The Juicebox Bra: Turning Nostalgia into Wearable Art with Susannah Wheatcroft of SLX World
Season 1 Episode 1
The Juicebox Bra: Turning Nostalgia into Wearable Art with Susannah Wheatcroft of SLX World
Click to listen here on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7nZI0Mf2AWFIBaMpCVIVdu?si=7c59abd41fd5428a
And here on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/founders-club/id1802430594?i=1000700545162
Emily Jean (00:10)
Hi you guys, welcome to or welcome back to Founders Club. I'm your host, Emily Jean, and today is an especially exciting day because this is our debut episode and I'm thrilled to finally be releasing this. In fact, this was one of the very first episodes I ever recorded for the podcast and I knew instantly that it had to be our opening show. Our guest today is Susannah Wheatcroft.
She's the incredibly talented founder of SLX World or as she calls it, SLX. SLX was founded in 2021 and it's a kind of beautiful intersection of textile design and fine art, creating wearable art that emphasizes craftsmanship, storytelling and imagination. Inspired by the wonders of nature and the warmth of childhood nostalgia and the enchantment of fantasy.
Susannah crafts each piece with meticulous care and attention. We actually talk about a piece at the beginning that if you guys get a moment, I really think you should look up. she calls it the Juice Box Bra and there's some other amazing pieces, but I just think that the Juice Box Bra really like epitomizes kind of what she has done with the brand. just if you guys get a chance, I think you have to check it out.
But yeah, SLX is dedicated to small batch production, offering limited edition and unique designs that truly spark curiosity and wonder. Susannah also does a lot of custom pieces for people. So if you're ever interested in that, you guys definitely have to reach out.
Susannah's brand is a one woman show and her dedication to her craft is exactly what Founders Club aims to highlight. That's why I felt like her story really perfectly embodies the passion, creativity, spirit that this podcast seeks to explore. As always.
If you're interested in hearing more episodes like this, please leave a comment and let me and my team know your thoughts. Remember to leave a review on Spotify or Apple podcasts, wherever you're listening to this. You can follow me on Instagram at @emily.jeans and visit our agency website, www.livegooddigital.com for more information about what we do and to keep up with the podcast. can also follow us on Instagram at @afoundersclub
And yeah, I really hope you guys enjoy this episode, so let's get into it.
Emily (02:27)
All right. So Susannah of SLX, welcome to the podcast. How are you today?
Susannah Wheatcroft (02:31)
Thank you so much.
Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. How are you?
Emily (02:35)
I'm good. I'm good. Okay. Do you want to give us a little introduction to yourself? Obviously I've already told everyone all about you, but I want to hear it in your words. Who are you? What are you here to speak about today?
Susannah Wheatcroft (02:44)
Yeah, of course.
Cool, okay, so I'm Susannah from London, I'm 28. I'm a fashion designer, fine art, fine artist, textile artist, kind of, yeah, under all those umbrellas. And I guess I'm trying to blend art and textiles and yeah, create something in the middle of those two things. So I run a brand and also it's about giving art to the community and kind of art for healing and all the benefits there. Probably the best way to sum it up.
Emily (03:13)
For those of you that don't know or are not familiar with Susannah's pieces, and Susannah, can correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel like during Coachella, I saw your pieces everywhere. I don't know if I'm crazy, but like on social media. And I think for me, that is the perfect epitome of where your pieces thrive. Like kind of this really creative place.
Susannah Wheatcroft (03:19)
Mm-hmm.
Okay. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah.
Emily (03:35)
Obviously also like a warmer weather, think too is helpful. Yeah, I, saw two recently. it Sydney Carlson who was wearing one of your pieces? Yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (03:38)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Oh yeah. Yeah, that was
while ago, but things obviously circulate and they come back around on the internet. yeah, you very much might have done. And I think what you've just said about Coachella is kind of like key. think a lot of the clothing feels like festival wear. I'm kind of like trying to make stuff that exists in like this fantastical realm or a lot of the inspiration comes from that. So people at festivals generally kind of like
self-express I feel in a major way so I think the clothes are made for festivals especially Coachella I mean I've never been but it looks just insane so yeah people people come to me around March and I start getting frantic orders for Coachella and Costas which is great fun for me.
Emily (04:24)
Yeah, yeah.
That's great. Yeah. I think, I love what you just said too, about that fantastical realm of things. think, especially in this last year, and maybe it's because we're coming off this like wicked downfall, I've seen such an uptick in these kind of, I don't want to say costume like, but really fun pieces, you know?
Susannah Wheatcroft (04:36)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I totally agree and I think like personally for me fashion and costume are like I think the line between them is really interesting like right where is something costume or is it fashion if it's done the right way and it's not Yeah, I say, I think it's a fine line, but I love to make my pieces They tell a story and they're quite often built around a character.
