Femme Cyclist Podcast

Curious Creatures and the Art of Mountain Bike Apparel With Natasha Woodworth

• Kristen Bonkoski

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Natasha Woodworth, the inspiring founder of Curious Creatures, joins us to share how she's transforming the mountain bike apparel industry with a unique blend of sustainability and style. 💜

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Kristen:

Natasha Woodworth is the founder of Curious Creatures, a mountain bike apparel company that's taking the trails by storm. I've been testing a pair of her sundog pants and am obsessed. They are fabulous. In this interview, we dive into what sets her brand apart from others in this space and what makes good mountain bike clothing, not just for performance, but also for style and comfort. Natasha shares how her background at Patagonia has shaped her approach to design and sustainability, and how Bozeman, montana's rugged, train and tight-knit community continues to inspire her creations. Plus, we get real about balancing it all as a new mom and the CEO of a company. Whether you're curious about the perfect gear or about navigating life as a designer in the bike industry, you'll enjoy this interview Real quick.

Kristen:

Before we jump into today's episode, I want to tell you about the training plans I've created for you all. Whether you're looking to get a little fitter or faster, or you have a big event or race you need to prepare for, a structured training plan can help you achieve your goals. I have a variety of pre-made training plans you can choose from or I can build you a custom training plan specific to your needs. Podcast listeners get 50 50 off with coupon code podcast 50. Head to femcyclistcom to get started today. Natasha, thank you so much for being here and I've got to tell you before we get started I have been testing out your sun dog pants and I really, really like them. I test out a lot of bike clothing and I don't know why, but I was kind of skeptical before I got them and they are my favorite pants now. I like, want to wear them all the time I told my husband these are more comfortable than my sweatpants.

Natasha:

These are great, so nice. I love to hear that I'm a big fan of those.

Kristen:

Why did you start Curious Creatures? And obviously there was like a lot of mountain bike apparel already out there. What sets you apart?

Natasha:

Yeah, it was kind of a great timing with a lot of different things going on in our lives, but I had always wanted to start my own brand and I've been just really inspired by the mountain biking community in general, just like seeing it grow and seeing so many of my friends getting into it.

Natasha:

Um, and then you know, from all different levels and um perspectives of like lots of beginners getting into it or people that are starting to race and be very competitive, um, so just been like pretty inspired by seeing that um and also feeling like there was a lot, just like a little bit of a hole in the market, especially on the women's side, with some clothes that were really technically designed, like.

Natasha:

My background is in product design and, um, I work on a lot of used to work on a lot of like super technical stuff where I would often be forced or asked to make things look really technical, and I felt like what I was actually seeing with people around me where they didn't want to necessarily like look super technical all the time, but wanted the performance, the performance side, um, but wanted their clothing to just feel a little bit more like regular clothing or um mostly that they could feel like themselves too, like I heard that a lot with people that were, um, either new to biking or had been doing it for a long time. They always felt like they were like putting on this like costume or like something that was just like not them, and I do feel like clothes are such a great avenue for expression and like creativity in that way, so I wanted to make clothes that people felt like it was just an extension of like their regular closet, but had that really technical and construction and fabric and stuff like that.

Kristen:

That is something I really like, because it sometimes seems like ridiculous that we have to have this entire regular life wardrobe and this entire bike wardrobe, and it's nice to have pieces, that kind of transition between the two, and it's nice to have pieces, that kind of transition between the two.

Natasha:

Yeah, and it was like, yeah, inspired off a lot of trips that I did with my husband, whether it's like bike packing or you know, you're like bringing one pair of pants and then you might want to go out to a restaurant later, um, things like that, and just like working on that small kit of these things that could work for so many, uh, different applications. Or like where you live. I mean, obviously you bike a lot, but you probably do a lot of other things in the mountains too and um, building versatile product is also really exciting to me, so it was nice to be able to do that for live, for your creatures you see curious creatures being solely a mountain bike apparel, or you see yourself branching out from there yeah, I mean, I really wanted to build a mountain bike brand and, um, I think there are a lot of like outdoor brands that are making mountain bike stuff, or there's lots of mountain bike stuff being made with within brands that care more about maybe like road cycling or care more about other types of cycling.

Natasha:

So I did feel like I was really excited for curious creatures to really be about mountain biking and that really special experience of being on a bike, which is so fun and makes you feel like you're a little kid again, but then you're also in these really remote beautiful places and um, experiencing wilderness in a way that is so different than maybe like road riding and stuff like that. Um, so that that's a long answer of. I do really want it to be rooted in mountain biking, but I've been really pleasantly surprised in a lot of these events we go to and when we're selling things, how people are like like, oh yeah, I bought these for mountain biking, I took them on a 10 day river trip and things like that, and that's also something that's really exciting to me because it means you get to make less stuff in the world. If you can make like one pair of pants, that works really well for lots of mountain activities. That's really a win and great for the environment and great for just like not producing more stuff.

Kristen:

Yes, so you have a background at Patagonia, which is obviously well known for sustainability efforts. What have you taken from that to Curious Creatures?

