No one told them life was gonna be this way... 👏👏👏👏 Mary Meyer (she / her) and Emma Kadar-Penner (she / her) are the co-founders of Friends NYC, an eccentric store that supports small businesses from all over the world (and is also a celeb sighting hotspot, BTW). Whether you’re browsing their website or their Brooklyn shop (where you might run into Katie Holmes), you’re bound to find eclectic pieces that’ll leave people asking, “Where did you get that?!”

We chatted with the friends about how they started their biz, their favorite products at the moment, and how Miley Cyrus ended up wearing one of their shirts.

How would you describe Friends NYC?
EMMA: It’s a store where you can find something for anyone, whether it’s your mom, your BFF, or your boo. We love cute things at cute prices!
MARY: Whenever we have new staff members, we explain that it’s called Friends because that’s the vibe we want to create. It’s like, “You’re welcome here. You don’t have to buy anything, you can just hang out!” That goes for both the customers and the stuff we stock. We love to support anyone that makes things by hand or in a personal way.

How was your business born?
EMMA: I was in school and working for Mary part-time. She was a fashion designer and knew I loved vintage clothing, so she was like, “Do you want to sell vintage together?” We set up the saddest little rack at her store—it was so DIY but so cute—and everything just blossomed from there. Eventually, the store got bigger and we started selling home decor, gift items, and all kinds of stuff, to the point where it took over our lives and we quit our day jobs.

What are your favorite products right now?
MARY: Definitely the Head High Candle, which we’ve been developing for the past year. It’s cannabis-inspired and makes such a good gift. And one of our bestsellers are these incense sticks that look like a pack of matches. They burn for about 8 minutes and have a cool, ‘70s-like design. If I gift someone the candle, pairing it with the matches makes a great combo.

Where do you source such unique items?
EMMA: At trade shows. We just went to a super weird one in Tennessee where we got amazing stuff, and found some handmade items in Europe that we still import. Also, now that we’re well known, we constantly get submissions from brands. And Instagram is a huge resource for finding artists. You can follow hashtags and find really cool, unique people.

And you partner with brands to make your own products?
EMMA: Right. We’re looking at 2022 as the year of collabs. We designed these little mushroom vases with a brand in Argentina and just launched more stuff with them.
MARY: We also have a really exciting collab on the horizon with Only Hearts, which is a lingerie brand that’s been designed and produced in New York since 1978. Other brands we love are Le Puzz, which makes weird-looking puzzles based on photographs their owner takes, and Sackville, which does elevated smoke wear that’s not just for women, but has a feminine edge to it.

We heard Katie Holmes has been to your store! What was your reaction?
EMMA: It was so rewarding. I used to be obsessed with the ‘90s—which is what the theme of our store is—and I love Dawson’s Creek, so everything made sense when Katie walked in. Also, we used to give out Friends NYC stickers back then, and she took one and posted it on her Instagram. I was blown away.
MARY: And we somehow ended up connecting with a woman that was styling for Miley Cyrus. She bought this vintage Elvis t-shirt from us and Miley got photographed in it. That was also awesome.

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned from running a business?
EMMA: That having a great team of people you can trust and rely on is amazing. I wouldn’t have been able to do this on my own. Also, treating people with respect, because the environments at our old jobs weren’t very positive.
MARY: Ethics matter, too. We’ve had many experiences where a brand that sold well for us was acting difficult or abusive, so even though their products were highly sellable, we refused to support something we don’t believe in.