Team USA wears Skidmore alumna鈥檚 gear at 2022 Winter Olympic Games
Sh*t That I Knit (STIK), a Boston-based small business founded and run by Skidmore alumna Christina Fagan Pardy 鈥�12, is an official licensee of Team USA for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The STIK for Team USA collection of beanies and mittens features hand-embroidered Team USA stitching with the official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team marks and will be donned by athletes and fans alike.
Sh*t That I Knit has created two distinct Team USA-branded beanies and two pairs of matching mittens.
鈥淚t is an honor to create products that celebrate America鈥檚 best athletes as they represent our nation on the world鈥檚 biggest stage,鈥� said Pardy, who majored in art history and minored in management and business at Skidmore.
鈥淚鈥檝e watched the Olympic Games since I was a little girl, marveling at the strength and determination of our athletes as they competed for Team USA,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 proud to have this opportunity to feature the official U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Team marks on my designs and inspire the next generation of Team USA hopefuls.鈥�
While a student at Skidmore, Pardy started a knitting blog with the same name as her future company. The blog, which initially served as a creative outlet to share what she was knitting, grew into a small business that sold her wares.
After graduating in 2012, she joined a startup in Boston, where she learned more about the sales side of running a business. In 2015, she quit her 9-to-5 job to pursue STIK full time.
鈥淚t was very much bootstrapped in the beginning and very much a side hustle,鈥� Pardy said
A 2015 Kickstarter campaign quickly raised $25,000 for the young company and helped boost her audience among millennials on Instagram. A dedicated following catapulted STIK into a profitable business in its first year. The quality of the products and Pardy鈥檚 own hustle also resulted in celebrity endorsements, including American Hannah Teter, a gold and silver medal-winning Olympic snowboarder.
From there, the seed of a dream was planted: STIK was going to make it to the Olympic stage.
In 2018, Pardy had a chance encounter with a high-ranking member of the U.S. Olympic Committee at STIK鈥檚 pop-up store in New York City. Pardy seized the opportunity.
鈥淭hey liked the brand a lot, liked how much we wanted it, and they gave us a chance,鈥� Pardy said 鈥淚t鈥檚 been huge for us as a small brand.鈥�
Christina Fagan Pardy 鈥�12 is interviewed by media. STIK has been featured by the Boston Globe, the 鈥淭oday鈥� show, and numerous other outlets.
Pardy says she is still 鈥減inching herself鈥� that the company has grown so quickly and credits its success to hardworking artisans and the company鈥檚 core values: All STIK products are consciously created and sourced ethically and sustainably. Its knitwear is handmade by a team of artisans in Lima, Peru; each piece carries a story of a woman, knitting from home, earning a viable income to support her family.
鈥淢any of them are making more money than their husbands. They鈥檙e sending their kids to college on this money,鈥� Pardy said in a 鈥淭hey鈥檙e really supporting their families, and it鈥檚 making a real impact.鈥�
Pardy and her team are making an impact across this country as well: She has introduced knitting as a stress reliever to thousands of people throughout the United States and has donated hundreds of 鈥渒nit kits鈥� to cancer patients and, more recently, to those needing an escape from the mental wear of the COVD-19 pandemic.
The XXIV Olympic Winter Games in Beijing begin Feb. 4 and the Paralympic Games on March 4. You can or simply enjoy spotting them on the athletes as they are telecast around the world.
