diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/casts.c b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/casts.c
index 8ad331ce..7b951183 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/casts.c
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/casts.c
@@ -40,24 +40,26 @@ string_to_string_resolve_descriptors(PyObject *NPY_UNUSED(self),
 }
 
 static int
-string_to_string(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
-                 npy_intp const dimensions[], npy_intp const strides[],
-                 NpyAuxData *NPY_UNUSED(auxdata))
+string_to_string(PyArrayMethod_Context *NPY_UNUSED(context),
+                 char *const data[], npy_intp const dimensions[],
+                 npy_intp const strides[], NpyAuxData *NPY_UNUSED(auxdata))
 {
     npy_intp N = dimensions[0];
-    ss **in = (ss **)data[0];
-    ss **out = (ss **)data[1];
-    // strides are in bytes but pointer offsets are in pointer widths, so
-    // divide by the element size (one pointer width) to get the pointer offset
-    npy_intp in_stride = strides[0] / context->descriptors[0]->elsize;
-    npy_intp out_stride = strides[1] / context->descriptors[1]->elsize;
+    char *in = data[0];
+    char *out = data[1];
+    npy_intp in_stride = strides[0];
+    npy_intp out_stride = strides[1];
+
+    ss *s = NULL, *os = NULL;
 
     while (N--) {
-        out[0] = ssdup(in[0]);
-        if (out[0] == NULL) {
+        load_string(in, &s);
+        os = (ss *)out;
+        if (ssdup(s, os) < 0) {
             gil_error(PyExc_MemoryError, "ssdup failed");
             return -1;
         }
+
         in += in_stride;
         out += out_stride;
     }
@@ -114,7 +116,7 @@ unicode_to_string_resolve_descriptors(PyObject *NPY_UNUSED(self),
 // is the number of codepoints that are not trailing null codepoints. Returns
 // 0 on success and -1 when an invalid code point is found.
 static int
-utf8_size(Py_UCS4 *codepoints, long max_length, size_t *num_codepoints,
+utf8_size(const Py_UCS4 *codepoints, long max_length, size_t *num_codepoints,
           size_t *utf8_bytes)
 {
     size_t ucs4len = max_length;
@@ -126,7 +128,7 @@ utf8_size(Py_UCS4 *codepoints, long max_length, size_t *num_codepoints,
 
     size_t num_bytes = 0;
 
-    for (int i = 0; i < ucs4len; i++) {
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < ucs4len; i++) {
         Py_UCS4 code = codepoints[i];
 
         if (code <= 0x7F) {
@@ -201,13 +203,11 @@ unicode_to_string(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
 
     npy_intp N = dimensions[0];
     Py_UCS4 *in = (Py_UCS4 *)data[0];
-    ss **out = (ss **)data[1];
+    char *out = data[1];
 
     // 4 bytes per UCS4 character
     npy_intp in_stride = strides[0] / 4;
-    // strides are in bytes but pointer offsets are in pointer widths, so
-    // divide by the element size (one pointer width) to get the pointer offset
-    npy_intp out_stride = strides[1] / context->descriptors[1]->elsize;
+    npy_intp out_stride = strides[1];
 
     while (N--) {
         size_t out_num_bytes = 0;
@@ -217,9 +217,9 @@ unicode_to_string(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
             gil_error(PyExc_TypeError, "Invalid unicode code point found");
             return -1;
         }
-        ss *out_ss = ssnewempty(out_num_bytes);
-        if (out_ss == NULL) {
-            gil_error(PyExc_MemoryError, "ssnewempty failed");
+        ss *out_ss = (ss *)out;
+        if (ssnewemptylen(out_num_bytes, out_ss) < 0) {
+            gil_error(PyExc_MemoryError, "ssnewemptylen failed");
             return -1;
         }
         char *out_buf = out_ss->buf;
@@ -247,9 +247,6 @@ unicode_to_string(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
         // pad string with null character
         out_buf[out_num_bytes] = '\0';
 
