Keith: It's definitely a combination of both. We forage the internets, stick post-its all over magazines, speed through trade shows, stop girls on the street and ask, "Where d'ya get that?" It's totes the BEST when they're like, "This? Oh, I made it." Wanna make 100 more??

Chris: We use a very scientific formula. First, observe the item. Does its cuteness make you freak out and maybe want to jump up and down? Then you've got a winner. This research is usually combined with other important data, like if all the girls who work here start cornering you in the office with raised fists saying, "You BETTER buy this cute thing for the store cuz I want THREE."

Keith: I really like the mix, actually. I love working with with lesser-known designers and I really LOVE showcasing surprising handmade things but it's also cool to be able to feature well-known brands that people are excited about. I guess we try to straddle both worlds.

Chris: We love working with all the amazing people, from the designers we feature to the fred flare staff. Each day they inspire and challenge us! But the best is just being able to make our customers happy... That really is a dream come true!

Keith: Well, it's been a TON of work and the money is not so great so far. I'm not complaining AT ALL but it's definitely expensive to live in NYC and I know everyone who works here deserves to make more. We are all working together to make that happen!! I'm especially grateful to everyone who has invested time and energy to help this thing grow.

Chris: Well, I have an architecture degree but Keith is a totes college drop-out. He's a child prodigy so he really didn't need a degree! Ha ha! I worked for many years at Urban Outfitters where I learned tons about retail and Keith worked in the advertising department of Bloomingdale's where he learned about graphic design and marketing. Also, both of our parents had family businesses. My family owned a carnival while Keith's had a balloon business. These have all been invaluable experiences in creating and keeping fred afloat. Everything else we pretty much learn as we go along. It's a lot of hard work, trial and error and following your heart.

Keith: Honestly, that day where you feel like you've "made it big" hasn't really come quite yet. I'm guessing that never-feeling-quite-satisfied bit is part of the DNA that drives you to become an entrepreneur in the first place... I will say that this year has been AMAZING in that we've gotten such cool feedback on our podcast and I really LOVE getting those comments on myspace, too. We always read 'em aloud at staff meetings and I get teary-eyed... To hear that people dig fredflare.com is the GREATEST!! That, plus the fact that I think we have the BEST people working here right now that we have EVER had, does make me feel successful. Thanks!!!!!!!

Oh wait, I have a funny story to add here. When Marie interviewed us I said that I had never seen anyone actually wearing fred stuff out on the street. Well, the day before yesterday I was at Urban Outfitters and the cashier had on a necklace from our store. I was soooooo excited! "Where did you get that??" I asked. "Oh, wow, you're the second person that's asked me that." She smiled, "I got it online at this store called fredflare.com..." My heart swelled with pride. Then she said, "It's a piece of CRAP!!!!" and went on and on about how cheap it was, how poorly made, etc. "Feel it," she said, "FEEL IT!" and stretched her neck out over the counter so I could touch it. I was sooooooo bummed:(

Chris: We totes will be doing a giant chain of stores... someday. For now, we've set up a pop-up Holiday store at our Williamsburg office. (http://www.fredflare.com/blog/?p=145) You gotta stop by. It's killah!

Keith: We're working on it. Amy was here at fredflare.com for our CARNIVAL OF CUTE on Saturday, December 9th (http://www.fredflare.com/customer/home_carnival.php) and she sold a ton of AMAZING things, including one-of-a-kind pieces that were photographed for her book. I think she had about a dozen fake cakes? I saw them at her apartment and they're soooo beautiful. I hope we get to do lots more fun projects with Amy because she is genius.

Chris: Here're my fred faves........

• ping pong paddle bag set: It's just too cute!!
• bacon bandages: These sell like CRAZY!!! They're just too funny.
• pop art camera: Cuz everyone likes being creative.
• frozen hot chocolate: A twist on a classic!
• USB record recordable turntable: You can turn your records and mixtapes in MP3's!
• crazy cat lady action figure: 'Cause we're all crazy cat ladies.
• I Like You by Amy Sedaris: 'Cause Amy's pretty much genius and we LOVE everything she does.
• Self-adhesive mustaches: Mustaches are the new beard... And they're not just for guys anymore : )

Keith: Do you really want to know?? Cuz I'll tell you! First, I would say USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM. People who start businesses are strong-willed, opinionated folk with "singular vision" but I would defs advise AGAINST trying to go it alone, as much as you might want to or feel you need to at first. Find someone who you sorta like and, at the very least, work collectively now and again. I would have quit fredflare.com a long time ago if it weren't for Chris saying, "Suck it up!!!" So having someone else as committed and obsessed with it helps tons. Okay, another thing I would say is read stuff. If a book about business sounds scary just try something like Malcom Gladwell's THE TIPPING POINT so you get an idea of how the little tweaks you make to your biz can make a HUGE difference. I also enjoyed THE SCIENCE OF SHOPPING by Paco Underhill? If you want to get more businessy, try THE E-MYTH by Michael Gerber. Sometimes kinda hokey, but I remember it motivating me. Okay, don't laugh, but I also remember enjoying START SMALL, FINISH BIG by the founder of SUBWAY Fred DeLuca. There's a big submarine sandwich on the cover, ha ha ha! Lastly, in terms of advice, I'll pretty much guarantee that your business will not end up looking ANYTHING like you imagine and it's gonna take WAY longer than you expect to get where you want it to go so my advice is to just GO WITH IT. I think being flexible and willing to adapt just to stay in the game helps keep you there. Yeah!

Keith: I'll answer this one, too. Actually, I would recommend hiring part-time help as soon as you start, even if it's just paying a neighbor kid for a couple hours a week to help you package stuff. Why? Cuz being a "boss" completely sucks and it's the hardest thing I've ever done and the more practice you get at it, the better. I'm still learning every day.