Natasha:

Yeah, I mean, that's like it was the craziest master's education in sustainability that I could possibly ask for is so nice. I mean, the way they approach design from the beginning is, uh, through the lens of sustainability and responsibility. So even things like repairability is thought about at the beginning of the design of the garment, which is something that I think about now too, at Curious Creatures blue sign approved and meet these certain standards for responsible practices, because the mills where they actually make the fabric is the biggest carbon impact actually of the whole product, which is kind of crazy. You know a lot of people are like, oh, you're shipping it and you're doing all these things, and that's true, but on the piece of the pie, the actual biggest carbon impact is just actually weaving the fabric um.

Natasha:

So really being cognizant of using good fabrics and good mill partners and I tried to use um 100 polyester in a lot of our stretch fabrics um, so that they could be recyclable at end of life, because usually when you make a really stretchy fabric, you add spandex and then it's like a? Um, a blend of two fabrics, two materials, and then that makes it so you can't recycle it um, but all, most all of our fabrics in the bottom, except for one short have, uh, no, spandex in it so that you can actually recycle it at end of life, which is cool, but yeah, I mean, I could go on and on. There's so many things that that place taught me and it like, honestly, I was there for 10 years and I started as an assistant designer, and so everything I've learned about how to be a designer has really been from them and I'm just super grateful for that education. It's been awesome.

Kristen:

A lot of the other apparel brands in this space created by women are like Wild Rye and Shredley. They have focused on women's specific apparel. Why have you chosen to create like a unisex brand?

Natasha:

Yeah, that's also a good question. It's probably a little bit um, even my whole career I've I started as um, the only woman's designer on the technical team and it was all men and they were like so excited to bring me on, because they were like, oh, you can have a woman's perspective and it's great because I can. But I also feel like if you are a good designer and you design good product, I think that you should be able to do both if you want to. And, um, yeah, I've always liked, enjoyed working on men's stuff.

Natasha:

Um, I definitely focused on women's in the launch collection. I had a lot of guys that I ride with or in my community that were like what the heck, I want some men's stuff, and so I'm just happy to service both genders and, um, I also really like kind of the overlap sometimes. Like I was just at an all-women's event and a couple women bought the men's pants because they were so tall and, um, they liked the longer inseam, and I think there's something kind of cool about having just different fits for different bodies outside of gender. Um, yeah, that's kind of how I'm approaching some of the gender stuff, because, while I do think it's super important To listen to women's needs and build women's specific product.

Kristen:

It's kind of nice to build it for, yeah, different body types, different well shifting speaking of different body types, the outdoor industry is notorious for creating very small clothing and not being terribly size inclusive. What have you done to try to address that?

Natasha:

yeah. So we actually um didn't do it super well in our launch season. We went up to size 14, which was, I thought, big enough and, um, when you're super small and you're kind of only have so much funds to buy product, that just kind of made sense for us. But I really quickly it was like so it was a mistake to not go up to, um, the bigger sizes. So I think it was like maybe eight months later or something, we were able to place another order with the factory and we went up to size 18 and 22 in some sizes, so in some style.

Natasha:

So we did try to get better at it and it's still like such a learning. I think I worked with Ashley who started Cosmic Dirt. She did a little consulting for us on just how to build inclusive product, because it's not as simple as just being like, okay, add this amount, x, amount of inches everywhere, cause then you could end up with these like crazy parachute pants that are like really big at the ankles and tight at the waist or I don't know. So it is still like definitely a learning and I think it's a super valid call out and I would get you know messages on Instagram from folks that were like I want to try your stuff, but I'm a size 16. And that was like such a bummer, like oh gosh.

Kristen:

So I'm happy we got to make some more oh gosh, so I'm happy we got to make some more. Yeah, you mentioned earlier trying to design clothes that aren't too technical but are still functional. What, in your opinion, makes a pair of mountain bike clothing functional? Like what? What do you, what makes you feel good and what have you tried to include in your designs?

Natasha:

and what have you tried to include in your designs? Yeah, um, I think for mountain biking it's a lot of. Well, I'll kind of start at the top. So one thing I'm like pretty obsessed with is just the comfort like around your waist, because you're kind of bent over and you're like always coming up and down, so your waist circumference is like actually changing quite often. So if you have like a really static waistband, it could just dig in after a long time. And especially if you have like a zipper and a fly and all this extra bulk down there, that can be like pretty uncomfy.

Natasha:

So I am always trying to think about that, to think about that and then always articulated for pedaling, um, just around the knees and even like some of the hip crease and stuff can be like kicked forward a little bit so that it's, um, really meant for that like bent position. And then I think pockets like especially for women that get like these tiny crazy pockets, but having having enough pockets to put your snacks and your phone and things like that is really important. But yeah, I'm trying to think. What else I think I'm trying to always build it quite technical and performance driven and then just some of the like. Design lines and aesthetic can be just a little bit more casual, even if it just means like instead of a really harsh angle, it can be like a little bit of a curve or something that looks a little bit more um, it just like looks a little less technical, but it's not actually impeding on any of the functionality.