-        // set out to the address of the beginning of the string
-        out[0] = out_ss;
-
         in += in_stride;
         out += out_stride;
     }
@@ -329,19 +326,20 @@ string_to_unicode(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
                   NpyAuxData *NPY_UNUSED(auxdata))
 {
     npy_intp N = dimensions[0];
-    ss **in = (ss **)data[0];
+    char *in = data[0];
     Py_UCS4 *out = (Py_UCS4 *)data[1];
-    // strides are in bytes but pointer offsets are in pointer widths, so
-    // divide by the element size (one pointer width) to get the pointer offset
-    npy_intp in_stride = strides[0] / context->descriptors[0]->elsize;
+    npy_intp in_stride = strides[0];
     // 4 bytes per UCS4 character
     npy_intp out_stride = strides[1] / 4;
     // max number of 4 byte UCS4 characters that can fit in the output
     long max_out_size = (context->descriptors[1]->elsize) / 4;
 
+    ss *s = NULL;
+
     while (N--) {
-        unsigned char *this_string = (unsigned char *)((*in)->buf);
-        size_t n_bytes = (*in)->len;
+        load_string(in, &s);
+        unsigned char *this_string = (unsigned char *)(s->buf);
+        size_t n_bytes = s->len;
         size_t tot_n_bytes = 0;
 
         for (int i = 0; i < max_out_size; i++) {
@@ -363,6 +361,7 @@ string_to_unicode(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
                 break;
             }
         }
+
         in += in_stride;
         out += out_stride;
     }
diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/dtype.c b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/dtype.c
index ff7aafc1..44fc328d 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/dtype.c
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/dtype.c
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ new_stringdtype_instance(void)
     if (new == NULL) {
         return NULL;
     }
-    new->base.elsize = sizeof(ss *);
-    new->base.alignment = _Alignof(ss *);
+    new->base.elsize = sizeof(ss);
+    new->base.alignment = _Alignof(ss);
     new->base.flags |= NPY_NEEDS_INIT;
     new->base.flags |= NPY_LIST_PICKLE;
     new->base.flags |= NPY_ITEM_REFCOUNT;
@@ -119,26 +119,42 @@ stringdtype_setitem(StringDTypeObject *NPY_UNUSED(descr), PyObject *obj,
         return -1;
     }
 
-    ss *str_val = ssnewlen(val, length);
-    if (str_val == NULL) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_MemoryError, "ssnewlen failed");
+    // free if dataptr holds preexisting string data,
+    // ssfree does a NULL check
+    ssfree((ss *)dataptr);
+
+    // copies contents of val into item_val->buf
+    int res = ssnewlen(val, length, (ss *)dataptr);
+
+    // val_obj must stay alive until here to ensure *val* doesn't get
+    // deallocated
+    Py_DECREF(val_obj);
+
+    if (res == -1) {
+        PyErr_NoMemory();
         return -1;
     }
-    // the dtype instance has the NPY_NEEDS_INIT flag set,
-    // so if *dataptr is NULL, that means we're initializing
-    // the array and don't need to free an existing string
-    if (*dataptr != NULL) {
-        free((ss *)*dataptr);
+    else if (res == -2) {
+        // this should never happen
+        assert(0);
     }
-    *dataptr = (char *)str_val;
-    Py_DECREF(val_obj);
+
     return 0;
 }
 
 static PyObject *
-stringdtype_getitem(StringDTypeObject *descr, char **dataptr)
+stringdtype_getitem(StringDTypeObject *NPY_UNUSED(descr), char **dataptr)
 {
-    PyObject *val_obj = PyUnicode_FromString(((ss *)*dataptr)->buf);
+    char *data;
+
+    if (*dataptr == NULL) {
+        data = "\0";
+    }
+    else {
+        data = ((ss *)dataptr)->buf;
+    }
+
+    PyObject *val_obj = PyUnicode_FromString(data);
 
     if (val_obj == NULL) {
         return NULL;
@@ -147,10 +163,6 @@ stringdtype_getitem(StringDTypeObject *descr, char **dataptr)
     PyObject *res = PyObject_CallFunctionObjArgs((PyObject *)StringScalar_Type,
                                                  val_obj, NULL);
 
-    if (res == NULL) {
-        return NULL;
-    }
-
     Py_DECREF(val_obj);
 
     return res;
@@ -161,8 +173,8 @@ stringdtype_getitem(StringDTypeObject *descr, char **dataptr)
 int
 compare_strings(char **a, char **b, PyArrayObject *NPY_UNUSED(arr))
 {
-    ss *ss_a = (ss *)*a;
-    ss *ss_b = (ss *)*b;
+    ss *ss_a = (ss *)a;
+    ss *ss_b = (ss *)b;
     return strcmp(ss_a->buf, ss_b->buf);
 }
 
