We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shannon Stutenroth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shannon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I’m currently working on a new knitwear collection for So Squish called Teenagehood. It’s been one of the biggest collections I’ve made so far and a huge undertaking. Every time I visit home, to rural Pennsylvania, I come back with inspiration, usually taken from colors, shapes and textures I see in nature. After my visit home this summer, I left with a different feeling this time. As I was driving around my farm town my memories of the place had faded so much it felt like I had never actually been there but I had dreamed of it or watched a movie that took place there. I haven’t lived there for so long that I’m almost totally disconnected. I felt nostalgic and sad and almost felt likeI was grieving my life there. I began planning this collection around the feeling of youth through a retrospective lens. I went through old Myspace photos, listened to old playlists and bands I listened to in High school and found old notebooks, birthday cards and my keepsake box full of old memories to be inspired by. (Thank goodness I’m a pack rat) I’ve truly never felt so inspired before and each piece I knit flowed from my brain right out of my hands and into my knitting needles. I intend for each piece to capture what it feels like to be an uninhibited teenager. Pastels, flowing, asymmetrical shapes, terry cloth textures, beads and bows hanging off every which way. Although these things aren’t necessarily the colors and textures through which I experienced my teen years, I intend for this collection to capture the feelings I feel when I look back on your youth, through rose colored glasses, I think a lot of people romanticize it their Teenage-hood and I think thats a beautiful thing. Nostalgia no matter what the longing or memories are, always feels a little good to feel and it connects you to yourself and important people around you. That is what I’m hoping this project will evoke for others when they see it and wear it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I started knitting when I was 11 and my elementary school teacher, Mrs. Ivkovich, started an after school crafting club and taught us how to knit. I wasn’t very good and nor did I have the patience as a child to complete a tedious project like that. I picked it back up in 2020 when I started my fashion brand, So Squish, that was mostly DIY sewing and illustration based. I added a few knit pieces hear and there to the clothes I made but I didn’t dive all the way in until about 2022 when I decided I would buckle down and actually learn a more elaborate stitch or two. As I got more familiar with the patterns I feel in love with the way I felt after finishing a piece. Every single one is a puzzle of colors, shapes and textures. I love the whole process from start to finish, hunting for the right yarn and pattern, knitting the pieces, sewing them together, documenting them and posting them for sale on my site. So Squish is really a one woman band. I designed the logos, made the website and do all the promotional stuff on my instagram for every drop. I started doing custom orders this past year which really put the pressure on in a way I didn’t expect. It feels like a collaboration with a client and not just me solely designing a piece. I found that its extremely inspiring, adding elements to my knits that I never would have thought up on my own and getting to see someone wear their idea that I got to fabricate is one of the best feelings ever! Thats really what keeps me going is seeing someone on instagram or tik tok post a So Squish original piece, see how they style it, what event they wear it to, how they photograph their fit. It almost makes me cry every single time I get tagged in a new photo. There are a lot of knitwear designers out there today, it has become pretty trendy. What I’m trying to focus on is innovating each garment to be a classic, timeless piece that stands out. I experiment with incorporating fabric into a knit piece by taking vintage doily’s, usually square, illustrating a design on them with acrylic paint pens and adding knit sleeves to them so it can be worn like a sweater. I’ve also been experimenting with using a knit piece to frame a graphic on a fabric shirt or skirt so that someone can spice up their outfit with some more color and texture. I’ve always been obsessed with clothes and aesthetics. I’m very interested in people and their stories and I think that the clothes we wear is the first story we tell someone before we even speak. I want to know more, why do you like that color? Where did you buy that vintage jacket? Was it a family members that got passed down to you? Or were you on vacation and hit a thrift store and got it for a steal? Clothes opens up a conversation to be had, connections to be made and friendships to be formed. I’m proud when I get to be apart of that through my knits. I hope people out there are making new friends through a sweater I made! I’m extremely thankful for social media platforms that have helped me connect with clients and shoppers and also allow my creative outlet to be something I support myself on. I have high hopes for So Squish! I want to expand, begin selling in more stores, start a solid line of basic knits, collaborate with other brands and continue to learn more about my craft!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

This is a tough one. I’m extremely proud of where my instagram and TikTok following is at currently, however it was a frustrating journey and its not over. These platforms are the way small designers like me advertise and connect. I’ve spent three years combating and relearning the new algorithms, business profiles and features as to not slow down my visibility. In todays world, views are sales and the financial aspect to this is not a fun one to deal with or talk about. As someone who believes in slow fashion, using natural or recycled fibers and humane manufacturing processes, its difficult sometimes to get your ROI and paid for your time. I realized early on that just because it takes me 8 hours to finish a top doesn’t mean that it should be priced according to the hourly and its value for a consumer is fixed. As a small, handmade designer, I do this for the love of the craft and the joy it brings the person who buys my pieces. Coming up with ways to advertise the piece in a unique, trendy and possibly viral way is a whole other craft within itself. I could spend a few hours on making a video for a knit drop and it gets no visibility at all. I think that is just the name of the game and it really does feel like a game. Another puzzle to figure out how to make your post stand out the most to the people scrolling. I haven’t fully cracked the code either, I’ve had a few good posts that I really think were just right time and place. My advice would be perseverance! I know its hard but STICK WITH IT! Continue to post, continue to interact with people, keep up with trends and try it out (it doesn’t always work but it might) and continue to innovate. I’ve made pieces for free for people who have a large following and will shout me out on instagram. I’ve paid for ad promotions. I’ve made silly tiktoks of myself in public knitting or cartwheeling in a knit sweater or dancing on a mountain. You have to really love to play the game and it gets fun! It would be incredible if there were more programs put in place by these social platforms for small business owners to gain more visibility, but I have yet to see a lot of that, therefore a lot of people do it themselves! I’ve requested to join designer group chats, be posted on profiles who feature small designers, reached out to other knitters for support and encouragement. Whether I gain sales, advice or a connection with someone all of it is a gain nonetheless. Keep going!

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

A friend suggested to me The Artists Way by Julia Cameron when I was feeling creatively frustrated and had “knitters-block” a few months ago. There are a lot of spiritual aspects about the book that helped me feel more in touch with my creative side on another level. It helped me not get so down about being at a creative stand point and how to access the artist in me. I’m also big into movies and I love a meta movie about a filmmaker or artist. The film Adaptation directed by Spike Jonze always makes me feel inspired. Nicholas Cage plays the main character (as well as his twin) about a screenwriter who is adapting a book into a movie. He’s on a deadline. He’s self deprecating. He’s lonely and a little bit delusional. He goes on a strange journey to finish the script but feels like everything he writes is cringe and contrived. The movie provides comedic relief to being an artist because I don’t want to ever take myself too seriously. I think keeping it light, going with the flow, trying new things even if it’s a failure is how us as creatives should operate. It’s meant to be fun and interesting!

Contact Info:

• Website: sosquish.com
• Instagram: @sosquish_
• Other: TikTok @sosquish_

Image Credits
All photos are taken and edited by me, Shannon Stutenroth.