Our guest UpNext on the Podcast is Amy Small, the founder and creative director of Knit Collage, a hand spun yarn company that celebrates texture, color, and connection. She’s using her craft – knitting to build a community using creative launches based on strategies she’s developed from Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula.
From designing whimsical yarns to leading global knit-alongs, Amy has built a vibrant community of makers who find creativity and confidence in every stitch.
Beyond yarn, she’s a creative entrepreneur, mom of 3, and mentor who helps other small business owners bring more intention, planning, and heart into their work.
Amy and I go way back to when we lived in the same neighborhood in Boston together. It has been such a joy to watch her grow a thriving business rooted in creativity and connection.
In this episode, we chat about building community online, the magic of teaching beginners the art of knitting, and how planning creative launches has transformed the way she shows up in life and business.
Knitting, Community & Creative Launches
- Plan with purpose. Map your launches a year in advance — not to restrict creativity, but to give yourself space to play within a plan.
- Serve before you sell. Amy’s approach to marketing is rooted in generosity — showing up with inspiration, freebies, and community connection.
- Reframe your launches as storytelling. Every pre-launch survey, social post, and challenge is an invitation for your audience to co-create with you.
- Embrace the beginner’s mindset. Her new Learn to Knit class reminds us it’s never too late to start something new (even if your first scarf is wobbly).
- Community creates momentum. From knit-alongs to live coaching, Amy’s brand thrives because people feel seen, supported, and celebrated.
Episode Highlights
00:00 — Kiera and Amy catch up on life, business, and knitting dreams.
01:45 — Amy introduces Knit Collage and her Learn to Knit program for beginners.
03:25 — Why Amy stepped away from fashion retail to focus on her community-driven business.
04:40 — How learning from Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula changed the way Amy runs her business.
06:30 — Breaking down her year of launches, from big knit-alongs to mini product drops.
08:45 — Using surveys and community votes to shape what’s next.
10:20 — Building excitement, not burnout — how Amy keeps launches fun and heart-led.
Creativity feels best when it’s shared
Amy inspires us to remember to embrace creativity as a means of connection, source of joy, and self care.
I learned so much from her take on Jeff Walker’s teachings inside the Product Launch Formula course. As a creative business owner myself, she really helped show how sharing the messy middle and getting your audience involved in the process helps build community and connection.
I will be implementing her style when we launch the Intentional Memories Challenge this Winter. I am hoping to release it right around the new year as we reframe how we reflect on last year and what we want to intentionally document in the new year.
If you want to stay in the loop for all the details of this challenge — grab your Free Intentional Memories Workbook here — and I’ll add you to the list!
Rapid Fire
📸 A photo you never want to delete:
A picture from a hike with her husband in Colorado — she’s standing in a Sound of Music pose (“the hills are alive!”) on the trail called Oh Be Joyful in Crested Butte, the wildflower capital of Colorado. It’s her happy place and her ideal date— “a hike day date where you just talk and take in the beauty.”
🛍️ Favorite recent purchase:
A printed puffer jacket obsession — actually two! One covered in sequined flowers (a serious clearance find) and another patchwork-style puffer by an American Pakistani designer inspired by quilt patterns from Pakistan and India. “Nothing functional, clearly,” she laughs, “but they make me so happy — it’s how I express my creative self in a world of black leggings.”
📚 Audio or physical books?
“I crush audio. Crush it.” She’s a major audiobook listener — especially while knitting. Amy devoured all 16 Sarah J. Maas fantasy novels in just three months. She also listens to business, health, and parenting books, including Breath by James Nestor, which she found eye-opening.
💡 Favorite mom hack:
Her Skylight frame — a digital photo display that syncs with the family calendar. It keeps everyone organized (and grandparents in the loop!). “The kids even check it themselves now,” she says. “But also… I’m still the mom who asks my neighbor to text me when it’s pajama day because I’ll definitely miss that email.”
🎤 Who she’d pass the mic to next:
Courtney Ryan, our friend and photographer/director, who also runs a thriving Airbnb business in Maine. Amy describes her as “so inspiring — a creative mom juggling directing, design, and business beautifully.”
Explore the Community:
Get connected to entrepreneurs and resources to help your business thrive with the Retail Playground powered by UpNext . Use our code FOL15 for 15% off your monthly subscription.
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