Rhonda Swenson: Designing for the Ski & Mountain Lifestyle at Krimson Klover

In this episode, Nicole and Sarah sit down with Rhonda Swenson, founder and creative director of Krimson Klover, a women's outdoor lifestyle brand known for its vintage-inspired illustrated base layers and bold, colorful knitwear. Rhonda shares her journey from Texas ski slopes to building a successful Boulder-based company, emphasizing her commitment to slow fashion, ethical manufacturing, and sustainable practices. With a 15-person team (plus up to eight dogs in the office!), she's built a brand that takes 18-24 months to bring products to market, working with renowned international artists and maintaining 20-year relationships with factory partners.

The conversation covers Rhonda's entrepreneurial path—from flight attendant to ski industry rep to serial founder—and her philosophy on work-life balance, with no one working more than 40 hours per week. As an avid backcountry skier who calls Vail her home mountain, Rhonda embodies the outdoor lifestyle her brand represents. She shares practical advice for ski moms building their wardrobes, highlighting the bestselling Switchback jacket and the versatile Carving Skirt. For aspiring entrepreneurs, her message is clear: "Go for it. What have you got to lose?" 

You can find Krimson Klover at www.KrimsonKlover.com, on Instagram @krimsonklover, and in ski shops nationwide.

Memorable Quotes

On entrepreneurship: "I always just say, go for it. What have you got to lose? You'll have regret if you don't go for it. I think fear drives people's hesitation to jump in and do something new."

On failure: "Failure wasn't an option for me. I had to pick myself up and keep on going. I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but you learn from them."

On work-life balance

Participating destinations include:
🏔️ Steamboat 🏔️ Winter Park Resort 🏔️ Arapahoe Basin 🏔️ Palisades Tahoe 🏔️ Mammoth Mountain 🏔️ Big Bear Mountain Resort 🏔️ Snow Valley Mountain Resort 🏔️ Stratton Mountain Resort 🏔️ Sugarbush Resort 🏔️ Snowshoe Mountain Resort 🏔️ Crystal Mountain 🏔️ Schweitzer Mountain Resort 🏔️ Deer Valley Resort 🏔️ Solitude Mountain Resort 🏔️ Tremblant Resort 🏔️ Blue Mountain Resort

Shop the Diamant Weekend Warrior Bag 2.0 at www.diamantskiing.com and use code SKIMOMS to save 10%

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Transcript

Nicole: Welcome back to the Ski Moms Podcast. It's season five and we're hitting the slopes.

Nicole: We're sharing real unfiltered stories of motherhood on the snow.

Nicole: From conquering the bunny hill with toddlers to squeezing in your own powder days, this season celebrates every type of ski mom. Thanks for joining us. We've got a great season lined up and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode.

Nicole: We want to take a moment to remind you about the Ski Moms discount page on the Ski Moms Co website. We've collaborated with our favorite brands to bring you a ton of money saving deals.

For instance, we have a special link for ski butlers. For 20% off your family's gear rentals, ski Butlers delivered your rentals right to the living room of your condo or rental home or the lobby of your hotel, saving you hours of time.

You'll never have to wait in a long rental store line at the base of the mountain again.

When you use our links and codes, you not only save a bundle, you're also sending a message to the brands about the purchasing power of the Ski moms. Head to www.theski moms.codiscounts to take advantage.

Nicole: Of these special offers.

The Ski Moms are so excited to welcome Rhonda Swenson today. She is the founder and creative force behind Crimson Clover.

Sarah and I absolutely love this brand. It's an outdoor lifestyle brand built for women,

by women, and they have the cutest prints. She launched the line of with sweaters in 2009 and since then she's grown. It's in all of our favorite boutiques. We go right to their website and we're super excited to talk to her about her Texas roots because Sarah and I are fascinated by Texas Ski Moms and we want to hear about how she stays creative,

how she stays connected to the snow and just her whole story and vibes. So welcome so much, Rhonda.

Rhonda: Thank you. Thanks for having me. This is such an honor.

Nicole: Sarah and I are fascinated by how Texas families will drive 10 hours like it's nothing to go skiing.

Rhonda: It's because Texas is so big. So like driving across the state is like nothing. My dad used to drive us to New Mexico to ski and it was 10 hours. It was exactly that.