The storytelling through it is what's really interesting and so it's always great when people are kind of inspired by new films that have come out, new stories and start expressing themselves and seeing what they can throw together to kind of live in that fantastical world. I love that.
Emily (05:28)
I love the lunchbox, like a set that you did. my gosh, seeing the photos of that, it's just, like, it's, never, I've never seen anything like it. And I think it's so cool, so creative. Yeah. How did those, like, how did those ideas typically come to you? That idea specifically?
Susannah Wheatcroft (05:31)
Yes. Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you.
That idea, I think, okay, so a lot of my work is kind of like surrounds feelings of nostalgia, kind of like wanting to provoke those feelings in people. think, yeah, it's kind of like celebrating childlike wonder and those kind of like wonderland stories and a lot of it's like got like a bit of a daydreamy vibe to it.
with the nostalgia element, school dinners, like I just personally think about them all the time. I'm like, oh my gosh, remember, like, I don't know, I eat a cake and I think, oh, this reminds me of a school dinner. And then I thought, I kind of don't know, but I think I just, for me, everything I want it to go on the body. I want every inspiration I have quickly becomes how can I make that an item of clothing? I thought about, I have my sticker book flower kind of looks, which I became a bit known for.
I thought about sticker book other things and I thought about sticker book food and then I thought how cool could it be if I printed a, yeah like a leather tray with the compartments and put the little stickers in and then kind of thought about the fun I could have with embroidering little peas on and making silicon gravy and stuff. So yeah, it kind of just evolved from there. And the juice box bra was quite last minute but I think it really topped off the look. So it all came together.
Emily (07:00)
Yes, absolutely. It's nothing without the juice box bra. feel, my gosh, just thinking about it. I'm like so chic. okay. So what's your background then in fashion and design? mean, these are not the designs of somebody who's just, you know, throwing whatever on the wall and seeing what sticks. I feel like what's the background here.
Susannah Wheatcroft (07:03)
Yes, a little straw she was sitting on while she was mean that was good.
Yeah.
Okay, so I've kind of like, I've wanted to be a fashion designer since I was about 12. I got my first little book, I started drawing all my things in there, got a sewing machine at 13 and just started making my own clothes. So that's kind of like, it's always been there from quite young. So I went to do a textile design degree and then I followed that up with a fine art master's. So I kind of have like the technical textile side of it and then also the conceptual fine art side of it.
And yeah, so that's kind of makes sense of the fusing of the two, I guess. And after my two degrees, well, I finished the second one in lockdown and it was a bit like same as everyone. think it was like, what's next? Because things weren't looking normal. So I started a little business. It was separate to this one. It was selling little miniature female figures. So I would like make Elvis on an earring or David Bowie on an earring or...
yeah loads of stuff like that and and then it just I think that didn't have the legs really and then I was like what am I doing anyway fashion's what I want to do so I just thought I'll make my own business and yeah it's kind of just it's been a bit like this since then but yeah no so I kind of it's a it was a meeting of like the spare time and my kind of
Emily (08:33)
You
Susannah Wheatcroft (08:42)
entrepreneurial brain and having this small experience with this other business I'd ran and then also the meeting of like me wanting to be a fashion designer and seeing that there was I think like a gap for fine art fashion like wearable art where there was a lot of commercial small brands being built but I didn't see necessarily so much of the yeah like fashion artists
that's not to say there's not great work out there, people doing that, I just mean like at the time I felt like that was something I was just like compelled to do and so yeah really exciting space to do it in given that everyone was spending a lot of time on social media and stuff like that.
Emily (09:25)
Yeah, absolutely. And then the name SLX, how did that come to you? What's the story behind that?
Susannah Wheatcroft (09:28)
Yeah.
I actually can't really remember. mean, my initials are SLW and I think I just didn't like the W sound because SLW doesn't really roll off the tongue.
and so the X kind of it was a little thing I was doing though think which because it was SLXW it was kind of SLX World the X people were reading as an O and reading it Slow World which was like with the fact that it's a slow fashion brand so that that kind of made sense at the time and now I call it SLX which I just think is a nice sort of word and in my mind it's the definition of that word now is just like
Emily (09:50)
You
Susannah Wheatcroft (10:12)
my brand and the whimsical kind of fun, like dopamine dressing, extravagant, yeah, storytelling fashion. So I don't know, it's own word now to me and like where it started is so different to kind of where it is now. But yeah, I'm not one of those people who has a great story or like a real inspiration behind the name. It's just three random letters really.
Emily (10:22)
Yeah.
You
Well, I kind of like that though, because it's like now it exists in its own plane, I guess, its own identity.
Susannah Wheatcroft (10:37)
Exactly, I don't think I could ever change
it now, like as much as sometimes. Yeah, I don't know. think I'm stuck with it, but in a good way. I like it. It's become, it's right. yeah.
