Yvonne Wilson opened the lime-green doors at 5807 Patterson Ave. and saw "that certain little bag" she had been trying to find.

The purse, covered with various colored ribbons, is slated for a birthday gift, said Wilson, who lives in Bon Air.

It was her first trip to the Shops at 5807, but it won't be her last, she said.

"I had six friends tell me I had to come by here. This is a little treasure of unique gifts, which I love," Wilson added.

The Shops at 5807, which opened in September 2006, includes 27 eclectic boutiques. The shops are housed in an old brick building on Patterson, near Libbie Avenue. The building, painted purple with yellow, blue, pink and orange flowers and bright green doors, once was home to a grocery store, a hardware store, and several other businesses before two sisters turned it into a sort of mall.

"We want people to screech to a halt when they see the building," said Anne Brasfield, one of the sisters.

The unusual shopping establishment is an experience. It's a place to find very European clothing, a baby's burp cloth decorated with a green checked frog or a bib with sleeves. It's also a place to find the perfect accent for your home, an unusual piece of jewelry, an incredible pair of jeans or satisfy a sweet tooth attack with a variety of cupcakes. Or just reserve the building for a private party.

The idea for 5807 is the result of a flat tire.

Richmonder Leigh Dobbins, who was working for a nonprofit agency, had a flat tire in Virginia Beach. While waiting for it to be fixed, she went into a salon, which had individually owned booths, and just one cash register.

"I called my sister [Brasfield] and said: 'We could do this in Richmond,'" Dobbins recalled as she sat in one of the boutiques. Brasfield's lease at Frillseekers, a gift shop on Grove Avenue that she had run for about 14 years was expiring. Dobbins quit her job; the two sisters became partners and took possession of 5807 Patterson Ave. on March 1, 2006. Frillseekers is now one of the boutiques at 5807.

There are no partitions inside the building, which was built in the 1940s by the sisters' grandfather and his partner. The boutiques flow into each other.

The sisters describe themselves as adventuresome, independent and creative. Dobbins' background is in marketing and Brasfield's is in retail. "This was the perfect thing for both of us," Dobbins said.

Business is good, Dobbins said. December sales were up 6 percent over the previous year, and January sales are up about 50 percent.

"I don't see how there could be any Christmas stuff left in this store, but people are still buying," she said.

Brasfield says she loves the Shops at 5807. "It's great fun. It's fun putting the mix together, and it's fun seeing people's reaction to it."

Shoppers tell the two sisters that 5807 is a great place to spend an afternoon.

One shopper told Brasfield: "'I needed to come some place where I can feel happy. It makes me smile.' That's what we aim for. We want it to be an overall experience for people. We want it to be shopping as entertainment."

Someone even called and wanted to know the name of the paint color on the front doors, Brasfield added.

Retailer Kim Vincze, of Verve Home Furnishings, is a new business owner. "I'm testing the waters. It's very attractive to have somebody man the space and take care of the administrative details for me," she said.

Another retailer, Regan Shriver, owner of Woo-Hoo! The Party Market, said the Shops at 5807 are a great group of vendors and a nice mix. She had worked with Brasfield when Frillseekers was on Grove Avenue.

"I'm an art major, and I love to do the visuals. But I love not being required to be here every day," Shriver said.

Retailers rent space in the building, and Dobbins and Brasfield do the rest. For an additional fee, the sisters collect and pay the sales tax, hire staff members to handle sales and market and advertise the shops.

"The retailers get the satisfaction of being creative without having to rent a storefront, and it allows them to have other jobs," Brasfield said.

Dobbins and Brasfield work together, play together and travel together. They left recently for India, a trip that is part personal and part buying for the shop. Last May, they were in Bali. Generally they are both on the job five or six days a week. The Shops at 5807 are open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Do they have disagreements?

"We both have strong personalities," Dobbins said. "We have opinions on everything. But we have gotten so that whatever comes up can be quickly defused. We can usually come up with an amicable solution."

As the sisters talked about their business, Wilson continued to shop. Her purchases were forming a stack beside the cash register.