Love for the craft. Respect for nature and customers. Family. That is CRAWLER…

100% merino wool, handmade products, designer patterns, customisation, colour configurator, inspiration and blog articles. Two collections a year. Clothing that is functional and has style. The people behind all this are Pavlína and Eva. Two sisters and their team of tailors from Chrast near Chrudim.

It is these women who make up the Crawler brand and an e-shop of the same name with customised handmade functional clothing. The team, which is able to dress all ages, has gained a good position both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and has been gradually expanding abroad.

What can we imagine under the Crawler brand?

Pavlína: Generally, it is love for a true craft. Respect for nature and customers. Teamwork.

Eva: Yes. And it is also a company returning to traditions and offering high-quality handmade products. The most important point of our philosophy is the good old saying “The customer is always right.”. We strive to provide high-quality and professional services to satisfy even the most demanding customers. We work with merino wool, a natural material that has recently become popular with the whole world.

Photo: Crawler Archive

Why Crawler? What does it mean?

Eva: You know, the name Crawler came spontaneously long before the brand was established. As a mother-to-be, I naturally wanted to join the discussion forum of one mother site. You need a nickname for such registration. At that time I liked to listen to a song by Remy Zero that used the word “crawler”, so I grew fond of it. I used that nickname to share my experience with other mums for years, and later, when we started a business, I didn’t even think of another name. I would have found it difficult to get used to it.

How did Crawler come into being? Where does the idea of ​​starting such a business come from? It seems to be a family business…

Eva: Yes, we are a family business. Actually, that wasn’t our goal at all. At the beginning I sewed things based on trade licence. After some time, when the demand for products greatly exceeded my time capacity, I was joined by my sister, who has a lot of experience with corporate management (unlike me). And after some time, we recruited employees and, of course, got the necessary production facilities.

Your Czech claim “Jedeme na vlně” is a nice pun, because the word “vlna” means both “wave” and “wool” in Czech. It literally means “riding the wave”, but the second meaning of the phrase is actually “wool is our passion”. Is that right?

Eva: We want to say that we love 100% merino wool. It is a purely natural material that has a much longer history in clothing than cotton and synthetic materials. We try to promote it, refute many myths about wool, and bring it (not only) to Czech wardrobes. Our claim aims to encourage customers to join us in our passion for wool. Our wool.

Pavlína: Exactly, we have found our specialisation over time and now we work almost exclusively with 100% merino wool. The claim “Jedeme na vlně”, which we have added to our logo, is therefore more than fitting.

Photo: Crawler Archive

Who are your customers?

Eva: Anyone can be our customer. We get orders mostly from mums on parental leave, especially those who carry their children in a baby sling or carrier. They are generally people who love being outdoors in any weather. For them, 100% merino wool is a heat comfort mediator, whether it is hot or cold outside.

Pavlína: Yes, they are mums and families with children, but also all those who like active lifestyle and want comfortable and convenient clothes for it. Our customers also include those who are not indifferent to the future of the planet, families who prefer an alternative way of life and who raise their children to love nature … Of course, everyone can shop with us – we believe that we have a lot to offer to all age categories.

Photo: Crawler Archive

Why should people buy products from Crawler, not from your competitors?

Eva: We know from our experience that they rarely sew tailor-made clothes for you. You can rarely combine colours and patterns yourself. We’re able to do all that. We value our customers, so they like to come back to us. They buy clothes with a story and made with love, and our approach is revealed by our products.

Pavlína: Crawler also offers its customers premium customer service. By designing and manufacturing everything ourselves, we have absolute freedom in this respect and can therefore meet almost any customer wish. Those who know us, I think, can confirm this statement, and it is often one of the reasons why they have become our customers.

Photo: Crawler Archive

Eva: I would add that you can find a blog on our e-shop site where we publish articles not only about merino wool. Customers can read tips on wool maintenance, size selection and more.

Photo: Crawler Archive

Customers will see Merisheep on your site. Who is it?

Eva: Merisheep is our mascot. Her name in Czech was chosen by our customers.

Pavlína: Merisheep has been with us since 2017. Her main moments are yet to come. We have many plans with her, but we won’t disclose them yet. Follow us on our Facebook and Instagram to learn more.

Your clothes are not the cheapest. What determines the price? Material? Work?

Eva: The price is directly proportional to the premium exceptional material, handmade individual production, and the fact that customers choose the design and, if necessary, the measurements of our garments.

We pay attention to the precise execution of details, which then results in a perfectly made whole.

Pavlína: On the one hand, there is a thorough selection of high-quality materials. We work with tried and tested merino yarn suppliers/manufacturers. In no case do we buy material without origin, we know our business partners well and pride ourselves on good and fair business relationships. On the other hand, there’s the fact that it’s hand-made. Crawler provides daily diversity and creativity, not the monotony of garment production systems. Our tailors have every product in their hands from the start of the production process – i.e. from cutting, cut modification and sewing – to handing the finished product to the final inspection staff. The price therefore depends on this process. And as Eva has said, we pay attention to the precise execution of all details, because details form a whole. And since it’s hand-made, every product is actually an original.

Merino has become a fairly well-known material – why is it so “perfect”?

Eva: We are returning to what our ancestors knew long ago. Merino is perfectly thermoregulatory – keeping you warm in winter and cool in summer. It is hypoallergenic and breathable, antibacterial and odourless, which is appreciated by every active individual.

Pavlína: There is nothing more perfect than what is created by nature. Our fine merino wool has proved to be an excellent helper for all those suffering from atopic eczema and many other skin problems. Our garments often become a supportive treatment or prevention of these problems.

How long does it take to make, for example, a merino bodysuit?

Eva: This is one of the secrets we will keep behind the walls of our factory, with your kind permission. Delivery time is one to three weeks, which clearly shows that it is not a matter of a few minutes. It’s not just about sewing. The production of each individual piece is preceded by the graphic design of patterns, designs and, of course, communication with customers – we often make tailor-made garments, so we communicate about colours, patterns, sizes and other special requirements. Only then do the cutting and sewing of garments, inspection, packing and delivery to the customers take place.

Photo: Crawler Archive

What are your plans for the future? Are you going to increase production, add other types of products or expand?

Eva: We would like to break through not only in the Czech market. We want to build a brand that will gain popularity and trust of customers not only in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, but also in other countries. We are constantly working on new products to make our customers’ shopping as pleasant as possible.

Pavlína: There are many plans, but we won’t reveal them yet. We increase production every year, which of course means the need to expand production and storage premises, shipping premises and administrative facilities. We are currently working on some construction modifications, and from April 2019 we will be manufacturing and shipping all orders from the new expanded premises.

Eva: Increasing production means not only the need for more space, but we also need more skilful hands. Currently we are looking for new staff to join our team, mostly tailors.

Are you also planning to have a store, a showroom or a pickup point?

Eva: Of course, we are, but our current priority is to invest in new production technologies and in development and improvement of our e-shop to offer our customers more shopping convenience. There is always room for improvement in this respect.

Pavlína: Join us in our passion for wool and see for yourself :-).

More about Crawler products > www.crawler-shop.eu

Source and photo: ML Promotion s.r.o.