Emily (10:49)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Okay, was there a particular moment in your life or career? I mean, it sounds like things really progressed pretty naturally to this point, but was there something specific that inspired you to make the brand but really like combine fashion and art in this way?
Susannah Wheatcroft (10:57)
Yeah.
Not like a specific point for making the brand, but I think what I do remember being like a significant part of my journey, if you will, is when I was doing my textile design degree, I was really like, I wasn't seeing where I was gonna fit in in the like career world. So all the advice we were being given during my degree was like, you know, you could be an interior designer or you could be a...
you could be a CAD textile designer or you could be so-and-so, or electric, you know, multiple jobs. And I just remember thinking, these aren't resonating with me and feeling like a little bit hopeless leaving uni because I thought like, I don't know, it just felt like there were limited options and that other paths weren't either attainable for me with the degree I had or like realistic. Anyway.
I also found my course a little bit restricting in terms of I wasn't able to conceptually explore, I didn't feel it was a lot of transcribing or take inspiration from something and copy it in your own way but to me that's still, it's sort of copy, that doesn't do anything for me, that's not creative expression. So I left that degree and went on to do my masters in fine art.
loved the conceptual side, but in that I kind of missed the technical learning from the first degree. basically I was having a the grass is always greener moment and in both degree I want a little bit more of the other thing. So at the end of that, that's when I, yeah, I really, well, I was realising through that process, I wanted conceptual and I wanted the really tactile, tangible kind of like, I love textures, I love things that just look really yummy, like, I don't know whether it's colours or some kind of
Emily (12:28)
You
You
Susannah Wheatcroft (12:47)
flocking or pattern, know, in boy do it. And I think it's just, it's for me, it's always made sense that it's on the body. Like it brings it art to life and it makes it storytelling and performative. And it kind of, the ideas come from my mind. As I say, I'm very conceptual thinker. So I want the clothes to then be on the body. It's really all about like
the human brain, imagination, all that stuff. yeah, it makes sense to me that the body is the canvas. And I think from there, just became, I was really wanting to do my own fashion thing. And I just didn't know where I would sit in the world that already existed or like what job I'd go for. So yeah, I basically, I don't even remember the day that I, I just, I just started it. It just happened. It wasn't like, I don't know, like now I think about it. It's yeah, it's strange. I just, I just made it happen.
Emily (13:37)
Hahaha
Susannah Wheatcroft (13:38)
I guess.
Emily (13:38)
I like that. That's good. That's a good quality to have, you know? I'm the type of person that has to sit down and plan everything to a T, so...
Susannah Wheatcroft (13:39)
Yeah.
you
I'm
sure I did at the time because I would say I'm I think I'm quite like that but I think like looking back on it it's it's like what day did I wake up and just sort of say like today's the day I'm putting it out there I'm I'm kind of even I guess like surprised and proud of myself for doing it because it's a hard thing to do and like continuously sharing your work like I don't feel like it gets any easier I feel like you put yourself out there every time and like
I'm nervous when I share something. yeah, it's nice to look back on and feel like I'm so glad I did that because there will have been a million reasons not to at the time. And yeah, if I hadn't done it, I'd have been massively regretting it.
Emily (14:18)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah. Well, there's no doubt that you're definitely like a very creative and artistic person. How do you balance like the logistics of running? I mean, a business, a brand. Like, is there a team behind you? What's that look like?
Susannah Wheatcroft (14:40)
Yeah.
Yeah, so it is actually just me. I struggle on the business side of it. It's not like the brain that I have. I'm doing an okay job, but it's not where like I thrive and it's not the skill set that I like really feel is where my efforts are best placed. I feel like
Yeah, I want to spend all my time doing the creative stuff and I'd love to onboard people that are able to, that align with the brand but are able to help me with those parts of it because it's like having five full-time jobs, obviously trying to do every part of it and it just feels like you can't, it's not, as I say, where my skills are best put to.
That being said, it's been a good challenge and it's been really up and down. I'm sure every small business owner feels that way. But I've had probably a little bit of unorthodox journey as well because I did a year and a half of very much running a business, selling a lot of product, making it pretty much all myself. I hired someone at some point because sales were really high and then as it does when it
ebbs and flows sales became a bit low and I had to let this person go and that was a really really hard time it was it felt like a big failure at the time I mean on reflection it was just it was not the right time it was maybe a bit soon and I didn't have like the savings in place no regrets because obviously you live and you learn but yeah so currently it's just me and it has been for about two and a half years
But after that period, kind of started, I really took back on, well, I scaled back on the selling and it became much more about like one of one pieces, the fine art, fashion, the commissions. And now I'm trying to basically pair the two because the way I see it is I need the sales to fund the...
kind of passion projects and also more than that I want to be, you know, I want the clothes to be accessible for my audience. People will ask me, can I buy this? Or I love this, you know, I'm desperate to wear this my birthday and I'm basically turning down sales at the moment just because I need a new strategy and model for how to go about it because it just wasn't, I couldn't maintain it before. It was like absolutely hectic. The way I explain it is just,
I went from zero to 100 and then I just came crashing down, not in a big dramatic way, just in a, this isn't like what I wanted when I started this way. So yeah, now I'm looking at how to move forward and be able to hire a team over time where it's sustainable and people aren't gonna be on board and then lose that job after a few months.
