Please join me in welcoming Heidi Prado to aNewsCafe.com. She owns Bella La Vie Wig Boutique in downtown Redding, located at 1700 Market Street, on the south-west corner of Placer and Market, kitty corner from the Cascade Theatre.
You may remember her from a widely-circulated Redding Police Department video in which she and three other women chased down a criminal who’d assaulted one of the women, Diana Christensen, in an attempted purse-snatching.
Hi, Heidi. Thanks for taking the time to chat with me, now that the dust has settled after the incident downtown in front of your shop a few weeks ago.
I’ve watched that video — of you, Diana Christensen and the other women who chased after the criminal who assaulted Diana and took her purse — probably a dozen times now.
I’m blown away by how brave and powerful you all were. You’ve made me think a lot about what it means to be a woman in Redding, and how we’ve adapted to our “new normal”.
What happened that day with Diana and the man, from your perspective, and how did you react?
Heidi Prado
It happened very fast he attacked and we reacted not much thought about it.
Q: Well, if it happened fast, it’s a testimony to your ability to think and act quickly. I really admire your bravery. I’m also glad you’re all OK, and that the criminal was arrested.
Heidi, can you tell me a bit about yourself, and your shop?
I have lived in Redding more than 40 years; married over 30 years. My husband and I opened the store a year ago. We also take care of his sister who was left quadriplegic from a brain tumor surgery. We also play music locally in a group called Hill Street Band.Hill Street Dance Cover Band
Q: Wow. That’s a lot. Your plate is full.
Heidi, I’ve driven by your shop so many times, and have noticed the flowers out front, which are a nice touch. And of course I’ve noticed the wigs in the window, and have been intrigued.
Heidi Prado displays a sample of her wigs in a Think Pink Booth.
Who’s your typical client?
My clients are as diverse as humanity. Hair is important to everyone. For hair-replacements needs, chemo, alopecia, and just for style, ease, and fun … for everyone. My story may be too long.
Q: LOL. No worries. Online has unlimited space. Go ahead and tell your story about your shop.
OK. Bella La Vie Wigs was born of necessity. The journey began with my own hair loss in my 30s. I struggled to find solutions to my pattern baldness which was affecting everything in my life. I was working as a receptionist at Channel 7 trying to use powders, and hair pieces all failed to look natural … very depressing.I hit my breaking point on New Year’s Eve when I was feeling very unattractive. My husband was playing music at Win River for the New Year’s Party in Elements. I have never missed a New Year’s kiss in the more than 30 years that we had been together, so I didn’t want to miss my kiss, but I also could not stand the idea of being in the club, so I hid in our truck in the Win River parking lot. I hung blankets in the windows and watched videos on my lap top until right before midnight. I snuck into the club, got my kiss and then returned to my make-shift bell tower to hide again.The next day I began to seriously look at wigs. I went to local stores but the selections were limited and the prices were out of my range. I went to the city and experienced the same, as well as being told there is a fee to try on wigs. I turned to online stores but that too was discouraging; wrong colors, not at all what I expected and terrible return policies across the board.I finally called my sister who is a cosmetologist and got a few wigs from her supplier and real help and advice. Once I got the right wig I started feeling like myself again. In this time frame I left channel 7 because my husband and I are full-time care givers for his sister, she is hemiplegic from a brain tumor surgery that went bad when she was 19.Over the past 11 years we have both switched back and forth; one of us working a regular job while one of us cared for Ruth, keeping life on track. But care-giving is not an exact science and there were lots of times when either I would have to leave work or he would, depending on which way we were doing things, and it put strain on the day jobs.So at this time I was the one working and I decided I would use my newly found ability to find great wigs at low prices to start an e-commerce site which quickly became a by-appointment platform to help local women with wigs. The service grew and I rented a space from my full-time employer and started Bella la Vie Wig Boutique on West Street in the fall of 2015.We had small parties and private appointments there in the evenings because I still had my full-time reception job. We stayed that way for awhile, until it became very clear Michael and I needed to be self- employed, it would make taking care of Ruth easier because we could set the rules. I looked for retail space but quickly dropped the idea as long-term leases and high rent was way too much for us to risk.Bella just held on while we struggled along, and each day I would drive by 1700 market Street and daydream about opening a wig store there “someday”.Then it happened. I had some ladies at the West Street location and I was telling them how I hoped to someday be there and they said why don’t you go see if you can rent the space. Michael was there, too, and saw his opportunity to get away from the wig party so he volunteered to go get the information.It was serendipity, because if I had gone, I never would have known that Tom Gandy – who’s related to Michael — was the owner. Michael was able to make that connection as he talked to the Guardian Angels Group that was in the space next to the one we wanted. Tom had just talked to Michael over the holidays about trying to rent space in a building downtown and that conversation clicked.As soon as he found out it was Tom who we needed to call, everything in the universe aligned and in less than two weeks time we were moving in with a month-to-month agreement and a stipulation that I would move out in 24 hours if anyone came in to rent the entire 1600-square foot section because I was only taking a tiny 300-square-foot piece.We moved in, we worked hard and we did all we could to let people know we were – are – here. I quit my job and we went for it. I wanted to create the kind of place I so desperately needed when I was looking for wigs. Have the lowest prices, a 100% refund on special orders, free sizing, free shaping, free advice on care, free attachment products, and most of all, no charge to try on wigs ever, and a place that makes the experience fun with all the major brands and full boutique services at online store prices. That’s Bella La Vie Wig Boutique.
Q: Wow. I had no idea when I started this conversation that I would learn so much about you and your business path, and wigs. I’m so glad it all worked out so well for you, but you and your husband worked very hard, too, so you’ve earned your success.
As an aside, even though your wig shop is on that particular corner, in my mind it will always be Woolworth’s, one of downtown Redding’s anchor stores when I was a kid. I still remember so much about it; the lunch counter, the little pet store in the back where kids would buy tiny turtles and parakeets … the photo booth, the movie candy we’d buy to sneak into the Cascade.
But I digress.
Speaking of downtown, what’s it like to have a business downtown, in terms of crime and your level of perceived safety? Let’s face it, downtown hasn’t had a great reputation for years.
I love having my business downtown. Crime is everywhere; not just on the corner of Placer and Market. My location is perfect, and I am very comfortable and excited about the future.
Q: I must say, you’re an amazing ambassador for downtown, which is somewhat surprising, considering the incident that happened outside your shop. Have there been other related incidents near your shop?
Not related incidents. I feel safe there and we obviously stand together.
Q: ‘Obviously’ is right!
In the video, you’re the one who runs from the shop after the guy, right? Where did you get that courage?
It wasn’t courage, it was outrage, anger that drove me to chase him. I know what it is like to have to restore your life after losing your purse. I did not want that to happen to her, especially by force.
Q: How did you feel afterward?
Afterwards there was relief that Diana was able to get her purse back.
Q: Any words of advice for other people, especially women?
Just remember to be aware of your surroundings, and be prepared mentally so you are not caught off guard.
Q: Anything else you’d like to say?
We need to stand as a community and support our neighbors and law enforcement. Pass laws that will give strength to our community not weaken it. Get involved, because we have no right to complain if we are not willing to be part of the change. I am not worried about people knowing we stand for what is right and fair at Bella La Vie Wig Boutique, after all it’s a big part of my mission statement, LOL.
Thanks so much, Heidi, for taking time to chat today. Continued luck with your business, and stay safe!
