New Milford shoe store helps owner heal

Shoo La La Le Beautiful Feet Boutique opens on North Walnut

Xiomara Moore
Posted 6/21/21

MILFORD — Shoo La La Le Beautiful Feet Boutique, and its owner Yalisha Nocks, are hitting the ground running.

Described as an “all-about-feet” concept, a variety of sneakers, …

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New Milford shoe store helps owner heal

Shoo La La Le Beautiful Feet Boutique opens on North Walnut

Posted

MILFORD — Shoo La La Le Beautiful Feet Boutique, and its owner Yalisha Nocks, are hitting the ground running.

Described as an “all-about-feet” concept, a variety of sneakers, high heels, sandals and more can be found at the North Walnut Street store.

The Parisian-inspired shop’s name derives from the French interjection “Ooh la la” and there is plenty of footwear to be excited about. What started as a vision of Ms. Nocks’ is finally starting to become a reality.

Her business plan began developing back in 2009, when she was living in Laurel. Struggling with depression, she started treatment at Dover Behavioral Health System. As Ms. Nocks was in and out of the hospital through 2012, one of her regimens was art therapy.

Through this therapy, she established the vision for her store.

“They gave me a composition book, and in that composition, through prayer, the Lord gave me the vision for a business,” said Ms. Nocks. “Back then, I called it Shoo La La Foot Spa, and here it is, almost 10 years later, that I begin to see the words from the vision I wrote jump off the paper and began to come to pass.”

After being released from treatment, Ms. Nocks worked at Clinique and Estée Lauder in sales but quit those jobs when she found out that two of her three children were diagnosed with the congenital disorder fragile X syndrome and epilepsy in 2012.

She became a stay-at-home mother, while attending therapy sessions with her children, ages 2 and 3 at the time. But she also had the time to begin to plan her business.

Moving to Milford in 2017, Ms. Nocks started off selling her merchandise at church conferences. What started as one table became three, four and five tables filled with shoes.

“People would come and encourage me, (saying), “You need your own shop,” not knowing that was my dream,” she said. “I’m a believer. If you take one step, God will take three. So I took a step, and I began to inquire, and that’s why I’m here.”

Ms. Nocks signed the store’s lease on June 19, 2020, and officially started her business. Even though the shoe store opened up during a pandemic, she did not look at her idea as something to run away from.

“With me having special-needs children, I’m used to crisis. I’m used to having to have limitations,” said Ms. Nocks. “So my thing was to work, so that when things began to open up again, I’ll be prepared to open up for the first time. (The pandemic) gave me an opportunity to think and to carry out my vision.”

Once the store is fully open, Ms. Nocks said she hopes to include a pedicure station. She wants to include journals, inspirational gifts, oils and her own foot-care products.

Also, Ms. Nocks looks to form an outreach program, where she can work with youth and women while giving free shoes to the local homeless community and beyond.

She envisions that, with this business, she can not only provide footwear for others but give back to the needy.

“I pray that one day, I can visit the grounds of mental hospitals and encourage people with a composition book and tell them (that) it’s OK to write your vision (while you’re) in a dark place because (if) you live long enough, you keep hope, keep the faith, those words will jump off the paper.”

Shoo La La Le Beautiful Feet Boutique is located at 40 N. Walnut St. in Milford. The hours are Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Contact the store at 212-8733 or shoolala52@gmail.com.

This article was produced with support of a grant from the Delaware Community Foundation. For more information, visit here.

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