Nicole: Yeah, I mean, I'm you'll relative. You'll sit in the hot tub with them and they'll say,

oh yeah, we have a weekend place up here. And I'm assuming they're coming from, I don't know, you Know, like the Front Range or. No, you just. You get in the car and you just start driving.

Rhonda: Like, wow.

Nicole: It's a whole different mindset.

Rhonda: It's. It is. I. I don't know why it's funny.

Nicole: I mean, I.

Rhonda: Even when I go home, I drive. I. I can load the car and drive and put in my two dogs and. And off we go. And it takes us 10 hours to get there.

But if I flew, I would have to go fly through Dallas, wait for the connector flight, get on a connector flight.

Nicole: Ski moms don't have time to go in and out of airports. They're getting in the car with their.

Rhonda: Stuff, and you have. And then you have all your stuff.

Like, you don't have to worry about, like, fitting your sweaters in your suitcase because they never quite fit.

Nicole: So we love a good orange story. And we especially want to know,

since you did come from Texas,

how was skiing introduced to you? How old were you, and how did your family get to the mountains?

Rhonda: My dad was a big skier, and I think he was a skier most of his life. My parents both went to school in Colorado at University of Colorado,

so that was probably their start.

But my dad used to throw me in the car and drive me to Red River, New Mexico,

to go skiing and Taos, too. But I think I was 11 the first time I went skiing.

And then,

I don't know. Everybody I know used to ski. I mean, our church used to take all the kids on ski trips every year. Our school used to take kids on ski trips every year.

So I don't know, I was hooked from the age of 11. And then I went to school at University of Colorado, and here I am. I'm still,

still living here to walk.

Sarah: Us through your career path.

Rhonda: Oh, gosh.

So, you know, I traveled for a year after I got out of school. I thought I was going to go to Thunderbird School and go to International Business School, and instead I did a year in Australia.

I did that. Fall in love with an Australian, and how am I going to see him again? And I came home, and much to my parents disappointment, not really. But I got a job with the airline and started flying.

And I'm super type A, so it really wasn't the right job for me.

So I got a side job as a. A rep in the ski industry. And my first brand was Chopis,

which is the casual word for sweaters in South America.

And because I flew for free, the owner kept sending me to South America to work with her factories.

And I'm a Knitter. I started knitting at the age of nine, and so she'd send me over for like three weeks at a time,

and I would. I just started designing for her. I mean, you know, you're there and they're knitting on the machines right then.

And so I got super involved in the creative with her.

And then a few years in, I bought her company from her.

So I'm in a tiny little company,

but that truly was my start. I've. I've always said pay attention to those right turns in life because you never know where they're going to take you.

Because I thought I was going to be doing something completely different.

That definitely wouldn't have fed my soul quite as much as this does.

Nicole: Were you immediately sold on rebranding and renaming it, or did you try to continue with that brand and their mission? Did you completely overhauled as soon as it was yours?

Rhonda: Oh, no, no, no. I kept Trumpists for quite a few years.

We were producing sweaters in Peru, Uruguay,

Bolivia,

and I mean, and they were works of art. I mean,

nobody does it like the South Americans. They put their heart and soul in everything. I used to say that my knitters leave a little piece of their soul in every sweater they make.

You can turn these sweaters inside out, and they're as beautiful as the front side.

Like, it's. It's crazy. But they're expensive, and we just really couldn't make the margins that we needed to grow the business. So I ended up taking over this little tiny brand.

It wasn't that tiny, but it was a brand called Air E I R,

named after the woman who was one of the founders and original designers, Elvia Ramos. But. And that was all Asia. And that's what really launched me into ski sweaters. They had all these factories that were already making ski sweaters,

and so we were able to transition and start doing things in the ski industry. And Champas was ski industry too, but it was the fashion side, you know, like what you wear when you're upright.

And so I had air and Champas, and then eventually Champas just kind of rolled into air.

And then I changed that name. I never really identified with that name. And so I changed the name to Neve,

which was the Italian word for snow.

And then after a handful of years, I sold it and I just hadn't had enough. I don't know, I thought I was going to go into interiors, and. And I just couldn't stand it.

I just had to get back into knitting. And so I started Crimson Clover.

