We recently connected with Emily Kurz and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Emily thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Before the pandemic, I worked at A.C. Moore in Center City, Philadelphia. As an employee there we got a KILLER discount and I spent most of the time walking up and down the aisles trying to find my craft. I KNEW I wanted to create something new and something fun- I tried everything! I bought a pack of sculpey clay on one of these occasions and brought it home. Where it sat for almost a full year. Until finally, when cleaning out one of my many drawers, I pulled it out and thought, “use this or give it away.” So I used it… and I made about 30 little lumps with weird shaped eyeballs. I sent pictures to a few of my family members and my boyfriend at the time and they loved them. So I decided I would hide them in the city in Easter eggs… but I wanted to know when people found them… so I made up the name “Little Squats” simply because they are like squatters- they just take up space in your place. I then created an Instagram and put my handle in each of the eggs. And slowly, people started to find my creations all throughout Philadelphia and tag me on Instagram! How fun to just find something in “the wild?” Then the pandemic happened… and for a LONG time people were not picking things up outside. So, instead, when we were able to go out again, I always carried a bag of them with me for people to reach into and pick one out. And- I want to STRONGLY emphasize this- NO ONE said no! It brought joy to so many people and, with the help of my now fiance, he helped me to create a website and start selling them! Nothing makes me happier than seeing people’s faces when giving them a Little Squat, and now that I sell them, I can direct them to my website afterwards if they would like to broaden their collection!

Emily, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am honestly not very business savvy- that aspect of this journey is very difficult for me. But I have ALWAYS loved to craft- if you want to craft and you have no one to do it with you, I’m IN- no matter what! Making Little Squats is not what makes me money… yet. I also have a full time job as an inventory specialist for a trucking company- which, at the end of the day, leaves me with all of this pent up creative energy! The first thing I do when I come home, after having a shower, is CREATE. I get out my clay, or my sewing supplies (for Squat Pillows aka Squillows), pop on a cartoon, and start creating. Every one of these items are handmade and entirely unique- which means that each and every one is a one-of-a-kind, only edition, piece. I will also make (or try to make) whatever you’d like… your fur baby? My pleasure. Your annoying co-worker? Done. A fictional character that your child drew that you’d love to have a 3D version of? ABSOLUTELY. I thoroughly enjoy a challenge and a new idea- send me your most bizarre request and I will put my whole heart into it. When it takes a long time for me to create something new, it means I have at least 5 prototypes that I am tweaking and figuring out so that what the customer receives is the best form of what they are looking for.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

It is 100000% the shows that I attend. It is so amazing how many people find a.Little Squat that resonates with them. I try to have a whole bunch of out-of-pocket sillies that help people to find a little trinket that is affordable (and cute) to take home with them after an exhausting day at a craft fair. Let’s be honest, they are A LOT for the vendors.. both physically and financially, but the people that I have met throughout my experiences with them make it all worth it. I once had a 12ish year old come over to my table, say nothing, and walk away. Fifteen minutes later they returned and looked me dead in the eyes and said, “I need that fridge.” And that is just a snippet of the hysterical mysteries I get to experience from the creation of my Little Squats. I have a woman who I met in New Jersey who absolutely needed her whole family replicated as Squats- Aunts, Cousins, Sister, etc.- and now I am a member of her family as well. She buys them every year to add the her collection. There is a man whom I have never met who, randomly, made a purchase of over 200 Squats on my website- who hadn’t met me, but knew me through a friend of a friend of a friend who attended one of the craft shows I was in. It’s amazing. My fiance tells me that it’s my personality, but I know it’s my Little Squats that seal the deal.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Being kind. Is that a weird answer to this question? I make Little Squats to put smiles on people’s faces. Every day we are all going to experience inevitable difficulties- I don’t need to tell anyone what I mean, we all understand. Prior to making Little Squats I had a really hard time with the amount of empathy that I carry with me. How will I help myself understand what this person is going through to help them move forward? It turns out, it’s with Little Squats. This past month I was sitting at a brewery in Philadelphia that I had never been to- it was super dope. Above the bar, they had a collection of tiny things- among them? A Squat Unicorn!!!!! I, immediately emotional, asked the bartender where they were from and they told me they didn’t know but to ask the owner. The owner, at the end of the bar, said a customer had brought one in- and, in overhearing this conversation, the person next to me said, “OMG YOU MAKE THOSE?” And went over to get their fiance who had a Phanatic Squat in her purse. She told me it’s the only thing that she makes sure to move from purse to purse. THIS, my friends, happened because of kindness. I have exceptionally solid reputations at craft shows, at music venues- at any place that I have brought these Little Squats. It’s so rewarding to get the response that I have received- kindness is still out there. I create every day to prove it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.littlesquats.com
• Instagram: LittleSquats
• Facebook: Little Squats