Yeah, like marry the two, the fine art and the syllables. And I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be a new challenge. And yeah, and I'll hopefully soon be able to have someone who can help with the stuff that isn't my strong suit because by no means am I, yeah, feel like excelling in all areas. mean, the creative is where I am meant to be. So yeah.
Emily (17:46)
You
Yeah,
I feel that that's not that surprising just given like, it's very clear you're a creative outlet is much more expanded than like the average person. So the areas in which you're lacking, mean, clearly you've done it so far relatively well. but yeah, I don't find it that's that shocking. I think that's a fairly common, common thing at Brands Face, you know.
Susannah Wheatcroft (18:00)
No.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
Emily (18:16)
Well, going off of that, and you might have just answered this question, but what were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early days and how were you navigating those, you know?
Susannah Wheatcroft (18:25)
Okay, yeah, so I mean, I would say that the biggest challenge, like full stop from early days and now and I think it will be a actually, I think it will always be the biggest challenge, but it's just with it being such a personal thing, like sharing the creative ideas and a lot of it's quite personal to me and like
Yeah, it's me sharing something and hoping that it resonates with people. I think that has been the single hardest thing because, you know, all areas are affected by that. For example, it's very hard to scale up because a lot of the work is like one of one and I feel like somebody else making it, like I'm probably a bit of a control freak in this area, but I feel a little bit like it's...
Without sounding too cringy, it's like a bleed out, like I am giving like an actual part of myself. It's me creating art and I feel like, yeah, to some extent, I always want to be the one making the stuff and that's just impossible to scale up, obviously. So there's got to be ways around that. And for me, that will be like some more sellable products that are a little bit more simple and can be reproduced with pattern cutting and stuff.
and they'll still always be the one on one side of it because that's like where my heart is. But yeah, so going back to it being like just the biggest challenge being how personal it is, it also means that, you know, if I'm dealing with something personally, I really struggle to keep up with consistency on social media. And, you know, it's really hard feeling like you can't actually take a step back because you are
kind of punished on social media if you do that. And I have very much found that, I mean, I was in a car accident a few years ago and I was left with PTSD, which has meant that I've done a lot of therapy since and I've had to take a lot of time out. And it's also just knocked me in so many different ways personally. So with that, and then I'm running a business and like,
I'm feeling like I have to keep up these standards and I'm so hard on myself if I don't because you know it's I'm not part of a team where I'm supported I am the team and I'm my own biggest critic because I'm a perfectionist and I'm you know thinking it's all the imposter syndrome things it's it's everything I'm sure most small business owners are dealing with but yeah the addition of the PTSD was a big challenge and I would say I'm actually only really just overcoming that because I've
been lucky enough to get access to some really good therapy and yeah I'm feeling in a much much better level-headed space going into 2025 and just looking forward to like taking back what is my destiny I feel like because for a year or two it's been it's just been really difficult to separate yeah to kind of like manage anything let alone running a business so yeah.
that's been the biggest challenge. I'd also say that staying, you know, I want to be, I want to show up on Instagram and TikTok, everything else. I want to share my creativity, but I feel like I'm also a little bit protective and I don't want things to get, I don't want things to get copied. And I just want to.
Yeah, it's so personal to me. Again, it's the problem is my heart's in so much of it that I just feel everything a lot. So I think as a goal for me also needs to be being removed from the commercial side a little bit and I can keep my heart in the real fine art side of it.
Emily (22:00)
Right. I talk with a lot of, a lot of our clients, about this kind of, this kind of issue. think part of the reason it can be so, I don't want to hurtful is too light a word, almost like soul crushing in a way is because the that's way too hard of word, but like, I think part of that is cause the dream is in sight.
Susannah Wheatcroft (22:05)
Mm.
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
No, honestly, I'm there. I'm with you.
Emily (22:27)
You know, like you are doing what you love. You're creating a product you love and you're so close, but there's this, it's also like two steps forward, 28 steps backwards, like a constant battle there. Yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (22:32)
more.