So I'm like a serial entrepreneur.

Like, I'm really good at building small brands up to mid brands.

I haven't, I haven't gotten to the giant brand yet. I don't think I ever will.

Sarah: I feel like it's pretty big. I feel like I see Crimson Clover in all the ski shops I go into at least. But for people that haven't seen your products or maybe don't realize that it's one of your Crimson Clover line, just describe the, the look a little bit.

Rhonda: Well, you know, we're all about pattern and color,

so sweaters are all about pattern and color. And then, you know, I think what we're really known for in the ski industry are the illustrated base layers.

And so we use artists all over the world. They're amazing. I mean, they're amazing renowned artists. Mads Berg, Lamont, Joseph White. I mean I could, I mean like we have, they're crazy talented, but they, we take vintage art.

So think of a vintage poster and that, that's what it's going to inspire our art. So if you've been in a ski shop or a shop anywhere and you've seen like these kind of vintage looking women on, you know, on a top, that's probably Crimson Clover.

And they're, and they're just fun, they just make you smile.

Nicole: I think that was one of the things that Sarah and I love talking about is, you know, your brand has been around for decades now. How do you keep it fresh?

How do you keep these new prints coming to, to make people want to see what's next at Crimson Clover?

Rhonda: It's funny, every year I think this is the best line we've ever had. What are we going to do next? Or how, how are we going to like evolve? And we always seem to manage.

But I think when you work with a lot of different creatives, I don't know, you just,

you all feed off each other and we just keep coming up with something new and different and you know, we're all trying to push our envelope and push our creativeness and,

and evolve and I don't know, I think our artists help us do that. And then, you know, we do a trip to London and to Italy every year for design inspiration and that.

I mean, London, like, how fun is London? And they're like the knitwear. I mean besides Italy, they are probably the top knitwear country in the world. And we get so much inspiration from shopping and galleries and you know, you can go on and on.

Sarah: Yeah, you have to, it's for the work Right. For the inspiration. It's just.

Rhonda: I'm going in two weeks, and it's just.

Sarah: Darn,

it sounds really difficult.

These artists you work with from all over,

are they like a handful of the same people you work with season after season,

and they're just kind of. They know the ropes, or do you change that in and out?

Rhonda: We change it a little. I'm so loyal. Once I work with somebody and love what they do and love what we do together, I tend to stay with them. Like Lamont Joseph White.

He's. I think he's four or five years with us now. I've had two artists that have been working with me from the beginning,

and they continue to work with me. And this new artist from London, and he's incredible. So, yeah, I'm constantly looking. Anytime I see a piece of art that I'm really inspired by, I go search out the artist, and if I can get them to return an email,

and then we start working together.

Nicole: We know that designers have to live in many spaces. You live in the season you're in and then seasons ahead of time. So what does a typical day look like? Are you sort of time shifting every single day, or do you.

You know, a certain day is dedicated to what's going on right now, and then tomorrow might be dedicated to what's going on next season.

Rhonda: You know, it's funny, I like to say that at. At our office, we usually have four seasons colliding at once,

which is really a lot because we're finishing all the sizing and specs and everything of next spring. The upcoming spring.

We're launching. You know, we're launching the fall that we're in right now. And we just put to rest spring 27th. And I am now working on fall 27.

And then I'm also CEO,

so.

So I get to put on my CEO hat,

but my favorite space is my creative director hat. And so. And I went. I have to actually think hard to pull myself.

Like, it's hard for me to go into finance mode or into, like, that mode, because my brain really wants to be over here being creative.

Sarah: So Nicole has the same. The same issue. We have to really work on finance mode.

Nicole: That.

Sarah: That's where I really come in. Try to keep things practical.

Rhonda: I have a lot of people trying to keep me practical. No, you can't do that. And, no, that yarn doesn't work.

Nicole: What's the office vibe like? Where is your office, Rhonda, and what's going on there day to day? Is it a big team A small team.

Rhonda: We're, we're growing. There are 15 of us in the office now.

And plus we have probably 10 contractors that, that work with us. All of our designers are contractors and, and then we have upwards of eight dogs.

So.

And it's, it can be crazy. Typically there are five dogs there at a time, but there have been eight.

