Stilisti Salon is in its 20th year on Newbury Street. Its founder and owner, Marisa Marino, remains as committed to her staff and her principles as ever.

To celebrate our first year, we're introducing you to our core crew—the people behind the scenes who bring each issue to life. 

They say if you want to ruin a friendship, go into business together. But they haven’t met the owners of Forty Winks, Dress Boston, and Crush Boutique, three of Beacon Hill’s most elegant boutiques. Remarkably, all these stores were founded and are still owned by women who bonded early in life. MyBoston sits down with these dynamic duos—women who are both close friends and business partners.

Lia Cirio’s parents say she came out of the womb dancing. “I was always moving around,” she recalls. “I had the little tutu pajamas and all that stuff. But my core childhood memory is going to ‘The Nutcracker.’ All I wanted was to be Clara.” Cirio is Clara. She’s also Princess Aurora from “The Sleeping Beauty,” Odette from “Swan Lake,” Nikiya from “La Bayadère,” and all the roles she has danced and portrayed over the course of 22 years as one of Boston Ballet’s principal dancers.