon.

A newer addition to downtown Greenville is Atitude, an art studio opened by Stacy Edwards. Edwards taught art classes at Greenville High School for 13 years, but she decided to stay home with her children in 2013.

She hosted paint nights at local Mexican restaurants for a while, then opened her own studio downtown with the money she saved. She knew Greenville valued art and art education. “Our small town is full of some of the most talented people in the state,” said Edwards.

She chose downtown because she “absolutely loves our downtown.” As a child she and her friends experienced surprises on every corner.

To learn more about the exciting and successful business women of the Camellia City, keep reading in the weeks to follow.