Yeah, it is. I think
like, there was a period of time, it feels quite long ago now. I mean, it was probably three years ago-ish. And I remember living in constant fear, which, you know, my fears weren't the end of the world, by any means, but they were feeling like it at the time. So the idea that it was all gonna come crumbling down when I just built it and had this kind of huge like...
surge of growth and it was you know it was very validating very fulfilling and some of that on a deep level but some will have been you know you know a bit of ego and just that quick validation that gives you rising dopamine you know all that stuff so that had just happened and then the fear of losing it all and it come and crumbling down it was just like it was just ruling everything i did somebody would send me an email
or I'd get a request to do a job and I'd be saying yes to it even if the turnaround was two days later in America, bearing in mind I'm in the UK, I'd be saying yes, I wouldn't sleep. I'm killing myself working and then it gets there and it's not rightfully credited and they don't pay. So some of that's disappointment from other parties but I'm disappointed in myself as well because I've said yes to something that I can't
Emily (23:33)
All right.
Susannah Wheatcroft (23:49)
Like I can't actually do while maintaining my like health, mental health, everything. And I don't, I don't do that anymore. Like that's a non-negotiable of mine. I'm really looking after myself while also running the business. Cause if I'm not, it's, it's a vicious cycle. You know, if I'm burning myself up and I can't do anything. So that was a real learning curve. And
Yeah, just, yeah, I mean, so many learning curves over the time. Remind me of the question you asked because I was going somewhere with that thought. I think you were saying, well, you were kind of saying about lots of people feel that way. Yeah, it can be really hurtful because also you. Yeah, no, it does. It feels really personal and I.
Emily (24:20)
I'm not even sure if I had a question.
yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (24:38)
could put something out there and you know either people might not like it, I mean that's fine, it's subjective or people might... Copying for me is the absolute worst thing because I would never dream of doing that to somebody else and it is so personal to me and it would also be absolutely amazing if emerging designers, small artists could...
We're kind of like, you know, we're all building each other up and giving people opportunities. I'm not talking about being handed it on a plate. Like I'm somebody who really likes to work hard. I like a challenge and I want to know I've worked really hard for this and I do work really hard for this. So I'm not talking about, just being handed it on a plate, but it would be great if emerging designers were kind of given a little bit more, well, like credit.
Credit where credit is due is like a big thing. And unfortunately, yeah, a number of times have experienced like working really hard for a deadline and you just get kind of scuppered at the last minute and you can't do anything about it. You've already sent the pieces off and that's not for a lack of putting things in place that should stop that from happening. But yeah, it's, I think,
I just think like age in business is just you learn all the time about yourself and yeah how everything else works and kind of yeah all that stuff.
Emily (25:57)
Yeah, I think too, I think the average business owner, obviously there's a, an incredible amount of time, money investment, but with your pieces too, given that they are so nostalgic and so personal to you, which you can see through, like you can see that through them. Um, it's, it would, can totally imagine how it would be, I mean, heartbreaking, like to have.
Susannah Wheatcroft (26:08)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Emily (26:24)
I mean any number of issues, but being ripped off or people not paying for it, it's just heartbreaking, truly.
Susannah Wheatcroft (26:28)
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah, no, it's I think personally for me, it's got better, like more recently, and that's might be also my own boundaries. But I like to think as well that maybe there is just like the industry is is becoming a bit better. I think there are more, more, there were more occasions where the kind of the very
questionable copying was happening to a lot of small designers and then it was being pulled out and I kind of I like to think that It was like, you know enough is enough and the industry kind of changed a little bit I don't know but I personally feel like I just yeah, I think I Have better experiences now with with with a lot of people I work with and for the most part. I mean, it's great. I love working with I love working with
everyone in the industry. mean, like getting an email for something to be pulled for, you know, so and so it's, it's great. And you feel like, wow, they found my brand and they want me to be the outfit for this really huge person with this really cool event. You know, it's, it's great. And it's, really, yeah, it's really, really great. It's just like, you want those, the follow through and that's what like,
all small designers should get that so it should be a non-negotiable and I think, yeah. I've not been burnt in a while so let's hope it stays that way.
Emily (27:47)
Yeah. That's good.
Yeah, I think maybe part of that is given that you have these huge conglomerates, know, that are these huge, huge fast fashion brands, I mean, that have really taken over the e-commerce retail space. It would be my hope that that would encourage, you know, these kind of smaller brands and communities to
Susannah Wheatcroft (27:58)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
and
Emily (28:10)
stand up together as opposed to fighting each other for the few places that there are.
Susannah Wheatcroft (28:13)
Yeah.
Yeah,
I think I 100 % agree. mean, like one of the best things about running a business has been meeting other business owners and you just talk to people and you realize, yeah, that other people feel the same way, have gone through similar things and you just, it's the sense of community and it's the...
sort of like the validation that you're not, because sometimes you're thinking, am I just doing it wrong? But I think, no, like everyone's kind of learning and it's nice to have people going alongside that journey together. So I've met other brands through pop-ups and social media and events and stuff and that's been really, really great. It's just nice to, yeah, as I say, partners going through the same journey as you.
