When Karen Filos was a teenager growing up in New Jersey in the late 1908s and early 1990s, she would spend weekends driving to the East Village in New York City to go thrifting. It was there, searching for music on mix tapes sold on the street and scouring art alleys for one-of-a-kind wardrobe items and hats, that her love of fashion was born.
"Curating original outfits and shaping hairstyles became an outlet for creative expression for me back then, and has shaped how I express myself even today," Karen says.
Growing up, Karen's family didn’t have much money, so she began to work with her parents at age 13, coming home after school to help her parents with their respective trades; her father, a tailor, and her mother, a hairstylist. Using the skills she learned from her parents during those years, she launched a 30 year career as a hair, makeup and wardrobe stylist on the east coast.
Three and a half years ago, her career path changed. After experiencing some work-related health issues, she began channeling her creativity into crafting custom hats as gifts for friends.
"I drew my inspiration for hat making from my career as a stylist where I merged my passion for design, art, fashion and storytelling all into one art form," Karen says.
With the encouragement of friends and strangers who would see her hats worn around town, her hat-making hobby quickly turned into a business called Frik & Frak. Her bespoke, original hat designs are inspired by a love for creativity, storytelling and a lifelong friendship that honors her late friend Naomi who lost her battle with colon cancer.
"We both had a passion for creating editorial styles and working together as stylists through our 25 years of friendship," Karen says. "'Frik & Frak' is a play on words of the original 'Frick and Frack', which means any two people who are closely linked in a special way through a work partnership or friendship. During our years working together our nicknames were Frick and Frack."
Each Frik & Frak design is a one-of-kind, fashion-forward wearable piece of art, created in moments of inspiration drawn from people, places, music and life stories. They are not traditional hat styles; each one is curated to tell a story. Just as an artist paints or sculpts, each hat is an art form created from the thoughts, feelings and visions in Karen's head that can’t be replicated.
Each hat is hand-crafted without the help of machines, with additional assistance from hand-held tools, a steamer, and an iron.
"It’s in the inspired moments alone in my studio that I can bring these designs to life," says Karen. "By blocking, steaming, sewing, shaping, burning, I add layers of mediums into the hat to create each individual design. It’s in the long process of creating these bespoke designs with intention where my art can fully be expressed without the pressure of mass production."
When it comes to coming up with new ideas for designs, Karen turns to music, fashion, stories, and most importantly, nature and her community. She calls Paradise Valley, Montana home, which means she is surrounded by both every day.
"The beauty of Paradise Valley brought us here on a visit five years ago, but it was the people and support of the creative community in Paradise Valley, Livingston and Bozeman that helped us make our decision to move out here permanently two years ago," she says. "There’s magic when creatives exchange ideas and support each other. I’m so fortunate to have found that in the magnificence of the mountains, the beauty of the valley, and the people of Montana."
It was all of these things that also inspired one of her latest projects, a retreat haven in Paradise Valley named Peace of Paradise, which she co-owns with her husband of 26 years, Doug. At this space, nestled in the mountains with sweeping views of the valley below, Karen and Doug are fostering an intersection of art and wellness, inviting individuals to immerse themselves in transformative experiences to live a more authentic and creative life.
These landscapes have become the perfect backdrop for hosting photoshoots for Frik & Frak and other local brands.
Frik & Frak's latest creations can be found in downtown Livingston, Montana at an art collective called Aspen Lane, as well as at yearly pop-up shops in Atlanta, Georgia, Charleston, South Carolina, and most recently in Bend, Oregon.
More information about Karen's work can be found on her website, karenfilos.com. Pop-up and other event announcements, as well as new designs, can be found on Karen's Instagram profile, @friknfrakdesigns, Those interested in commissioning a piece can contact her at kf@karenfilos.com.
"By blocking, steaming, sewing, shaping, burning, I add layers of mediums into the hat to create each individual design. It’s in the long process of creating these bespoke designs with intention where my art can fully be expressed without the pressure of mass production."