In the heart of The Hill, a storefront full of colorful displays stands out amid the shotgun houses, restaurants, and Italian groceries, drawing in passersby. This sleek modern space is the first showroom and retail store of So iLL, a maker of rock climbing holds, shoes, and lifestyle wear owned by husband-and-wife team Dan and Hannah Chancellor.
The Hill storefront opened in October 2021, but So iLL has been building a worldwide reputation among climbers since marketing its first climbing holds 15 years ago, when Dan and his brother, Dave, were students at Southern Illinois University–Carbondale. In a rental house they shared, the two built their own climbing wall of holds that they poured by hand at the kitchen table. Soon they were hiring employees, developing the business, and manufacturing and selling holds out of a pole barn on the property.
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The brothers were teenagers when they caught the climbing bug on trips with their uncle to southern Missouri. When it was time to go to college, they chose SIU for its proximity to the Shawnee National Forest, where they could go climbing on weekends. The company name, So iLL, is a nod to the region.
In 2007, Dan and Hannah met online. So iLL was already producing holds for companies around the world and building a strong network through trade shows and word of mouth. As the brand grew, the brothers also opened two local climbing gyms: Climb So iLL –the first just east of Lafayette Square and the second in St. Charles. Dave now operates the gyms while Dan and Hannah concentrate on retail and product development.
The showroom and store, located at the corner of Marconi and Daggett, was previously occupied by another homegrown brand, clothing company Skif International. It was originally the home of Spielberg Furniture Co., hence its large open layout. Dan had long admired the building, and when it went on the market in early 2020, he knew it would be the perfect home for So iLL.
By September, they’d begun working out of the basement of the building while renovating upstairs, starting with painting the dark interior white. The couple’s friend Sarah Gibson, of architecture firm UIC, helped design the climbing gyms. She helped the Chancellors think through the new space.
“We wanted to keep the store separate from the workspace but didn’t want to build walls,” says Hannah. “Sarah helped us define the space. Since it’s such a long building, she suggested we do it by the life cycle of the products.”
They took her advice, starting at one end, where the products are “born” in the design and development area, then moving into prototyping, where product samples are arranged on boards. The marketing area is devoted to product photography. On the other end of the open room are logistics and customer service, along with the entrance to the retail space and customer checkout. All of the display boards, dividers, and even the checkout counter are on wheels for easy transport.
Dan and Hannah worked together to design the product displays on the mezzanine, creating a rainbow of climbing holds arranged in color families on white pegboards along the back wall. The shoes, bags, and other accessories are displayed in similar fashion, by color in vignettes.
“We wanted to keep everything clean and simple,” says Hannah.
One popular line of shoes, accessories and apparel features a pattern of small repeating triangles inspired by the arm tattoo of celebrity collaborator Jason Momoa. Like the Chancellor brothers, the actor started climbing when he was young. Dan and Hannah met him through the manager of a Los Angeles climbing gym that is frequented by Momoa and uses their holds.
When Momoa was preparing for his starring role in Aquaman, the production company built him a climbing wall for training while filming overseas. He wanted to use So iLL holds, which jumpstarted their relationship. In 2019, the company launched its first collaborative line of shoes, bags, and accessories with the movie star.
“He likes working with smaller, family-owned companies and we have a lot in common, so it’s been fun,” says Hannah. “He’ll send us something he likes, or a color he likes, and we go through the process with him, designing and sourcing materials.”
So iLL also recently launched a collaboration with celebrity climber Meagan Martin, who has appeared on several seasons of American Ninja Warrior. Branching into clothing for both climbing and lifestyle, the company now offers a line of stretch denim, as well as leggings. New this year is a line of hair scrunchies, made right here in St. Louis.
