By SQUEEZU Founder · 3 minute read
I did not begin with a business plan. I began as an ordinary mom, looking for something my child might enjoy.
My daughter is autistic. When she started spending time with squishy toys, I noticed her gradually becoming happier. Those small moments mattered to me. A squeeze, an object she wanted to pick up again, something she seemed to enjoy: I wanted to understand what made those moments feel good for her.
That was the beginning of SQUEEZU, although I did not know it yet.
The joy came with questions
As I looked for more squishies, I also began worrying about the materials. Some of the products I found did not give me enough confidence about what my daughter would be handling. I wanted to enjoy seeing her happy without setting those questions aside.
I was looking at these objects as a mother first. A lovely face or a soft-looking photograph was not enough for me. I wanted to look more closely at where they came from and what I was choosing for my child.
My concern was not a claim that every other squishy was unsafe. It was a reason to keep asking questions and take a more active part in finding what I would bring into our home.
I started looking for sources myself
Eventually, I began finding sources myself and working on squishies for my daughter. The purpose was personal: I wanted to make something she could enjoy, with more attention to the questions I had been asking.
I was not trying to create the next toy craze. I was following the small happiness I had already seen at home.
What surprised me was how much other people liked them too. Something I had begun for my own child was finding a place in other people's lives. That response encouraged me to think beyond our home, without losing the reason I had started.
I did not want to design only from my own perspective
As the idea grew, I began inviting autistic children and their families to design with me. I wanted the people who would use these objects to have a place in shaping them.
My daughter's preferences had opened my eyes, but they could not stand for every child's experience. Different people enjoy different textures, shapes, and ways of interacting. Working together gave that difference a place in the brand, rather than treating it as something to smooth away.
That is how SQUEEZU became more than something I was making for my own child. It became a brand shaped by a personal beginning and a wider circle of voices.
What A Softer Day means to me
For me, A Softer Day is a hope for small, welcome moments. It is not a promise that one object will change someone's life or that everyone will enjoy the same sensation.
I am sharing what I noticed in my daughter, not claiming that squishies treat autism. Her experience belongs to her. I want other people to have room to discover their own preferences, including the freedom to choose a different feel or to leave a toy untouched.
I am still the mom behind that first search. Every time I think about SQUEEZU, I return to the same beginning: a child finding a little happiness, and a mother wanting to make more room for it.
Read why I invite families into the design process · Explore SQUEEZU little joys
The cover is a painted interpretation of the brand story, not a photograph of my family.