We have four Bernies over mountain dogs.

So I, and my office is only like 3, 500 square feet. So you, it's crazy. I think it creates the most amazing work environment.

It's really fun.

Nicole: I love that. My dog has never missed a podcast. He's curled up right next to me right now. I don't like, I think he likes the comfort of the talking.

And where are your offices, Rhonda? Where are you all based?

Rhonda: We're in Boulder, Colorado.

Nicole: Do you get a break or. Because you're designing so many seasons, is it just always busy?

Rhonda: No, we seem to be pretty busy all the time. But we pride ourselves on work, life, balance.

So nobody works more than 40 hours in a week. We all take a lot of time off. We encourage travel. You know, I, I, I go on at least three big trips a year by heart because it's kind of what fuels me.

And then, you know, we're always getting out hiking, biking, skiing. You know, we're all big skiers. So great work, life, balance.

Sarah: And going back to the actual line.

And I know we talked about sweaters.

What are some of the other like core products that we would find in your line?

Rhonda: Sweaters. That's probably who we are to start.

And then all the illustrated base layers, but those are all knits, so you know, we're using all knitted fabrics for, for all of those. And then we do a lot of outerwear.

You know, we've got the down jackets, the long compass down vest, which is the office favorite. We've got the lighter weight, like mid weight down pieces, like the shackets. And then our number one selling piece in the entire collection is our switchback.

And it's got knitted sleeves, but it's a nylon puffy jacket and it, it's like the best layering piece ever. People wear it under their ski jackets. It's great for apres, it's great for walking the dog.

But I mean,

it is our number one selling piece in the whole collection.

Nicole: So I'm going to try not to Google it right now and order it. I'll wait until we get, get off the.

Rhonda: We do different patterns on all the sleeves and then if you want the perfect Opera outfit. We have the carving skirt and it has the matching knit down the side panel.

Nicole: And you can you see me in this Cortina already?

Rhonda: Yeah, oh, absolutely. And you could have like, you know, the matching leggings and the top and, you know, just throw that on.

Nicole: And we love talking to women owned brands, we love talking to smaller brands.

And we are big fans of slower fashion and we don't mean that fashion that's not changing, but the, the whole click and ship and immediate gratification and the knockoff business and the, you know, just sort of the cheaper choices I don't think are ultimately that rewarding.

I think when you're, you mull over which is going to be the just right sweater because you want to wear it multiple times.

I know you, you feel competition from some of these cheaper brands. You've got the opportunity now to, you know, to talk to our consumers and really convince them that investing in their clothing is a better choice for not only like the environment, but the creative industry.

Rhonda: I mean, what slow fashion. It takes us 18 months to 24 months to bring a product to market, you know, and it all starts with the fiber that you're using. And I mean,

I mean, we try so hard to make sure that our fibers come from certifiable sources like that the animals are treated well, the workers are treated well at our factories, that our workers are paid well, that they have really good working conditions.

Like, I think if you think about, like if you buy a product for $10,

the store that you're buying it from is making five, because every, everything typically is keystone or around there.

So that leaves $5 for the raw material, the fiber, the production, the worker to get paid,

and the shipping.

So how much do you think that worker's getting paid? And how well do you. I mean, like, they're probably buying the cheapest raw materials they can get their hands on.

And is that sustainable and is it, you know, or is it coming from a source that's harming the environment?

You know, even in poly, like our lensing viscose, you know, we only use lensing viscose for our,

for our ski sweaters and that kind of thing if merino wool or, you know, lensing. But, you know,

we, they guarantee that the,

all the, the way that they're making the fiber, none of those chemicals ever hit the water source. It all gets recycled and turned into soap.

So I don't know, it just.

If you're really thoughtful about how you buy your clothes, you'll feel a lot better. About just what you're doing, you know, for your part, for the.

Nicole: And I think you're going to ski better too.

Rhonda: And you're going to ski better because you're just going to feel better. Yeah. And plus we use really amazing like fibers and yarns and everything. So you feel good wearing our stuff anyway, just, it's all super cozy.

Nicole: And one thing I've noticed with mid sized brands such as yours is they used to really rely on wholesale business. You know, they used to be in all of these small shops.