Emily (29:07)
Yeah. To go back a little bit, guess, actually, why don't you walk me a little bit through what's your marketing approach kind of look like? I'm only curious because I know that the brand has a decent following on Instagram and obviously you're doing kind of these collaborations with these famous or well-known celebrities. How did you...
Susannah Wheatcroft (29:23)
you
Emily (29:33)
What's the approach? Is it mainly social media? Yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (29:37)
yeah, so like only social media really. So I have a Instagram page, I have a TikTok page, but I mean, I want to say my TikTok has maybe 400 followers and I don't think really that any of them are there for SLX. It's kind of like my personal slash. So I post fashion on there, but I also post my travels or like one cooking and I don't, I wouldn't really describe that as an active,
like business building page. I would actually love to have a TikTok presence, but I just can't wrap my head around it. I don't seem to be, I don't seem to have that TikTok brain because I feel like it's another skill in itself. So yeah, need to work on that this year, but it's really, it's Instagram. I absolutely need to be on more channels because I once lost my Instagram and it was really...
Emily (30:04)
Mm.
Susannah Wheatcroft (30:25)
stressful because I was thinking, my goodness, I don't have a mailing list. I don't have any other places where I've kind of like cataloged my work other than my website. But again, a lot of people would go to my website through my bio and I just thought like, yeah, it kind of became really clear to me how fragile the whole situation was and how quickly I could lose a lot of what I'd built just because I really have no backup.
So I definitely need to do that. But so far, Instagram's kind of been just where all my growths happened. I post sort of like once a month, so not even that much. I think that what I'm posting is capturing people's imagination in terms of what can I, you know, if they have an event coming up, it's like.
I'm asked for lot of customs, so I think people get excited around a specific look for an event that's kind of gonna be memorable for this specific person for this specific event. again, like premieres, music videos, things where you can kind of tell a story or be on a theme. That's what I love to make the most, so those are my favorite emails to get. So I think...
would love to do some market research on it to be honest because I'm not 100 % how people find me or I might not have posted for quite a period of time and people will still email for looks which is really encouraging for me but yeah I would like to push it this year I mean I'd like to really grow my audience and have a much more regular commission
stream and I've got some big plans about taking SLX kind of to the community, doing some workshops, doing more exhibitions. So I want it to become much more like hosting events, getting groups together. I would like people from my audience to meet each other in a way that, like I was saying for me, what I've got from meeting other brand owners and how like much support that brings.
I think that my audience like, yeah, there's a whole community there. I'd love to, I wanna do so much more with that. So marketing this year is gonna be a lot around the people and I have some kind of wacky plans about, I don't know, like scavenger hunts around Hackney where I live and kind of like ways to, so instead of just selling clothes, like.
here's how you can win clothes and it's like some really fantastical little journey people are gonna go on or you know, to be able to come to like, there's only five of these tickets around Hackney for a workshop and it's like a golden ticket type thing. These other types of things that I wanna do that are just like a more playful way of putting the brand out there and seeing who comes to it because again, I like the idea that.
So I did all my work at uni about this. It's like art is such a tool for healing, connection, expression, all those things. But I think if you're not someone who is actively going to art galleries or is actively engaging in like art events or something like that, you might not see much. There's not heaps of public art. I mean, there is some really good public art in London, but...
What I would love to do this year as well, like one of my major goals is to take art into spaces where I can like, I'm kind of casting my net wide and more people that aren't usually exposed to that are kind of coming in and realizing what art can do because to me it's like, it's so important in life and connection and just like, yeah, absolutely everything. mean, I could go on.
I could go on forever about just like how important it is for us. So that's something I really want to do this year. And my marketing strategies are really about like, yeah, connecting people. So social media is a great way to do that. But I really want to do it more in person. I'm very much just, I want to chat to people. I don't really like texting people. yeah, I'm trying to think of ways to kind of think outside the box, I think a little bit there.
Emily (34:28)
Yeah. a scavenger hunt sounds so exciting. I'm like, I'm coming to London. This is all I want to do. I love that idea. That sounds so much fun. Yeah. Also, I mean, obviously there are pros and cons to being very popular on one platform, but I do think like, you know, don't sell yourself short because building an audience that is a community really, that is so
Susannah Wheatcroft (34:30)
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I'm really excited about it.
I know.
Yeah.
