She was an analyst, working on routes and planning crews. Following the events of 9/11, Helton was one of a number of employees for the Fort Worth-based airline that lost their jobs at that time.
A trip to a store after getting laid off started the path to what is now Ooh la la! Smart & Sassy Fashion in Grapevine. She was buying beads for jewelry she was making and that opened the door for her to sell her jewelry.
In October, Ooh la la! celebrated its 20th anniversary of being in business in Grapevine.
“I had no clue what I was getting myself into,” Helton said. “I had never owned a store, but my grandma had been in retail.”
Her first location for the business was at 336 S. Main St., Ste. A., in Grapevine. She split half of the building with a landlord and within two years outgrew that space. She broke down walls to create more space and four years after opening took over the entire location of what was the former Timeless Boutique.
The former owner of the Rick Rack Market offered Helton a new location at 408 S. Main St. a few years later.
Helton admitted there have “been a lot of ups and downs” through the years as she navigated the buying market. She started as a boutique for women’s clothes and began gathering customers’ addresses. She sent out letters at first and then turned to email to promote her business.
She calls buying items for the store a mix of her favorite and most frustrating part of being a business owner and gets help from a consultant when trying new vendors and products.
“You have to buy new things and try them, otherwise you grow stagnant and die,” Helton said.
One of those items is a Bluetooth speaker that is about the size of a mini cupcake, and she has sold thousands of them.
“I wouldn’t have found it if I didn’t take the risk,” she said.
Ooh la la!
408 S. Main St., Grapevine
817-329-8686
https://oohlalatx.com
Hours: Mon.-Thu. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.,
Fri.-Sat. 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. noon-5 p.m.
