The Crew Cut

How does a great idea on the designer's drawing board become an item of award-winning sportskit? What drives a product from research and customer feedback through to becoming your favourite garment? Jordanna Andrews, Design Lead at Crewroom, throws a spotlight on this creative voyage in a special 'Design Workshop' at the Pop-Up. On Saturday November 15 at 1.30pm, visitors to the Pop-Up will be offered a rare insight into the creative process behind some of Britain's favourite high-performance sportswear, as manufactured by Crewroom. Jordanna, who graduated from the capital's internationally renowned London College of Fashion with a first class degree in Sportswear Design, now heads up Crewroom's design department. Her free, one-hour talk will explain the importance of customer feedback, technical reviews working with athletes and detailed research. Plus there's an opportunity for you to get involved by creating your very own pair of leggings. Those attending the workshop will have a chance to design their own leggings and the winning design will win a pair of Crewroom leggings worth £69. "I'll be explaining a little about the design process, the journey from research and customer feedback right through to the well-developed end product," says Jordanna. "We are always trying to improve our products. Listening to the feedback from reviews is an important part of my job. I'm also really look forward to working with people and seeing their designs for leggings. It'll be great fun."

Sunday October 12th marks a major milestone for Team Crewroom, reaching back months, even years, into our past. Our seven-year milestone harks back to 2008 when we were delighted to provide the official shirt for the Royal Parks Foundation’s inaugural Half Marathon. Since then, we’ve been proud to continue our involvement with this fantastic event and are now in our third year of sponsorship of the Ultra, whose race shirt we also provide, began when the first Ultra was staged in 2012. For the heroic runners, the day of the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon and Ultra is the day when those months of hard work and training finally pay off. We are proud to announce that 10 members of our very own Ultra team are taking part in this year’s 50km event. They’ll be wearing our orange race shirt – we hope you’ll be there to give them a bit of well earned encouragement. In charge of Crewroom’s Ultra team is Coach Paul Gascoygne, who has supported our ultra athletes through our Run Club and core classes staged at Crewroom HQ. We also want to shout out to the runners from Crewroom taking part in the Parks half marathon. We know it is no mean feat jogging 13.1 miles and we’ll be there on the finish line to cheer you home. Our very own Cara Devlin has coached the Crewroom half marathon team, and on Sunday they’ll be brightening up the towpaths and trails wearing our Hawaiian blue race shirt. The 2013 Ultra winner and Crewroom Ambassador Philippa Taylor unfortunately won’t be able to defend her title this year due to an Achilles heel injury. “I’m gutted not be able to take part,” she said. Spending the day with your feet up then? “Well, instead, I’m planning on a 50-mile cycle ride this Sunday.” For all those of you taking part or heading on down to Hyde Park to watch, get all the info you need in time for race day.

Look hard enough and you’ll see that the best things in life often pop up all over the place - and Crewroom is no exception. That’s why we’ve just opened our first-ever pop-up shop and fitness hub, situated in the Putney Exchange. All our collections are available in store, from our award-winning running kit to our very latest designs, and our friendly staff are on hand to help you find your favourite item of sportswear or search for something new. In keeping with our multi-functional design range, our Crewroom Hub pop-up is not only home to our kit, but is also a fantastic fitness centre, hosting a full range of exercise classes – a few of which we’re giving you for free. Come down and say hello!

The weather Gods smiled on us last month, causing thousands of spectators, runners and cyclists to flood into Richmond Park for the annual London Duathlon. Everyone at the run-bike-run race had a glorious day celebrating and taking part in the event, which we were a proud sponsor of and which is owned by leading British event organisers, Limelight Sports. Duathletes all looked great on the day - sporting Crewroom’s grey and lime-green race shirts. Now's the time to register for next year’s race.

Standup for the Cure came to Paddington Basin, in London on September 12th, an important event in many people’s calendar. Everyone had a great time on their board and the day proved to be an active way for SUPers to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer. Crewroom was very pleased to be part of this event, staged in the capital for the first time. Previously held in California and Florida, participants seemed to have brought with them some warm California sunshine. Our bespoke kit including visors, base layers and hoodies proved very popular the boarders, all of whom entered into the spirit of the event, making Paddington a wash of pink in honour of the charity. Big thanks to our buddy Paul Hyman (pictured below), the pioneering Founder of top UK paddleboarding company Active 360 for helping to organise this event. It’s because of the success of paddleboarding get togethers like these that we are now working closely with Paul to boost our fitness calendar by adding a twice-weekly paddleboarding class out of our Putney Embankment HQ. Sessions are on Fridays at 3-7pm and on Sundays 12 – 5pm. At just £20 for novices and £15 for experienced SUPers, it's great value fun. 

Now that the clocks have changed, and the sun has started streaming through the windows in the morning, the team at Crewroom can't wait to get into their running kit and hit the trails. Living in London - some people think it's not possible to find a good trail running route, and so either always pound the pavement or wind up on the treadmill in the gym. We're here to disprove that theory and give you some Spring time inspiration! Here are our favourite trails in London, and a short distance from London to get you off the beaten track in the middle of the urban jungle: The Capital Ring: a 78 mile route spanning the boroughs of Greater London. All sections are within a distance of tube stations making it easy to jump on and off easily. If you want a challenge, try the uphill 10km from Wimbledon to Richmond, great for the historic landscapes and odd deer sightings! North Downs: The train from Clapham Junction can have you in Guildford in under half an hour. From there, make your way through the town and up a hill Pewley Down and it's view of the North Downs. A 153 mile trail between Farnham and Dover and is one of the major National Trails in England and Wales. Bushey Park: Head out past Richmond and you're in Teddington, where you'll find Bushey Park - which we've heard more than one person say is a trail runners dream. Also accessible on mainlines, a short walk from Hampton Court Station. Hampstead Heath: If you are really tied for time, and that 30 minutes to get to one of the two above trails is time best spent running, we've just the place for you that is simply central. Hampstead Heath in Zone 2, is a 2 minute walk from it's overground station. By hitting the perimeter of the Heath you can stick on trails, grass and woodland for at least 5km. The variety of trails is so vast, it's possible to run twice that distance back and forth over the Heath without retracing any steps. Pick your time for this trail if you want to avoid weekend picnickers. Lee Valley Park: Finally, if it's a river run you're after - without the concrete of the South Bank or Bustle of the Embankment, you can head East to Waltham Cross and pick up the tow path at Lee Valley Whitewater Centre and run north around the edge of Bowyers Water. Lee Valley Park offers 26 miles of riverside trails. Trails vary in length, and how long you yourself plan to be out on them - but it's important to come prepared! Don' forget: Water Energy bars Rain jacket: With English weather, we all know it can be unpredictable. Prepare for any inevitability with either our Microlight Drizzle Jacket or our wind and water resistant Evertek Grid Trail Jacket. Warm layer: Keep your core warm - especially on the return journey home with our thermal Seadog base and mid layers Money: because you never know when you might need it. Your phone A sense of humour!