I love seeing it in ski house. We've partnered with them for years and they've got a big crimson clover set up in all three of their shops. But I do notice that your online presence has grown.

You've gotten a bigger sort of direct to consumer business.

Why is that important to you?

Rhonda: You know, it's important to,

to me for us to try to grow. I mean I've got this team of women who,

they want to grow, they want a career. They, you know, and in order to feed that career, we need to grow.

We're not trying to be a giant brand or a giant company but you know, so,

and how are we going to reach, you know,

more customers? And so we do that by being online.

It's only, it's less than 10% of our business. Our wholesale business is still the heart of,

of who we are and what we do. And it's all about those relationships that really kind of make us really thrive at our company.

Sarah: Well, we only find crimson clover in ski shops or where would we, where should we be looking for this brand?

And are you in some of the other,

you know, other like online.com,

you know, outdoor retailers as well?

Rhonda: We sell,

I mean the ski industry is the biggest part of our business. We're in probably arguably every ski shop in the country that sells a broader collection of apparel. But we're also in the outdoor industry.

We sell into a lot of outdoor boutiques, we sell in fashion boutiques. We're in free people now. Title 9 sports is our biggest customer. We're also all over Europe,

Australia,

New Japan.

So we're, we're actually,

we have a footprint everywhere. We're growing. It's, it's really exciting.

So.

Nicole: And if a mom is,

she's starting to invest in her ski wardrobe, which Sarah and I highly endorse,

again, you will ski faster and better.

Which pieces do you feel like are the essential ones for her to get started with your brand? Like you would say, okay, you need these three things and they're going to change your life because,

well, our base.

Rhonda: Layers, because layering is everything when you're skiing. You know, we have our illustrated base layers. We have the recycled poly if you want cozy, warm.

And then I'm a big backcountry skier, so I skin up mountains a lot. And so then I really like our merino base layer because it wicks and doesn't get so smelly.

So, you know, I think that's perfect. I think you need a little vest, which is like our sila vest. There's a lot of great vests out there just for that next layer.

I typically wear a shell, a shell jacket. And then I always have a sweater and maybe a puffy, a lightweight puffy in my backpack that I can throw on and when the temperatures drop and I'm skiing down.

Sarah: So it sounds like, yeah, definitely layering. That's what we found when we're doing the uphill. You're sweating and then you're freezing and then you're sweating again, depending on where you are in your,

in your journey up or down the mountain. So I love that you have all the different layers.

And we always love a good vest. I think that's like my favorite item ever.

And I love that. Base layers. I've realized, like, you don't only have to wear them skiing too, you can just wear them out and about, especially with a cute vest over it and make it a whole outfit for other days and other times of year.

Nicole: I mean, I get up in the morning and I put my base layers on because I'm going to take the dog out for his adventures. And then I will probably put my snow skirt, you know, I might have another pair of pants on if it's cold.

And then I'll put my snow skirt on if I'm like going to run errands. And it's, it's just lifestyle choices.

Rhonda: Sarah.

Well, you know what's funny is I, I see people out like in outdoor restaurants in Vail or wherever. Even here in Boulder, they're still doing the outside, outdoor dining at night.

Nicole: I definitely endorse that.

And I love that you were talking about your work life balance and that you really make that a priority.

What do you consider your home? Mountain Rhonda Vail.

Rhonda: I live in Vail. You know, I'm half and half, I'm half Boulder, half Vail. So Vail is my long, long time mountain where I love to ski.

Nicole: And so you, you ski Vail and do you park in a certain area or do you, you know, you Have a condo up there. And you're going to go right to which lift?

Rhonda: I have a little house in Sandstone and I take the bus,

so I don't like to pay for parking. So I take the bus every morning and I go straight to Gondola one. So I keep a locker in town so that I can keep all my stuff there.

Sarah: And what are some of your favorite? If you were to give us some of the little hidden gems to ski at Vail, where are your favorite spots?

Rhonda: Oh, favorite. Well, the back bowls are my favorite. I mean, there's really nothing like them anywhere, is there? It's. You ski into the sunshine like everywhere. So that. That's my favorite.

Sarah: I think one of my favorite trails was back there. I think it was called Cloud9 and I think it was like one of my favorite trails. I just remember being very happy there.

But I feel like it's hard to not be happy in Vail.