Emily (34:54)
I mean, you've built it on the backbone of that, right? Like that's an amazing feat. It shows how much your product connects with people, I think. Yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (34:56)
Yeah.
yeah, yeah no thank you.
mean it's, I remember as well like when I started out I was feeling, I was comparing myself lots to other people and I was feeling like, my gosh, this is just not growing. People aren't interested. I was being really hard on myself. And I think I was actually not being myself enough in terms of the designs were quite commercial. And it was when I really was just like, I'm doing this for me.
Like I am gonna make what I wanna make, I'm gonna shoot it in the way I wanna shoot it and I kind of just like, treat it more like my practice. And when I was sharing that, like it just suddenly like went like this and that's when I kind of, was, it was like the syllables but they're keeping it really.
with that same heart in it. that's always been my kind of battle. It almost was a bit of a catch-22, but I am working on some major strategies now about, as I say, how I can do that going forward. But yeah, my following kind of, it organically grew once I think I was actually providing something that was really unique and original and there was meaning in it. And yeah, and it's...
Emily (35:57)
Yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (36:08)
so lovely for me that people love the work and I still find it like, yeah, I find it quite surreal at points.
Emily (36:14)
Yeah, absolutely. I think, given that these collabs are kind of seem like a very central part. mean, not just the collapse, but this communication. How, how does that usually work? Like, I'm that's, this is more just me being curious, but like, let's say it's, Sydney Carlson or somebody else. Is it like their team is reaching out to you or is it them personally reaching out to you or?
Susannah Wheatcroft (36:21)
and
Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Emily (36:41)
How does that, what happens there usually?
Susannah Wheatcroft (36:43)
Okay, so it's a mixture really. I would say more so now and perhaps because I'm a little bit more established, but I would say it's mainly stylists that reach out to me on behalf of some of these celebrities. And they'll ask for a number of looks and then I'll send them and you may or may not get selected, but like they're probably getting heaps of looks. So you're kind of like fingers crossed and you send something off and...
Yeah, not the time things will just be sent back, but it's mainly stylists that will reach out. Occasionally people will reach out themselves, as I touched on before. for me, I will always loan stuff. That is great. It's a great way of getting your brand out there. But I just love doing the commissions. So that's what I really love. And often with those, will...
commissions, mean like customs, like making something for someone. So with those, I'll quite often email the stylists of people I really want to work with. And I'll kind of say like, I've taken the liberty of designing this for so and so like, for their upcoming premiere or whatever. And I'd say, you're probably hooking like one in 50 of those, like I send out loads and then you just see what lands.
But I am a big believer of like if you don't ask you don't get so I Will always be sending out emails even to the very far-fetched like people I want to work with who I probably you know That's probably way out of reach right now, but you've got to try things so yeah, it's probably a mixture of both I'd say yeah
Emily (38:17)
Yeah. Do you have a favorite piece that you've like a custom piece that you've done or commission that you've done?
Susannah Wheatcroft (38:23)
you
Mission wise, I don't know. I I think my favorite piece is probably the school dinner set or the little red riding hood thing I did, which was like the wicker skirt with the little red roses thing. I love both of those because they are really like, they tell a story.
And I mean, in an ideal world, I'll shoot them again with a real, like with real set design around it and have a whole narrative kind of in the shot. But some of the time you're having to, well, like budget is quite often a thing and kind of shot them in quite a simple way, which is fine because it gets the designs out there and then they get loaned by stylists who might do a really cool editorial themselves. So it's always wanting to get it out there, but I would love to.
create a narrative around those because they're probably my favourite looks and I don't think they've had the enough air time yet. But yeah, in terms of commissions, I have a few that are my favourites but they are unreleased so I can't really talk about them but they'll be coming soon.
Emily (39:13)
You
Okay, yay. Well, I'm excited to see them.
Okay, got it. I don't want to go over too much of a time here. I'm just trying to see. No, you're on a podcast. That's the whole point. All right. Yeah. What? Okay. Well, what's next for SOX? Like, I mean,
Susannah Wheatcroft (39:30)
Mm-hmm.
Sorry, I'm such a talker, I've probably rambled on most of these.
Emily (39:44)
Don't tell me about any collaborations I can't tell me about, but how do you see things evolving?
Susannah Wheatcroft (39:48)
Yes, yeah, so really
it's, I've kind of touched on most of the stuff already, but so the workshops, huge, the taking, the art, the community. with a lot of the pieces, for example, I don't know if you've seen my bubble bath dress, you know, I want to get a model wearing that walking through central London and kind of get the reaction speed. So I really want to take it to a much more kind of a theatrical place, I guess. I would love to do events.
shows, host kind of like supper clubs, clubs, but have the newest pieces like walking around in the gallery where it's hosted. So I just want to have more fun with it, kind of make it much more accessible, like a like an open house type thing. I just really want to invite my audience in, I think with the personal stuff I've been through over the last few years, I've just been quite private. I've had
I've not been that active on social media and I am so grateful to my following for still being there. So yeah this year I'm like, it's all about you. I want to be doing lots of fun things that make it just like really back to the roots of why it's so important and in the same way that the clothes have those like nostalgic feelings and like childlike wonder and fantasy. I want
all aspects of it too, the shopping side, the shows, the community. Yeah, so I think that's, I know it's a little bit of a wishy washy answer, but my intentions for 2025 are just to make it go bigger and better.
