2005 WBHS grad starts business

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

Photo by Erin Sanchez Heather Kral, 19, owns Sparkling Elegance in Walled Lake. The 2005 West Bloomfield High School graduate designed the store herself.

By David Wallace

C & G Staff Writer

   

WALLED LAKE — Some highly motivated teens might juggle several jobs, but how many of them own their own business?

   

Heather Kral, 19, finds herself in that unique position. A 2005 graduate of West Bloomfield High School, Kral in November opened her own business in Walled Lake, a boutique called Sparkling Elegance.

   

Now wait a minute. A 19-year-od running her own store? Kral gets that reaction when people hear she has her own business.

   

“They think I’m kidding,” said Kral. “And then I explain it a little more.”

   

Kral’s store faces West Maple just west of Pontiac Trail in Walled Lake and is part of a development that places condos on top of retail space.

   

“I wanted to move, and I was talking to my grandma and my mom, and I always wanted to own some kind of business, and so I saw this (development) driving by all the time,” said Kral. “So I stopped and looked in it, and then I showed my grandma and my mom, and they thought it was a great idea. So I live upstairs and I come down here (to work).”

   

Full of mirrors and chic displays, the store lives up to its name. And it is very, very pink.

   

“I designed it. I drew it all on paper, and then my boyfriend and my uncles and my brother and my family, basically, helped me put it together,” said Kral. “They did the manual labor. I just did the thinking.”

   

Mom and Grandma helped Kral buy the property and get set up, and her parents have a lot of retail experience from when they were younger.

   

Kral said building her inventory took a lot of Internet research.

   

“And then I called stores that already had products I liked, and then I got in touch with those people,” said Kral.

   

She orders items from Houston, Atlanta, New York City and Chicago. The store is full of jewelry, accessories and gift items, such as perfume bottles.

   

“I handpick everything that comes in here,” said Kral.

   

Andrea Rogoff, a teacher at West Bloomfield High School, visited Kral’s store.

   

“I was impressed to find items from around the world, hand-crafted and very affordable for purchase — even for young shoppers,” said Rogoff.

   

“Most everything is under, I’d say, $35,” said Kral. “So it’s not like we’re trying to gouge people, because I want people my age to be able to buy it.”

   

She learned how much effort it takes to start a business.

   

“You think it takes a lot of effort, but I had no idea. It took months and months and months just to figure out where I‘m going to get everything. And then to put it all together was insane,” said Kral. “You have to file everything, save everything, and since I’m 19, I don’t know how to do taxes. That’s even worse.”

   

So now she’s learning to do those taxes.

   

“A little more than I want to,” she said.

   

While not too many teens start their own business, like other teens, Kral does work multiple jobs. She works at a tanning place and a restaurant. And she maintains a connection to West Bloomfield High School as coach of its junior varsity cheerleading team.

   

“I love that,” said Kral.

   

Her team has seen her store.

   

“They loved it. I think they liked the color, and liked the mirrors,” said Kral.

   

Additionally, Kral goes to school at Oakland Community College. She thinks she might be interested in working with children.

   

The address for Sparkling Elegance is 205 Legato Drive in Walled Lake. Legato basically runs parallel to West Maple. The store’s hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.   

You can reach C & G Staff Writer David Wallace at dwallace@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1053.