Rhonda: It's, it's a. It's actually an amazing mountain. It's.

I mean it's just so big, so there's something for everybody. Right. But like, I still love going to all the other mountains in Colorado too. I mean, I'm, I love, I mean, Steamboat's one of my all time favorites.

Copper is just over the mountain and I get a couple of days there a year, so.

Yeah. And then Europe. You guys are going to Cortina?

I usually ski Europe at least once a year, but Cortina is my favorite.

Nicole: And do you still get the family together for ski days?

Rhonda: No,

my parents don't ski anymore, so. But so my sister and my brother,

I mean they live abroad, but they do come over and we do big ski trips, you know, at least once a year. Yeah.

Nicole: So are you more likely to plan trips with like girlfriends now or like when you're planning your adventures? What does that look like?

Rhonda: Well, I'm doing a big ski trip in March, but it's a backcountry trip and we're going to Canada.

So we're going up to you helicopter into a lodge and then you do seven days of backcountry skiing. And that's with a mixed group, so guys and girls. But I do have five of my closest girlfriends coming with me, so that'll be fun.

Sarah: And is that just like a private group that's been organized or is it through a company?

Rhonda: It's a private group. So my, my partner Kim, who works for Scarpa Boots so Ski and another ski industry brand. Right. He, he organizes a backcountry trip every Year. It's his passion.

Sarah: That sounds amazing.

Nicole: We have, we have a lot of women who are in our group and they either have a product or a service or some idea on ways to make skiing better for the entire population, or more specifically for women, or even dialing it down more for families.

But some of them are sitting on the fence because it seems too daunting to get started. Do you have any advice for entrepreneurs who are thinking about developing something and going for it, but they're just waiting for the right time or somebody to give them permission?

Rhonda: I always just say, go for it. What have you got to lose? Like, you know, you'll have regret if you don't go for it.

I think fear drives people's hesitation to jump in and do something new. And I think that's greater for women than,

than men. Maybe we have because we're caretakers or, you know,

more at stake, but I just say go for it. There are so many resources now to help women start businesses, start new things. Whether it's a business or a hobby or whatever, there are resources for helping financially.

I mean, there's just an endless supply of help out there to help people get things started. So I say go for it.

Sarah: And you did walk us through, you know, very high level career path, but I imagine it was not without some bumps. So can you just tell us about maybe one of the challenges that you faced just to make it, you know, realize like this wasn't just this very easy, straightforward path necessarily over all these years.

Rhonda: I mean, I don't think anyone who has a business would say that it's ever easy,

it's rewarding. But I have made every mistake you could possibly make.

And I mean, truly. And you know, and I don't know, I just have. I mean, first of all, failure wasn't an option for me. Like, you know what? I, it just wasn't an option.

I had to pick myself up and keep on going.

Yeah, I've made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I don't know, you learn from them and then, you know, and it isn't even mistakes, it's the, just the challenges that get thrown at us.

Covid for one. And then we all ended up doing okay after it.

And then, you know, now we're all dealing with tariffs and we're all getting through that. And that is not an easy thing to get through. But, you know, but we're, we're, it's a challenge and we're getting through it like we're making it through whole.

Nicole: So Is there a group within the Boulder community that you rely on? Are there like a group of founders? Could be women and men who are dealing with tariffs in the same,

maybe in the same way that, that you are, that you can rely on and, and swap stories or how you're getting through it?

Rhonda: You know, I used to be on the board for sia, the snow sport industry of America. And so I have pretty strong relationships with so many founders.

And so they're not all here in Boulder, but we have all definitely tapped into each other just talking through what our obstacles are and what best practices are to try to get forward.

And then, you know, I've leaned into our factories. I have 20 year relationships with factories and they've been amazing partners and my retailers have been amazing partners.

I mean, we're all in it together and we all have to make it out the other side together and it's working.

Nicole: And what about when you feel a little stuck? If the solution isn't immediately coming to you, is that when you lean on time outdoors where you'll say, you know what? I'm not sitting in this office.

I'm not going to get the answer. I really need to click in and start climbing something. Is that something that you find helps free up space in your brain to look at things in new ways?

Rhonda: Absolutely.

