Colorful clothier creates ties that link customers to store

The only thing livelier and louder than the ties at the Peter-Blair men's shop on Grove Avenue is the store's founder and co-owner, Dick Fowlkes.

Whether playfully teasing longtime customers or gushing to newcomers about his favorite Richmond restaurants, Fowlkes adds a flavor to a bricks-and-mortar store that eBay and Amazon could never replicate.

That flavor continues to draw patrons to the men's fine clothing store and seller of whimsical ties, even in more cost-conscience times. In 2009, Peter-Blair generated roughly $1.2 million in sales, up from $1.17 million in 2008.

"My wife said that in 20 years, there will be no more brick-and-mortar stores," Fowlkes said, his drawl revealing his lifelong Richmond residency. "And I said to her, 'You're wrong, because online, you can't touch the tie or try on the coat or smell the fabric.'"

Or customers can't experience the Southern charm and good-natured ribbing of characters like Fowlkes, whose mere personality moves merchandise.

"I know it's a clothing store, but it's sort of a social place as well," said Thomas Brown, CEO of the insurance broker Rutherfoord, which last week was acquired by Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC.

"There's a lot of bantering back and forth, [but] I can walk in and they know what I like right away."

Fowlkes, 51, is a self-described naturally born schmoozer and salesman who relishes the chance to make people look like a million bucks.

"I want people to feel flat-sexy-awesome about themselves," he said. "I go to church and sit in the front row every Sunday. To watch the Peter-Blair ties go by makes me happier than anything. When I sit there and people point at their ties and smile back at me, that makes it all worth it."

Five years ago, before his ties were greeted with the thumbs-up at church, Fowlkes and his wife stopped in Como, Italy, which is known for its silk manufacturers.

Fowlkes struck partnerships with two Como silk producers, and his line of ties, also dubbed Peter-Blair, was born. His sister, Kate, now draws all of the tie designs by hand, and Fowlkes decides on the coloring.

The Peter-Blair tie line is sold at roughly 200 retailers nationwide, mostly on the East Coast. The tie business now generates about $500,000 in sales annually, up from $50,000 in its first year of operation.

As for Peter-Blair - the store - serendipity played a pivotal part in matching Fowlkes with a career and a niche industry that fits his personality perfectly.

When he was 21, while waiting tables at a downtown restaurant, a couple chatted with him and asked rather directly, "What do you really want to do with your life?"

"I told them, 'I want to own a clothing store on Libbie Avenue,'" Fowlkes said.

A week later, the couple invited him to their house for dinner and asked if he wanted to help start a leather-goods shop on Libbie. Thistles was born.

"We knew him through friends," said Jane Brockenbrough, who owned Thistles with Fowlkes.

"And I knew he was well-liked and a good salesperson," she said. "I'm good with numbers and buying, but I'm not a good salesperson. I thought we might be a good combination, and I turned out to be right. He could sell people things without them knowing what they were doing."

After 12 years at Thistles, Fowlkes felt the time was right to pursue operating his own clothing store, a pipe dream ever since he worked in retail as a teenager.

In 1993, he collected the necessary funds and, armed with the sales and managerial prowess he refined at Thistles, converted an old bookstore on Grove Avenue into Peter-Blair. He named the store after his godchildren - Peter Sisk and Blair Northen.

"I painted this place myself," Fowlkes said. "I went and found framed pictures at yard sales. My friends came in and did the ceiling and the floor. I didn't have two nickels to rub together at first."

But he did have his knack for selling, which he honed early on.

"I had a little chestnut stand in front of our house when I was younger," Fowlkes said. "And I roasted chestnuts, and people would drive by and I'd sell them a little bag. If it wasn't nailed down, I'd sell it. It's in my blood."

And he has not yet lost his mojo, according to Peter-Blair regulars.

"I've bought too many ties from him," said Hugh Gouldthorpe Jr., vice president of quality and communications at medical supply distributor Owens & Minor. "He has that infectious energy."