You Are About To Be Cherry Pic’d

For her 29th birthday, Blair Graves got a bottle of bubble gum-scented lotion and perfume. She was less thrilled about it than the giver probably imagined she would be.

“I couldn’t figure out why it had to be so hard for people to give gifts people actually wanted and would appreciate,” Graves said. That’s where the idea for Cherry Pic’d began to grow.

Along with her sister, Bret Graves, and mother, Beth Arnold, she will be offering Arkansans a sneak peek of the new gift-centric website this Wednesday, February 5. From 5-7 p.m. at the Argenta Community Theater the general public is invited to see what developers believe will be the “end of re-gifting.”

The site is touted as a blend of the best elements on Amazon wish lists, Facebook and Pinterest. Users can “pick” gifts they would enjoy. “Friends” can view their selections and make purchases easily.

“You can actually mean what you write in your thank you notes,” Graves explains.

Cherry Pic’d is one of the start-ups benefitting from the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub in North Little Rock. The Hub has provided strategic advice and support for the preview event this week, according to Warwick Sabin, executive director.

The official launch of the site is still a few weeks away. They have a few features left to finish the development. Beta-testers are working out the bugs. Arnold says Wednesday’s party will feature a short preview video that is not to be missed.