Yeah. You know, I'm one of those. I shouldn't be making decisions, like, impulsively anyway.

So if you just get out and get fresh air and get exercise and, I don't know, I think so much clarity can come to you and, and then, you know, getting out with other people and talking through things and, you know, you, you lean in and lean on people and you find all kinds of solutions to,

you know, what we come up against every day.

Sarah: What are some of the ways that you play outside when it's not ski season?

Rhonda: I'm a big cyclist,

so I do get out on my bike quite a lot. And then I also have two dogs, so hiking is in my daily routine.

There's no such thing as. I've Australian shepherds. You have to get them out every day.

I thought.

Sarah: I misunderstood. I thought the four Bernese mountain dogs were yours.

Rhonda: Oh, no, no.

Sarah: They're just at the. Okay, okay. I'm feeling much better now. Okay. There are just a bunch of dogs at the office, not all belonging to you.

Rhonda: I have two tiny, tiny houses. Four Bernie's mountain dogs would not fit.

Nicole: I do think, like, you could,

like, zoos have the live stream and people just check in throughout the day to see what the penguins are doing or the otters. You could just have that in the office.

And people would check in and be like, oh, are the dogs wrestling yet?

Rhonda: Well, and then on any given day we, I'm like, now we have two.

Well, they're not such puppies. They're 10 months old and so they are forever tumbling. And I mean there's, it's just comic relief nonstop.

Nicole: I mean, I check in with Bernice puppies to see how they're doing every day. It's like if you put an avalanche dog in a ski ad or any sort of social media, I'm in.

Like, I'm engaged.

Rhonda: Oh, no. Our number one posts are always dog related. So we do a post a week that has a dog. That's the office spotlight.

Nicole: That's just good content.

When we're talking about your, your business and the, the growth of your business.

Are there new areas? Have you ever been tempted to get into golf or to get into cycling or are you going to stick to this lane?

Rhonda: We actually, it's funny you mentioned it, we, we are more constantly trying to figure out how to grow and it's like we're trying to figure out what is our woman that buys and wears our products in the winter, what is she doing in the summer.

And so we actually are starting to lean a little bit into like that sort of country club, golf, pickleball, tennis.

What do we serve up for that? I don't,

I don't particularly want to be like a, an activewear brand where we're giving you all the clothes to wear that. But,

but the knitwear and the base layer. But really like altering the themes of our illustrations to speak to some of those other sports.

Nicole: So kind of I would love some bold graphic golf shirts.

Don't you, can't you see me in those, Sarah, that have some of those fun themes as well? Because I mean, I do not take my golf game very seriously, but I do take dressing for golf seriously.

And I don't know about pickleball. I can't get, I play a little bit, but I can't get my head around about what you're wearing to play pickleball.

I know.

Rhonda: I, I mean, I just kind of wear whatever I have.

Like,

I don't dress for pickleball, but golf. I think you want to look nice when you're on the golf course. And, and what do you do after golf? You go operate.

So you gotta look good.

Sarah: So I think there's an opportunity there because as someone who golfs and I look A lot for cute golf clothes. There's, there's definitely a hole in the marketing.

Nicole: And layering is important in golf because often if you tee off in the morning,

it can change 10, 15 degrees depending on how speedy you're playing. So you might want a vest and a light jacket at the beginning, but then by the end, you might be in your T shirt.

I mean, not your. Your golf shirt.

Rhonda: I agree.

Yeah. So now we just have to, like, get my artists thinking. And Mads is doing some pieces as we speak that are really going to speak to that active woman.

She. He's doing illustrations around four different sports and Style Girl that is doing them.

Nicole: Seeing we have a lot of families who are weekend warriors, and they're based in someplace that's maybe not as, you know, convenient to the mountains as the axis that you and I have, but it's still cold and they're going for, you know, morning workouts or morning walks with the dogs.

And these pieces are great layering pieces for all of the weather that we experience, you know, in New England, in the mountains, and on the west coast as well.

Rhonda: I agree.

I mean, I take my stuff everywhere, everywhere we go and like,

rain, sun or shine. I think it's natural fibers, too. Natural fibers and even the recycled poly. I mean, it works in all kinds of environments, so makes you look good.