@@ -181,8 +193,8 @@ stringdtype_clear_loop(void *NPY_UNUSED(traverse_context),
 {
     while (size--) {
         if (data != NULL) {
-            free(*(ss **)data);
-            *(ss **)data = NULL;
+            ssfree((ss *)data);
+            memset(data, 0, sizeof(ss));
         }
         data += stride;
     }
diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/main.c b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/main.c
index 24648a08..f5691bb0 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/main.c
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/main.c
@@ -50,16 +50,15 @@ _memory_usage(PyObject *NPY_UNUSED(self), PyObject *obj)
 
     // initialize with the size of the internal buffer
     size_t memory_usage = PyArray_NBYTES(arr);
-    size_t struct_size = sizeof(ss);
 
     do {
-        ss **in = (ss **)*dataptr;
-        npy_intp stride = *strideptr / descr->elsize;
+        char *in = dataptr[0];
+        npy_intp stride = *strideptr;
         npy_intp count = *innersizeptr;
 
         while (count--) {
             // +1 byte for the null terminator
-            memory_usage += (*in)->len + struct_size + 1;
+            memory_usage += ((ss *)in)->len + 1;
             in += stride;
         }
 
diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.c b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.c
index 0defdfea..143d6eaa 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.c
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.c
@@ -1,41 +1,77 @@
 #include "static_string.h"
 
-// allocates a new ss string of length len, filling with the contents of init
-ss *
-ssnewlen(const char *init, size_t len)
+int
+ssnewlen(const char *init, size_t len, ss *to_init)
 {
+    if ((to_init->buf != NULL) || (to_init->len != 0)) {
+        return -2;
+    }
+
     // one extra byte for null terminator
-    ss *ret = (ss *)malloc(sizeof(ss) + sizeof(char) * (len + 1));
+    char *ret_buf = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * (len + 1));
 
-    if (ret == NULL) {
-        return NULL;
+    if (ret_buf == NULL) {
+        return -1;
     }
 
-    ret->len = len;
+    to_init->len = len;
 
     if (len > 0) {
-        memcpy(ret->buf, init, len);
+        memcpy(ret_buf, init, len);
     }
 
-    ret->buf[len] = '\0';
+    ret_buf[len] = '\0';
+
+    to_init->buf = ret_buf;
+
+    return 0;
+}
 
-    return ret;
+void
+ssfree(ss *str)
+{
+    if (str->buf != NULL) {
+        free(str->buf);
+        str->buf = NULL;
+    }
+    str->len = 0;
 }
 
-// returns a new heap-allocated copy of input string *s*
-ss *
-ssdup(const ss *s)
+int
+ssdup(ss *in, ss *out)
 {
-    return ssnewlen(s->buf, s->len);
+    return ssnewlen(in->buf, in->len, out);
 }
 
-// returns a new, empty string of length len
-// does not do any initialization, the caller must
-// initialize and null-terminate the string
-ss *
-ssnewempty(size_t len)
+int
+ssnewemptylen(size_t num_bytes, ss *out)
 {
-    ss *ret = (ss *)malloc(sizeof(ss) + sizeof(char) * (len + 1));
-    ret->len = len;
-    return ret;
+    if (out->len != 0 || out->buf != NULL) {
+        return -2;
+    }
+
+    char *buf = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * (num_bytes + 1));
+
+    if (buf == NULL) {
+        return -1;
+    }
+
+    out->buf = buf;
+    out->len = num_bytes;
+
+    return 0;
+}
+
+static ss EMPTY = {0, "\0"};
+
+void
+load_string(char *data, ss **out)
+{
+    ss *ss_d = (ss *)data;
+    if (ss_d->len == 0) {
+        *out = &EMPTY;
+    }
+    else {
+        *out = ss_d;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.h b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.h
index ee4fc4fa..c4a956d2 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.h
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/static_string.h
@@ -6,21 +6,41 @@
 
 typedef struct ss {
     size_t len;
-    char buf[];
+    char *buf;
 } ss;
 
-// allocates a new ss string of length len, filling with the contents of init
-ss *
-ssnewlen(const char *init, size_t len);
+// Allocates a new buffer for *to_init*, filling with the copied contents of
+// *init* and sets *to_init->len* to *len*. Returns -1 if malloc fails and -2
+// if *to_init* is not empty. Returns 0 on success.
+int
+ssnewlen(const char *init, size_t len, ss *to_init);
 
