Feeling positively empowered with Findra: Vamper and Findra form a bond

If either of us at Vamper.cc are going to support a brand, it has to be a brand that we believe in. It has to be a brand with integrity, that cares deeply about quality, and that makes really good looking products. The nicest thing about writing an independent blog – for love rather than money – is that there is no trade off between integrity and the need to earn a living.

I was really pleased to be approached by women’s cycling brand Findra earlier this year. When they asked me to be a brand ambassador, I was properly flattered because their values resonate with me. Findra is so far removed from the shrink it and pink it mentality that still permeates much of the cycling industry.

Findra is still pretty new on the scene, and is only just approaching its second birthday. But there is such a strong design ethos that runs through the product range that it feels like a long-established brand.

I know that Merino wool is supposed to be a year-round fabric, but I’m such a hot blooded sort that it’s not until those crisp starts in early autumn that I start reaching for woollens. After what seems to have been a fairly long, hot summer in the south east, I’m revelling in cooler days and the need for a little more warmth.

Our ethos is about positivity and supporting one another. It’s about empowering and encouraging women to look good, feel good and perform to the best of their abilities through participation in outdoor sports.

Findra was launched in December 2014 by Alex Feechan, a keen mountain biker and experienced fashion designer. Alex identified a gap in the market for well designed performance clothing and bike wear for women. As I think we can probably all agree, men’s clothing in a smaller size with pink trim just isn’t enough to make us want to part with our hard earned cash. Women deserve products tailored to them. We’re not smaller than men. We’re different shapes! So, Alex set to work creating a range of performance lifestyle clothing that would be technical and highly functional, and female friendly, beautiful and high quality.

 

 

 

The clothing is made in Scotland from Italian sports Merino wool: it’s durable, practical and wicking. It features seamless knitting technology, and it is super soft. It’s one of the few ranges of cycle clothing which is every bit as desirable off the bike as it is for cycling. (As I’m usually in Lycra on the bike, this is what I reach for post-ride – and my non-cycling friends ask me where it’s from…)

Summer may be drawing to an end, but there’s consolation in the form of beautiful – and functional – knitwear. Every cloud, and all that.

 

“We are free, happy, strong, confident.
We are women. Out there.
Liberated from the humdrum.
At least for a while!
Together conquering the path, the road,
the hill, the mountain.
Always aiming a little higher.
Fulfilled, accomplished, achieving.”

– Findra