Courage and Soar: Oh, Hello Co. Offers Safe, Inclusive Space and Merchandise
In 2014, University of Michigan student Kayla Benda started an Etsy store selling cards and stickers to make extra money during graduate school. To her surprise, it “completely blew up,” and Oh, Hello Co. was born. Within six months, Alex, her then boyfriend, now husband, quit his job to run the business full time. Kayla joined him another six months later.
Today, Kayla’s small business is still thriving and has expanded. In addition to the original e-commerce site offering greeting cards, stickers, planners and other unique products, Kayla also owns Oh, Hello Branding Group, offering design support to organizations like Corewell Health, and two retail stores in Grand Rapids — Oh, Hello Co. Paper and Gifts and Courage and Soar.
‘Pride is all year-round’
Certified as both a woman and LGBTQ+ owned company, Oh, Hello Branding Group became an approved diverse supplier for Corewell Health earlier this year and have already created promotional stickers for graduate medical education.
Half of Kayla’s small but mighty team identify as LGBTQ+, and they strive to make their online presence and retail stores inclusive environments. Patrons of the website and retail locations can browse a large selection of rainbow and pride merchandise, including mugs, totes, stickers, home décor and more.
“Pride isn’t just a month here,” she said. “It’s all year-round. People can always find a place that’s comfortable and safe for them.”
Half of Kayla’s small but mighty team identify as LGBTQ+, and they strive to make their online presence and retail stores inclusive environments. Patrons of the website and retail locations can browse a large selection of rainbow and pride merchandise, including mugs, totes, stickers, home décor and more.
“Pride isn’t just a month here,” she said. “It’s all year-round. People can always find a place that’s comfortable and safe for them.”
While Kayla identifies as queer, she says people who don’t know her well assume she’s straight because she’s in a hetero relationship. As a result, she doesn’t face many of the hurdles others in her position might. But that doesn’t mean the Bendas and their businesses don’t experience negativity and hostility.
“In the stores, we sometimes find merchandise people have turned around on the shelves because they don’t agree with what’s on it,” she said. People also take to online reviews to share their feelings. "One memorable one-star review said we ‘pander to minorities.’ I want to put that on a T-shirt.”
'Enjoying normalness’
Kayla’s first retail store, Oh, Hello Paper and Gifts, opened in 2020, just in time for the pandemic. The second store, Courage and Soar, opened in 2023, focusing more on home goods and embroidery. To support local artists, Kayla features their artwork in her stores.
“We have a consignment program in our retail stores and use local creators for our vendors. A lot of the work is done right here in Grand Rapids.”
Her team is pushing for a third store, but Kayla keeps saying no… for now.
“Two is enough!” she laughed. “We opened the first store during COVID, and we’re finally enjoying the normalness now.”
They are also focusing on the business-to-business side of Oh, Hello, coaching others who are just getting started.
“When we were starting out, we made a lot of mistakes,” said Kayla. “It’s hard to source promotional products, so we took on a ‘learn to do it’ mantra and essentially became the suppliers for ourselves.
”As they went along, Kayla posted about their journey on YouTube. They then had people coming to them asking for help, which Alex has taken on.
“He’s looking for more opportunities in the city to continue to help businesses who are in the position we were 10 years ago. We want to help others make their dreams come true, too.”