Sarah: So I imagine people that maybe haven't seen the brand before, they're looking at your Instagram or looking at the site and saying this stuff is super cute and they want to order some.

How does the sizing run?

Rhonda: We went pretty true to size.

We don't run small. Our small is a 4, 6,

and our medium is an 8, 10. And we're pretty true to size,

so. And so we go extra small to extra large.

Sarah: And most of these pieces, like the base layers, they have a little. They have give to them. It's not like we're wearing a pair of, you know, a fitted suit or something.

So I imagine there's some, some leeway there. And then if we order the wrong size. Are there any, like, free exchanges, anything like that?

Rhonda: Yeah, so we, we do free exchanges.

You know, we encourage people. I mean, I, in fact, I see it every day. People are ordering two sizes to figure out what size they are with those. But once you figure out what size you are with those, we stay consistent through our collection, which is really nice.

But. And we always encourage people, if you like a really loose fit, size up.

But,

but we, we're, we're not super form fitting.

More of A relaxed fit.

Nicole: So we always like to end talking about what APRA looks like for you.

So you, you've skinned a mountain, you're coming back down.

What are you wearing and where, where are you going in Vail to enjoy some apres.

Rhonda: If I'm apres if I'm coming off the, if I'm skinning or if I come off the mountain, I'm usually wearing leggings and a base layer and I throw that cute little carving skirt over and I typically have a switchback on.

I mean there's a reason it's our best selling piece I think. And yeah, I'm out operating.

Sarah: Is there a favorite spot you like to go to?

Rhonda: I think in Vail my favorite spot would be Alpenrose and I don't know why but there's just something about it. It's so authentic,

so authentically Austrian.

And they have the best aperol spritz or if you're not drinking alcohol they have probably the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my life. It's just decadent. So that would be my favorite.

Sarah: Even better than the Son and Alps hot chocolate.

Rhonda: Oh it rivals it. Son and Alps is very good.

Nicole: Are you pretty good about getting offline and putting your phone down on after your adventures or are you getting going to be checking in right away?

Rhonda: I'm actually really good at turning off my phone.

It's like a joke in my office. I leave my phone at the office and I don't usually know until like at night when I go to plug it in and I realize that it's not in my hand.

So I mean I, I just, it's. Yeah, I, I love disconnecting. I, I think it's really important and I also think it's really important to disconnect, go off grid for a week or so at a time.

I, you know, every so often too just go dive into other things.

Nicole: And I know I did that this summer. I did. It was about a 10 day social media fast and work disconnect as well and it was, it was great.

It's not possible for everybody and if you've got younger kids, you know that can be a little bit hard too. But I did definitely feel lighter during that time period and you know, the world did not come crashing down afterwards.

Rhonda: Good reef. It's just a good refresh, isn't it? And, and you know I don't have kids but it having a business, anybody that it's really hard to turn it off but it is so healthy.

If you can Find time to just take. Take a refresh.

Sarah: Thank you so much, Rhonda, for spending your time with us today. We absolutely love all your products. And I. I know Nicole is thinking about that whole outfit you described, and she'll be ordering it probably by noon today.

But where can we. Where should we go to find your products?

Rhonda: We're@crimsonclover.com and that's with Kase, so you can find us online and then you can see us on Instagram.

Sarah: Thank you so much for your time.

Rhonda: Oh, my gosh. And thanks for having me. It's been really lovely chatting with you ladies.

Nicole: Oh, we. We absolutely love our time with you. Oh, and one why crimson clover?

Rhonda: You know,

one of the girls that works for me came up with the name Crimson Clover. And then when I did a deep dive into it, the. The red leaf. Crimson clover is used for all kinds of women's things.

It's in women's medicinal teas, and it's in pre and postmenopausal teas,

and it's a beautiful red clover that's actually prevalent in Texas. So there were so many things about that plant that really resonated with me that crimson clover just made sense.

Plus, I love the song,

so.

Nicole: And then you added a K. Just to be cool.

Rhonda: Just to be cool.

So the girl that worked for me, she and her sister always wanted a store with K and K and crimson and clover,

and so that was their goal. And then she pitched the name to me, and I couldn't help myself. I had to jump on it.

Nicole: Hey, ski moms. We hope you enjoyed today's episode and got some great tips for your next family ski adventure.

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