Chris: Depending on the season, it fluctuates somewhere between a dozen and twenty. Keith's mom Anne, now my mom too, is our HR department and she rocks! She has a cute column on our blog: http://www.fredflare.com/blog/?cat=7

Keith: Ha ha ha! Defs keep checking our jobs page http://fredflare.com/jobs.php cuz you never know. We absolutely promote from within so even a part-time gig in Shipping could lead to something BIG, if you're awesome. I will say that I'm always looking for people who have altered/improved their workplace in some way. Look at the job you have now and if you can't easily list three things that are COMPLETELY different because of what YOU brought to the table -- not BS crap you put on your resume but real things that made a difference that nobody asked to do -- then maybe you're not giving your employer very good service. Make yourself indispensable, even if it's not your dream job. I defs had my share of gigs where I surfed the internets or made color copies or whatevs but now I do see that I could have had a lot more FUN just doing my best. Whups, sorry, soap box alert! Now that I'm an employer -- OMG, I totes HATE when people at work introduce me to their friends as their "boss" -- I guess I just see things differently.

Chris: We're still trying to figure that out. There's no master plan. There's some unfun things ahead, like our warehouse has been sold so we gotta move. That's gonna be a big project. But we have some fun plans, too. For years Keith has been wanting to put together a fredflare TALENT SHOW and I think maybe it's time. Um, auditions, anyone??

Keith: Um, they happen pretty much all the time! Usually the biggest obstacle has something to do with money. Truth be told, this year has actually been very challenging business-wise, in many ways our most difficult year yet. Most obstacles end up becoming opportunities, though. Lame to say but true. Something doesn't work so you learn and then you try something different. I do remember we talked about maybe closing shop after Sept 11th. I think we were just so freaked out about everything. Now we've been at this a while so giving up is so NOT an option.

Chris: We've always really liked magazines so we just looked people up in the masthead and would send them things. Not press releases so much, more like lil' friendship notes and stuff, just to try and say like, We think you're cool and we love your mag and maybe you'll like this? I had this teacher when I was studying architecture who always encouraged us to enter competitions. He said you'd likely win one out of every ten you entered. You have to just keep trying.

Keith: Wow, interesting question. Had never really thought about it before. I was always the boy hanging out on the monkey bars with all the girls at recess and I guess I still dream of being part of this awesome girl gang... I wouldn't say we've ever been discriminated against as males, though we still get crazy homophopic comments on our blog or people post mean things about the gays on our iTunes page every now and again. Can you believe that? Business-wise, we've DEFINITELY been discriminated against for being an online-only establishment. We've lost out on the chance to feature certain brands and even bigger things like business loans cuz we didn't have a "real" store. Whatevs.

Chris: This season we're seeing a lot of leggings -- we call 'em "leggins" -- as well as necklaces and headbands. I think those will remain hot for spring but, besides mustaches (http://www.fredflare.com/blog/?p=113) I think giant barrettes are gonna be huge! I also really like seeing the ladies wearing like 6 different necklaces... Lots of girls in the office sport that look and I totes LOVES it! Also, Pat Benatar ankle boots RULE.

Keith: There's a totes hula hooping scene of people who are REALLY good -- I love Groove Hoops (check out http://youtube.com/watch?v=jIeuA81cv1Q) and Lori Lomeli (she has some vids at http://www.hula-hoops.com/video_clip.html) -- and when you see them you'll be asking us instead, how can you practice so much and still suck?? But I love it. It's fun.

Chris: We actually have an iPod DJ schedule here at fred so all the staff members get a chance to play their fave tunes. Right now I'm hearing the new Scissor Sisters and The Rapture a lot! We're playing some fun remixed version of classic Holiday songs. The Marie Antoinette soundtrack is also still on heavy rotation and Keith is all excited about the new Ciara.

Keith: Our NYC apt is tiny-tiny-tiny! It's about as big as a hotel room yet always seems to be a work in progress. We actually just did some home improvements recently and decorated for Xmas! We have an vintage owl theme in our kitchen, our living room is mint green with a white felt garland chandelier and the bedroom is decked out with big eyed girls and teddy bears. We're still like totes 14 years old.

Chris: Well, I pretty much think that cupcakes are forevz... But after watching Stranger Than Fiction, I'm obsessed with COOKIES! Donuts are fun too but maybe it's time for savory to step into the spotlight. Can I get a shout for cheese?!? Yes, pls!

Chris: color: green, song: "Over and Over" by Madonna, movie: Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Keith: color: blue, song: Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love", movie: I really like Breakfast At Tiffany's too but I'm gonna say Funny Face.

Chris: Madonna, Madonna
Janet Jackson, Control
Kylie Minogue, Fever
Wham, Make It Big
Mariah Carey, Mimi's Emancipation
Anything by Bananarama
Anything by Dolly Parton
Spice Girls, Spice Girls
Cyndi Lauper, She's So Unusual
Pretty In Pink Soundtrack,

Keith: I pretty much LOVE everything that Chris just said so am hoping we're stuck on the same island. Actually, CJ has this incredible ability to make ANYTHING fun. Desert island? If CJ's there, sign me up!!!!!

Chris & Keith BUD LIGHT!

Chris: a shark.

Keith: I'd be a really cute bird.

Chris: We defs get orders regularly from Alaska... Actually, the most wonderful thing is when we get emails from soldier girls in Iraq... One woman sent us a picture of herself ordering from fredflare.com in her barracks on Christmas Day! I'm so happy that we can bring them some cheer.

Keith: Sure! Email me after the Holidays and we'll jam:)