-// returns a new heap-allocated copy of input string *s*
-ss *
-ssdup(const ss *s);
+// Sets len to 0 and if str->buf is not already NULL, frees it and sets it to
+// NULL. Cannot fail.
+void
+ssfree(ss *str);
 
-// returns a new, empty string of length len
-// does not do any initialization, the caller must
-// initialize and null-terminate the string
-ss *
-ssnewempty(size_t len);
+// copies the contents out *in* into *out*. Allocates a new string buffer for
+// *out*. Returns -1 if malloc fails and -2 if *out* is not empty. Returns 0 on
+// success.
+int
+ssdup(ss *in, ss *out);
+
+// Allocates a new string buffer for *out* with enough capacity to store
+// *num_bytes* of text. The actual allocation is num_bytes + 1 bytes, to
+// account for the null terminator. Does not do any initialization, the caller
+// must initialize and null-terminate the string buffer. Returns -1 if malloc
+// fails and -2 if *out* is not empty. Returns 0 on success.
+int
+ssnewemptylen(size_t num_bytes, ss *out);
+
+// Interpret the contents of buffer *data* as an ss struct and set *out* to
+// that struct. If *data* is NULL, set *out* to point to a statically
+// allocated, empty SS struct. Since this function may set *out* to point to
+// statically allocated data, do not ever free memory owned by an output of
+// this function. That means this function is most useful for read-only
+// applications.
+void
+load_string(char *data, ss **out);
 
 #endif /*_NPY_STATIC_STRING_H */
diff --git a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/umath.c b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/umath.c
index 7ef8dc12..52da9ee0 100644
--- a/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/umath.c
+++ b/stringdtype/stringdtype/src/umath.c
@@ -14,24 +14,24 @@
 #include "umath.h"
 
 static int
-string_equal_strided_loop(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
-                          npy_intp const dimensions[],
+string_equal_strided_loop(PyArrayMethod_Context *NPY_UNUSED(context),
+                          char *const data[], npy_intp const dimensions[],
                           npy_intp const strides[],
                           NpyAuxData *NPY_UNUSED(auxdata))
 {
     npy_intp N = dimensions[0];
-    ss **in1 = (ss **)data[0];
-    ss **in2 = (ss **)data[1];
+    char *in1 = data[0];
+    char *in2 = data[1];
     npy_bool *out = (npy_bool *)data[2];
-    // strides are in bytes but pointer offsets are in pointer widths, so
-    // divide by the element size (one pointer width) to get the pointer offset
-    npy_intp in1_stride = strides[0] / context->descriptors[0]->elsize;
-    npy_intp in2_stride = strides[1] / context->descriptors[1]->elsize;
+    npy_intp in1_stride = strides[0];
+    npy_intp in2_stride = strides[1];
     npy_intp out_stride = strides[2];
 
+    ss *s1 = NULL, *s2 = NULL;
+
     while (N--) {
-        ss *s1 = *in1;
-        ss *s2 = *in2;
+        load_string(in1, &s1);
+        load_string(in2, &s2);
 
         if (s1->len == s2->len && strncmp(s1->buf, s2->buf, s1->len) == 0) {
             *out = (npy_bool)1;
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ string_equal_strided_loop(PyArrayMethod_Context *context, char *const data[],
         else {
             *out = (npy_bool)0;
         }
+
         in1 += in1_stride;
         in2 += in2_stride;
         out += out_stride;
diff --git a/stringdtype/tests/test_stringdtype.py b/stringdtype/tests/test_stringdtype.py
index ccdfe403..82b82456 100644
--- a/stringdtype/tests/test_stringdtype.py
+++ b/stringdtype/tests/test_stringdtype.py
@@ -181,3 +181,16 @@ def test_sort(strings):
     np.random.default_rng().shuffle(arr)
     arr.sort()
     np.testing.assert_array_equal(arr, arr_sorted)
+
+
+def test_creation_functions():
+    np.testing.assert_array_equal(
+        np.zeros(3, dtype=StringDType()), ["", "", ""]
+    )
+
+    np.testing.assert_array_equal(
+        np.empty(3, dtype=StringDType()), ["", "", ""]
+    )
+
+    # make sure getitem works too
+    assert np.empty(3, dtype=StringDType())[0] == ""