Three Generations of Entrepreneurial Women - Hip Chics Boutique

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PHOTOS BY THE PORTRAIT GALLERY Hip Chics Boutique Three Generations of Entrepreneurial Women By Carolyn S. Peterson Never underestimate the power of brainstorming women! A leisurely road trip to the North Carolina mountains in January 2007 for a scrapbooking weekend with friends sounds pretty harmless, but for Kristina Kapp Prysiazniuk, owner and president of Hip Chics Boutique, by the end of her trip, she had the beginning of her own business. Parents’ Example “I grew up in the Clemmons area with two parents who owned their own businesses. My mother, Faye Kapp, was an interior decorator with a retail shop, Accessory Decorating, and my father, Jerry Kapp, was a mortgage broker and owner of Kapp & Associates. They had a certain spirit, a love of owning their own businesses, and I think that spirit was passed on in the genes,” said Prysiazniuk. November 2009 / 23
Kristina with good firends, Holly Groce and Stacy Mayhew. Both Holly and Stacy have been supportive from the start and remain actively involved in Hip Chics. Have Gifts, Will Travel Prysiazniuk began her gift and accessory business on a small scale, to say the least. “For 12 years I helped brides plan their weddings, from invitations to gifts for the bridal party. I would shop for jewelry and other items at gift markets, which expanded into trendy purses. Word seemed to spread and soon I was selling items to friends from my house and out of my trunk. Selling from my trunk turned into home parties and office parties, all leading to a small space in the Allen’s Cove Shopping Center. A little over two years later, our space has grown to four times the original size and we now have 15 employees. So much has happened since we opened on March 1, 2007,” recalled Prysiazniuk. You’re Only as Good as the People Around You…. As with any business, loyal and dedicated employees make a world of difference, but for Prysiazniuk, her employees also mean the world to her -- and are a big reason for the success of Hip Chics Boutique. “I would not be able to have my own business if it wasn’t for the support at home from my husband, Sam, my daughter, Logan, 11, and son, Parker, 7, as well as my parents and my in-laws. Then, my employees -- I can’t say enough about the heart they have for the shop and our customers. Working at Hip Chics Boutique is not just a job to them -- they truly care and we are a team, learning every day…together,” stated Prysiazniuk. The staff at Hip Chics Boutique is really more like a family than a group of employees. “We are friends and we not only work together, but we spend time with our families together. This close bond may not work for all small businesses, but it works for us. We know we can count on each other, as working moms, to help with kids’ schedules and activities, and in keeping balance -- or at least trying to -- in our lives,” commented Prysiazniuk. One of Prysiazniuk’s strongest supporters is her mother, Faye Kapp. “My mom does all the product displays for the shop. She knows better than anyone how to utilize every 24 / www.forsythwoman.com inch of space. She has an eye for design which comes across in the ever changing sections of our shop, from the spiritually inspired items, and jewelry, to our personalized items,” said Prysiazniuk. The Third Generation Steps Up with Scarves in Hand The entrepreneurial gene that Prysiazniuk believes she got from her parents obviously was passed along to daughter, Logan. “My daughter, Logan, began sewing and designing when she was five years old and asked for Santa to bring her a sewing machine when she was eight. Less than a year ago, my mom bought Logan a scarf in Chicago, made of old sweaters, cut and pieced together with embellishments. This scarf was the inspiration for Logan to begin designing scarves made from her friends’ sweaters and those from thrift stores, under the name Logi B. Designs. She uses buttons and old jewelry from her great grandmother to add to the designs,” stated Prysiazniuk. The Kapp-Prysiazniuk family believes that the family who sews together stays together. “Each Wednesday night our family eats dinner with my parents and then we head to the basement and begin working on the scarves. There are sweaters waiting to be cut into pieces, buttons and jewelry in drawers, and usually my dad making fringe. We spend time watching ‘American Idol’ or ‘America’s Got Talent’ as we work. It is a great way for us to spend time as a family and support Logan’s new-found business,” commented Prysiazniuk. Logi B. Designs scarves are becoming quite popular; at a recent craft show in Ohio, Logan sold 83 scarves in five hours and took orders for more. Locally, Logan’s scarves are available at Hip Chics Boutique in both youth and adult sizes.
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Three Generations of Entrepreneurial Women - Hip Chics Boutique

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