Emily (41:20)
I like it. That's a great goal. think that's perfect. That's a great resolution. Okay, well, just kind of like more rapid fire now. Who or what inspires you the most right now?
Susannah Wheatcroft (41:27)
Mm-hmm.
okay, so I think right now I'm most inspired by just like costume. A lot of the costume I'm seeing on, yeah, in recent films, in theater, I just feel like, as I mentioned earlier, I think fashion's so playful right now and I'm loving what I'm seeing and with like movies that are coming out, I'm just.
really inspired by all the storytelling of it. I think there's been some great films recently which have given me some oomph for that world. I also love kind of like late 1800s and like big silhouettes, stuff like that. I'm going to get creative with silhouettes in the start of this year, I think.
Emily (42:13)
I'm loving the sound of this. I'm so excited to see. Okay, if you could collaborate with any artist or designer, who would it be? It doesn't have to be an artist or designer, but yeah.
Susannah Wheatcroft (42:15)
Yeah.
Hmm, okay, well, I don't really have a specific, well, I've always wanted to collaborate with Swarovski, so do some really cool jewellery. I mean, I've got my ring on here, which I wear all the time. I think I love the sculptures they make, and I think with my sculptural clothing, I think it could be magical, but it's probably a little bit out of reach right now, although I never say never.
but also shoes and bags. Like they're something that I don't have the kind of like skills or machinery to do. I would love the opportunity to collaborate with, yeah, kind of like somebody who has those skills and is a master of that craft and make some really conceptual bags and shoes. Cause I, I kind of feel like there's so much scope there, but because they're quite functional things,
it's maybe a bit less done. But I've got some really good ideas for both those things. I just don't feel like I can put them into action. So yeah, don't have specific names, but shoes and bags, I'm hoping are going to come my way.
Emily (43:26)
Okay, I like that. Yeah, that's great. All right. What's one piece of advice you'd give to somebody starting their own business?
Susannah Wheatcroft (43:33)
Okay, yeah. I think that you have to really, really, really want it. When I was starting out, remember being like, people all the time would say like, you you're so lucky you work for yourself or it's like, you've chosen the right path working for yourself. That's so much easier than working for someone else. And while I'm sure like, there are parts where it is, you know, I'm sure.
whichever avenue you go down, working for somebody else has its challenges, working for yourself has its challenges, of course. But I just think like the roller coaster that it is, and I hear this from a lot of people, I mean, I think like, yeah, I think this is synonymous with a lot of people that are running their own brand or business. You have to really want it because the lows are quite, they can be quite low and it comes with a lot of challenges and it's like the passion that's gonna...
get you through that. It's not, you know, don't do it if it's for easy money or an easy lifestyle. It's, yeah, do it if you are like, you can't think of anything else but doing this. Because there's so many great jobs out there. Like, if you, yeah, like do this if you need to do it, I guess is my advice. And, and then just, yeah, and be brave and go for it because it is.
great and like you have something to offer the world that only you can offer so if running your own business or brand is like the way of sharing that with the world absolutely go for it just make sure you really want it that's my advice
Emily (44:58)
I love that. I think that's great and I think that's a very good point in lot of ways. Okay, well, that's the interview. Thank you so much for joining us. Where can people find you? Of course, of course. Where can people find you, follow you, all that stuff?
Susannah Wheatcroft (45:02)
Yeah. Yeah.
Thank you so much for having me.
I am.
So on Instagram it's slxw and eight underscores. Not the best handle in the world, but if I change it now, fear, you know, do people know it now? I feel like maybe. And my website is currently being renovated. So you can't find my website yet, but if you follow my Instagram, you will be able to see all my updates.
And that's really the best place to find me because as I've said, I don't really have another platform, but I'm going to be working on that. I mean, I do have TikTok. Yeah. So it's SLX and then world, but with a zero. And actually I am trying to push my TikTok. It's a bit more of like everything. So it's more of a behind the scenes like, and I, I quite like,
Emily (45:42)
Okay, and no TikTok, we don't wanna throw that one out there.
Susannah Wheatcroft (45:58)
Yeah, people can go to TikTok for something a little bit different and hopefully you can start to build that up. yeah, definitely follow me on TikTok as well.
Emily (46:05)
Okay, all right, great. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. yeah, all right.
Susannah Wheatcroft (46:08)
Thank you so much. Pleasure. Cool.
