Ruth Gulotta, 20, has worked at Gulotta’s more than seven years beginning with odd jobs like helping clean up. Although the four previous generations have seen the business move locations, she grew up working only in the North Lewis Street location.

“It’s been a learning experience being part of the business. Whether social, costumer service, getting our name out there or establishing a good relationship with clients. We hope to see it grow and keep our family here,” Gulotta said. “My brother and I are the two family members most interested in eventually owning the business. The others want to do other things.”

Five generations of Gulotta ownership will carry the trade past the centennial mark. Next year will mark its 100th anniversary as a family-owned business. Starting out as a single cobbler, the Gulotta family has seen the business through several transitions to meet the needs of their customers.

“School uniforms is one of the newest editions to the business,” she said. “We’ve done boots and shoe repair since the beginning. We had shoe repair until 2001, then went on to workwear and now school uniforms.”

When asked about their customer base, Gulotta said she sees a lot of new people while the employees who have worked longer recognize the faithful customers who have been coming for decades.

“I notice more of the new ones are from out of state coming for jobs or on vacation,” Gulotta said. “Some are returning to the area, mostly because of family, but also the comfort of hospitality. For people returning home its nice to come to a town like New Iberia, in spite of the heat.”

Her father, Mark Gulotta, 57, co-owns Gulotta’s with his brother David who takes care of the uniform part of the company. Mark does the retail.

“I was 13 or 14 when I started working in the business,” he said. “It’s great to see family-owned businesses still here. Going to a big city to accomplish that isn’t always the best thing. You can grow here. There’s enough culture and industry to draw from.”

Mark said New Iberia is a small enough town, so people know one another yet it’s next to a bigger city. You can always go to Lafayette, but living full time with a small town feel.

“That’s a good thing,” he said. “Our charm is to have something small in size but easy to get around in and not have to fight traffic like in metro areas.”

When asked about the economy, Mark said, “Although this year is tough because of the oil field, it’s just a slower period. It’s coming back, it always does.”

They’re already making plans to celebrate next year’s centennial.

Unique Rustique

Having celebrated its one year anniversary in April, Chateaux Rustique owner Doug Miller from New Iberia and his partner Paige Champagne, 42, have created a unique niche for the building Miller has owned since he was 18.

When the building became vacant and a long-term tenant couldn’t be found, as a sideline from his oilfield and fabrication company, 2M Oilfield Group, the duo decided to go into business themselves. Champagne said the designer home furnishings boutique is the first business of this kind for either of them.

“We’ve done a lot of decorating and know the manufacturer of most of our furniture. People can pick their own wood and paint finishes or fabrics,” Champagne said. “We have a lot of different creative and custom stuff, do it yourself type. A lot of creative people come in here.”

Champagne said their customers are from all over. They have a repeat customer from Florida who comes to see relatives in the area. Each visit she comes into the store and ships pieces back commenting there’s nothing like it where she is from. Katie Landry, 58, a teacher from Jeanerette, said she loves to come in, especially in the summer, just to experience the atmosphere. She loves the variety, the ideas she gets from shopping plus the original pieces you don’t see around elsewhere, she said.

Men are as comfortable shopping as the women, Champagne said, and believes it’s the wood products they feature that keeps the feminine decorator ambiance at bay. Miller and Champagne shop at market together so the eclectic taste is balanced.

Chase and his brother Chance Poche, Champgagne’s 21-year-old twin sons, are the strong young men who travel into New Iberia from Lafayette everyday to work at Chateaux Rustique. Poche said they deliver it, move it, clean it, whatever needs to be done. They even cancelled their workout membership. Working at the shop “is a workout,” he said.

Although he may not move any closer than Youngsville or Broussard since most of their family are in Lafayette, he didn’t indicate any other plans of employment at the present time. They’re still growing, with time to change their minds.

Butterflies are free to fly

Denise Hebert, 43, has only been open in her new location on Main Street for three weeks. She is already seeing the benefits of buying the building downtown and moving her business from Parkview.

Originally from New Iberia, Hebert said The Blue Butterfly Boutique is an extension of her hobbies. For 10 years she has been creating custom candles in her home workshop which is now housed in the back workroom of the shop.

Linda Migues, a new customer to the shop, said about the candles, “they are the best I’ve ever had. Light it and the whole house smells good. My daughter gave me one, now I’m buying her one as a retirement gift.”

Good news for a new shop owner with a business a little over a year old. Asked about whether the slumping oil economy has affected her transition, Hebert said since business has increased with the new location, she hasn’t felt it.

“The new location makes a difference. We now have walk-ins along with regulars,” she said.

Hebert is looking forward to becoming part of the Art Walk community looks forward to inviting suppliers of handmade items like jewelry and wall décor to come during those events. For several years she was a faux painter artisan participating in a shop featuring her work. She plans to do the same for others.

“I love meeting the tourists. Didn’t have that in the other location,” Hebert said. “While we were renovating, a lady peeked in the door, she was looking at real estate. She said ‘I go all over the place and this is really a pretty little downtown.’ The same thing when a couple came in from Ireland, they said ‘you have a beautiful downtown.’ ”

“I’m thankful for what I do have. As big as this is (the store space),” she said, “there’s as much in the back. Definitely a God thing to get this building. It was in very good shape. We did the floors and painting. We’re looking into adding some things in the back, there’s a courtyard we’ll get cleaned up.”

The Blue Butterfly Boutique was a name Hebert was considering and went online to see if there were any area conflicts. She found assurance for the name and her recent move when The Blue Butterfly Trust, a nonprofit organization to build awareness of pancreatic cancer, came up in the Google search.

“My mother died 20 years ago from pancreatic cancer. Eventually I want to get with one of the companies that have butterflies you can release.

I want to do a fund raiser for pancreatic cancer in honor of her.”

Hebert, the Gulottas and many of the young people in Iberia Parish have come to understand the secret to success and a happy life — family and doing what you love. Their prospects look favorable, they said. With new energy building businesses here, other residents can benefit watching Iberia grow with younger generations.