Two Hip Chicks Marketplace closing after 11 years on Flood
Jun. 15—An eclectic market featuring baby clothes, home decor and gourmet food items in the heart of Norman will close next month after 11 years.
DeShanna Wolking started Two Hip Chicks in 2010, selling decorative crosses with a friend out of her garage. She leased her brick-and-mortar location at 932 N. Flood Ave. around a year later.
The business grew to take over the second half of her building the following year, becoming a 4,000-square-foot marketplace with even more craft items, pillows and women's clothing.
Wolking's friend decided to pursue other avenues in 2012, so Wolking operated as the lone hip chick until her daughter, Macey, came on to help full time after graduating high school in 2017.
Over the last decade, DeShanna said her store's dips, clothing for women and babies, and home decór have been among their more popular offerings.
The store saw many changes in vendors and aesthetics throughout that time, but DeShanna and Macey's lives have changed alongside it. DeShanna's youngest daughter will enter her senior year in August, and her granddaughter will start pre-K.
The decision to close by the end of July was not an easy one for the mother-daughter duo to make.
"It was kind of hard for us both to be tied up all the time, and I was just at a point where my husband said, 'Why don't you just retire?' and I said, "OK,'" DeShanna said.
DeShanna will retire in hopes of spending more time with her granddaughter, while Macey will open a gift shop on Campus Corner late next month.
This month and into July, DeShanna and Macey are having a liquidation sale. Items in the store are 50% off with the exception of food items, lamps and furniture. Store fixtures and display pieces will sell last.
DeShanna said the hardest part about retiring and closing the store is saying goodbye to the customers she grew to know over the last 11 years.
"We had some good customers that have been with us for many years, and we've always done vendor shows, and I think I'll miss that part of it, but mainly just the people that have come to know Two Hip Chicks and see us often," DeShanna said.
It may be a while before DeShanna completely removes herself from the retail environment. She plans to spend two or three days a week helping her daughter out at her new store, Savvy Blake, when it opens later this summer.
"We've loved being a part of the Norman community, and we will miss this phase of it, but we hope that people will continue to follow us over to my daughter's new store," DeShanna said.
An official closing date will be determined after a few more weeks of the sale. Two Hip Chicks is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.
