My name is Shaefer Santos and I am the owner and creator of Hey Friends! My whole life I grew up in a family business and this inspired me to start my own when I was 16 years old. I launched my clothing line, Hey Friends, on July 5th, 2019 with the full intention of it just being a side hobby to keep me busy on the weekends. A few weeks into my business I realized Hey Friends was quickly turning into a full-time job. Before I knew it, I was receiving orders from London, England to Washington State and everywhere in between. I continued balancing my junior year of high school and my business the best I could throughout the year. I continued my routine of printing orders before school and then working in my office at night after school. I started my senior year excited to grow my business and look at colleges! In November I received an email from The Drew Barrymore Show asking Hey Friends and I to come onto the show. Truthfully, I thought the email was fake at first, only in the movies does a producer from New York City email you out of the blue wanting you to be on a national talk show. It is safe to say It really caught me off guard, but I was so thankful and beyond excited for the opportunity. I finally taped my segment in the middle of March. I really didn’t know what to expect but when the episode aired later that week, my shop completely blew up. This week was a real eye-opener because it not only gave me so much confidence in my business but allowed me to realize that maybe I didn’t need college. I graduated high school in June of 2021 and officially decided to ditch the normal path to college and join the workforce...aka working full time for myself. I spent all summer doing what I love and growing my business. At the end of July, I branched out and began to sell wholesale. This was one of the best moves I could have made because now you can find Hey Friends in over 250 stores all over the united states, and this number grows every week! I had no idea what to expect with this new venture but when store owners were begging me to restock my best sellers and couldn’t get enough of Hey Friends in their stores it was a total game-changer for my business and dream. Most recently Hey Friends has been picked up by it's first chain store! You can now find Hey Friends In all 30 fab'rik stores! 

Most recently, Hey Friends has expanded into cut and sew production. My original designs are now being made right in New York City from scratch. American made production was so important to me, I did not want to support the sweatshop industry overseas. My first piece from Hey Friends The Label just launched, this new era of Hey Friends has been a year in the making! The Bonnie Dress, features organic cotton from a family owned clothing mill in London, England. I decided to name the dress "the bonnie" after my grandma. She taught me to sew when I was eight years old and bought me my first sewing machine that I still use to this day! 

I think that pretty much brings you up to speed. I feel so incredibly lucky to wake up every day and fully live my dream. The best gift has been watching Hey Friends grow over the last four and a half years. I cannot believe that this is just the beginning. 

It is a beautiful day to chase your dreams.

Xoxo

Shaef