Friend and Nemesis

Bio

Meet Kristy and Andreas. Kristy is from North Philly, not born, but raised since she was a kid. She learned how to do hair from her mom, who was a cosmetology instructor and learned sewing from her grandmom, who was a seamstress. Kristy worked as a hair stylist in Philly for some time but began to feel she was ready to make a change.  So, she moved to London to pursue Fashion Design. In London, Kristy met Andreas, developed her craft, and gained work experience at Vivienne Westwood.

Andreas was born in Munich, Germany and later raised in London. Both his mom and dad were entrepreneurs so he was immersed early in the structure of family and work life. He studied photography and graphic design in London. Andreas is also a huge basketball fan. When he and Kristy decided to move their business to Philadelphia, in 2012, the Sixers made the transition that much easier!

When the two met, their creative lives blossomed. They both enjoyed exploring their creative concepts through styling and photography. The two often collaborated on fashion and narrative photography. Andreas’s interest in the Jester became a narrative photo concept that evolved into the early days of Friend and Nemesis in London. This was the start of their brand in 2005.

A few years after Kristy had moved to London she made another move, but this time with Andreas. They were headed to New York. It was there that they started to see Friend and Nemesis evolve and grow to what it has become today.

Origin Story

In New York, Kristy continued working as a fashion designer and hairstylist.  Andreas worked with an interior design company and later as an interior and architectural photographer. All the while they were developing their brand. The vision was to create a brand that would showcase personalities and characters with a candid and non-judgmental approach. In 2010, in Brooklyn, they launched Friend and Nemesis as a jewelry and accessories brand.

Two years later, in 2012, Kristy and Andreas decided to move to Philly with the goal of opening their own shop. They wanted to showcase their designs and work daily with a team. Kristy and Andreas loved working together as a photographer and stylist. It was fun and they connected on their creative ideas helping to bring each other’s vision to life through images. In 2013, their goal of being able to work together with a daily team became fully realized when they opened Friend and Nemesis (F.A.N).

Kristy and Andreas are lucky to have a team of stylist and makeup artists who share their passion. F.A.N is a one stop creative collective based in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. The warehouse style space welcomes the everyday guest to enhance their personal style in the studio salon and also book the team for off site projects.