Nicole Northway, who studied painting at UMSL, has built a booming apparel business with Emerson and Friends, which specializes in bamboo pajamas. (Photo courtesy of Nicole Northway)
Hometown: Collinsville, Illinois
Degree: BFA, 2006
Current Position: CEO of Emerson and Friends
Fun Fact: In early November, Northway appeared on the Deals and Steals segment of ABC’s “Good Morning America” to promote Emerson an Friends.
Nicole Northway has always believed that everyone should have art in their lives, whether in a painting on a wall, a book or even pajamas.
“Even my work in the fine art world was trying to blur the distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ art,” she says.
She holds true to that conviction as the CEO and founder of Emerson and Friends, a fast-growing apparel company that specializes in bamboo pajamas with fun, colorful prints. Based in Clearwater, Florida, Emerson and Friends is known for its playful illustrations – all of which are designed in-house – from ocean animals to rainbows, florals and holiday imagery. Lucy’s Room, a sister brand Northway launched in 2022, offers illustrated books, puzzles, stuffed animals, stickers, quilts and toys.
For the first five years of the business, Northway illustrated everything herself, drawing on her experience studying painting at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. After attending two other universities, she quickly fell in love with the supportive network at UMSL.
“It was my favorite out of all the schools that I went to,” she says. “The teachers were phenomenal, and I still think about them a lot. I went to New York City on a travel and study award, and we got to meet working artists and visit all the museums. That was hugely influential on me as an artist and also as a person.”
Northway launched Emerson and Friends out of a spare bedroom in her condo in 2018, and the company has grown exponentially since, thanks in part to key wholesale partnerships with major stores across the country including Anthropologie, Marshalls, Scheels, TJ Maxx and Von Maur. Emerson and Friends made its first $1 million in revenue between 2021 and 2022, and in 2024, the company landed in the top 500 of Inc.’s 5000 list at No. 434, marking a 1,036% increase over three years.
To support that growth, Emerson and Friends recently doubled its team and is building out a new, larger facility with corporate offices and warehouse space. The moves have allowed Northway to delegate certain tasks and settle more fully into the CEO role, though she still makes time to illustrate. When she reflects on how far the company has come in such a short amount of time, she’s often brought to tears, especially when she thinks about all the people who have helped bring her vision to life.
“Our business is all about relationships – the relationships I have with my employees, my customers and our factory partners,” she says. “I think that always shows through in the bottom line. It’s not just about making money; it’s about creating relationships with our employees and facilitating a community for the people who wear the clothes.”
This story was originally published in the fall 2024 issue of UMSL Magazine. If you have a story idea for UMSL Magazine, email magazine@umsl.edu.
