“I don’t hardly know her but I think I could love her, Crimson and Clover.”

That is the feeling that Kristin Yanicelli and Kathryn Anderson had when they decided to open their boutique Krimson and Klover .

Uptown, on the corner of Cole and Bowen, there sits a quaint, sunshine yellow, Victorian-style house.

This house served as an office space for thirty years prior to evolving into a boutique.

“Krimson representing the dressy and Klover representing the casual was Kathryn’s idea,” said Kristin.

The name was not intentionally linked to the song by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, but it is pretty catchy.

When customers walk into the boutique, their senses are immediately stimulated.

Every guest is greeted with sweet scents of burning Tocca candles, bright colored raw silk drapes caressing the hard wood floors and a freiendly sales rep eager to assist in any fashion needs.

Krimson and Klover was listed in Lucky Magazine January 2004 issue as “Best New Boutiques,” in the Lucky magazine November 2004 issue as “Friendliest Shop Girls” and in the D Magazine October 2003 issue “The Best 163 Stores in Dallas.”

On their first day open, Aug. 5, 2003, Krimson and Klover exceed their expectations and grossed nearly $2,000, which, according to research done by Kristin, was a “great” day.

Kathryn also decorated the boutique, offering a different feeling to the shopping experience.

Dudley, their dog that comes to work with them every day, adds that “looking through you friend’s closet” feel to the boutique.

In the dressing room, instead of finding uncomfortable chairs, there are two comfy chairs filled with embroidered throw pillows flanked by a fashion magazine filled coffee table.

It’s hard to believe Australia was the birthplace for an American capitalist idea, but it was.

When Kristin was studying abroad in Sydney in 2002, she was inspired to start her own business at a conference.

“’An Australian designer started her business opening a boutique twenty years prior,” said Kristin about her moment of inspiration.

“She was speaking about female entrepreneurships and the cost and risk associated with it. What she was saying got me thinking.”

Careful, concise and cautious thinking Kristin did.

After three weeks thinking about the business, Kristin contacted her sister.

“By that point I knew where I wanted the business,” said Kristin.

Knowing that retail business is all about location, location, location, Kristin had her eye set on a spot.

“We knew that the man in the building was retiring after thirty years,” said Kristin.

Michael Anderson, Kristin and Kathryn’s father, owned the building and had no clue of his daughters’ plans.

However, he raised them in an environment that nurtured their business sense.

Michael has always enjoyed making money for himself.

He started out selling subscriptions for the Park Cities News in 1956 and progressed to having two paper routes then to being part owner of the Park Cities News.

“I was raised in a entrepreneurial atmosphere,” Michael said.

“My father always said be your own boss. Your success is only limited to how hard you want to work and how smart you want to work.”

This is the atmosphere in which Michael and Cynthia Anderson raised Kristin and Kathryn.

Cynthia was a real estate agent and Michael bought the real estate which increased Kristin and Kathryn’s understanding of the business.

When Kristin was 29 and Kathryn 24, they opened Krimson and Klover. It made their parents proud.

“Their mother and I were nervous when they told us, but we didn’t reveal it to them,”said Michael.

But seeing his daughters had a well organized plan and had done the necessary research, it eased some of his fears.

“I knew that the fashion indusrty was very competitive, people are being bombarded with advertising.” said Michael.

Kristin, who earned a Masters Degree from the University of Texas and worked for a financial marketing company for three years and interned with Campbell Soup Corp., was receiving hefty offers to lure her into corporate America when she decided to start her own business.

“After she would politely decline, (Campbell Soup) kept coming back and increasing the ante…very attractive six figures. The last thing on my mind is she is going into business for herself,” said Anderson.

The money just wasn’t enough to capture Kristin.

“It really was not the life I wanted,” said Kristin about the Campbell Soup offer.

When Kristin returned to UT to finish her last semester, she begin to research and strategize her business plan.

“I wanted to know I could make something from scratch that was very successful,” said Kristin.

One and a half years later, Krimson and Klover is thriving and surviving in the competitive fashion industry.

Taking the inheritance their grandmother left them and investing it wisely has rewarded them with many praises.

“Krimson representing the dressy and Klover representing the casual was Kathryn’s idea,” said Kristin.

The name was not intentionally linked to the song by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts but it is pretty catchy.

Kathryn worked for a small boutique in her last year at the University of Georgia majoring in interior design.

While working in Athens, she gained four years of market buying and retail experience.

“The owner was always busy and would send me and another girl to market,” said Kathryn.

After noticing that the selections they made were selling quickly, the owner entrusted Kathryn to continue making the style choices.

Throughout the store you can see fashion clips from Lucky Magazine.

“It is our bible,” said Kathryn, referring to Lucky, because inside it shows you not only the latest and the greatest but how to wear them.

Kristin and Kathryn also travel to markets in Los Angeles and New York seeking the latest fashions.

“We look for unique items, but only order a small number,” said Kathryn.

If they don’t have something that you like in your size, don’t fret, they are always willing to make special orders.

As spring break nears, Kristin and Kathryn are stocking up an assortment of bright colors, party tops, the Bohemian style skirts and embroidery on everything.

When Kristin Yanicelli and Kathryn Anderson were little girls growing up in Highland Park, they didn’t like when their father had to leave dinner to go and pick up rent from his tenants.

Now, years later they want to do the same.

Moving out of retail into real estate Kristin and Kathryn hope to first buy the building the boutique is in from their father.

“Crimson and Clover over and over, Crimson and Clover over and over.”