Kristen:

That makes sense. It does. Yes, that was actually a very good description, because I have no design background whatsoever and as you talked I could think like oh, those pants, those are how those are. Like that, facing in is very comfortable, the pedaling motion. I don't ever feel restricted. So what does curious creatures mean? It's kind of an unusual name.

Natasha:

Yeah, it is funny and that's actually a good way to talk about your first question when you're like why did you start it? But I think the name is a good way to talk about why I started it because I wanted to really celebrate that curiosity aspect of being on your bike, that you know, seeing new places or being with new people, making new relationships, whether it's traveling on your bike and a little bit moving it away from maybe some of the more like race focused stuff out there. And then the creatures part is just that feeling of when you're back, when you're out on your bike, you're out in nature and you can kind of return back to being a creature in nature, um, and I think when we connect to, yeah, that like creature part of us, we can respect and appreciate the nature we're around and hopefully work to protect it and um, things like that.

Kristen:

But yeah, I love that. Yeah, you are a background with mountain biking. How did you get started?

Natasha:

Yeah, um, let me think. So I was actually a ski racer, a competitive ski racer, and I did that for a long time and then even, um, professionally over in Europe and stuff. But I I mean like all ski racers would just like constantly have knee surgeries. So I think I had like a couple years in a row where I would just get a knee surgery every spring. They'd go in and like fix my ACL or like clean things up, and biking was, um, the best rehab and it was like just so good for us.

Natasha:

And there would always be like a couple of us that were hurt, but instead of like getting back to running or skiing right away, biking was one of the first things that we could do, and so I always liked it for that reason. And then I worked on it a little bit at Patagonia, actually, when they launched their mountain bike line, which was probably like 10 years ago now, and that kind of got me back into it where I was like, oh, maybe I'll actually buy a new mountain bike and it's been fun since then. And then my parents actually live in Eastbrook, vermont. Oh, I've been there.

Kristen:

It's fabulous yeah.

Natasha:

Yeah, yeah, nice. But yeah, it's a good. It's an amazing back to that community aspect of biking, like they've just built so many trails and it's really helped that town and the people that live there and it's been cool to watch.

Kristen:

Yeah, and for people listening who don't know, that's like the kingdom trails that are there. Yeah, how long ago were you there? Oh, it would have been in 2018, I think. So it's been quite a while now. I'm sure it's gotten even better, but, yeah, I had a fabulous time there. I'm from the West. And so that's totally different for me.

Natasha:

Yeah. It's so green and so beautiful yeah, slippery, all these like roots and stuff, yeah you live in bozeman now.

Kristen:

Is that correct? Why did you choose bozeman?

Natasha:

um, I had a couple good friends that lived here and so I'd always visit a couple times a year, um, and yeah, it's just been really nice. Access to the mountains, it has lots of young families and stuff like that. Like it's not super, um, it has all the things, but it's not like a doesn't feel so much like a resort town, like there's lots of um, regular people, all kinds of people that live here. Um, but yeah, it's been great. It was a couple of us actually all moved here at the same time, so we just had good community here and yeah, it's been really nice. I still love skiing too, so that was like a big part of it was just being in winter and now it's like starting to feel like fall again and I really like it.

Kristen:

What? What part of your competitive skiing background have you applied to mountain biking?

Natasha:

Oh my gosh, mom, I'm not that good at mountain biking. Maybe falling Okay, like fall all the time, and sometimes people will be like whoa, and I think it's because I grew up just like falling a lot or like knowing how to fall and stuff, and so you're kind of like, oh, it's like no big deal when. Sometimes I think if you're not used to falling and didn't grow up falling, it can really rattle you yeah, why mountain bike apparel rather than ski apparel?

Natasha:

oh, I know a lot of people ask me this, but I think the answer or I know the answer is I just feel like there's so much good ski stuff out there and I actually worked on a lot of ski stuff at Patagonia and I do feel, like everyone, there's a lot of people making really good stuff and and there are people making really good mountain bike stuff too, but I just felt like my perspective in mountain biking was maybe a little bit, um, not already out there. Okay, that makes sense, it does, yeah in bozeman.

Kristen:

What are your favorite trails?

Natasha:

yeah, we have like we're lucky we're at the bottom of highlight, which is the big national forest, and um, there's like a really quick after work loop called leverage. That's very popular, but it's nice because we can ride from our house. But we do like going to Big Sky and riding there. There's lots of good trails and then Bang tail is also a great one, kind of like a longer day. But I haven't done that since I had my daughter and I need to go do it. So that's on the list. I'm like, oh, it's been a long time. How old is your daughter? She is 10 months.

Kristen:

Okay, so obviously very busy right now.

Natasha:

Yeah, how like I mean.

Kristen:

I'm sure, like many women listening right now have time constraints, mom's jobs. How do you find time to balance it all and still get out on your bike or get out on your skis as well?

Natasha:

Oh my gosh, I don't know, I don't know I do. I feel like I'm just coming up for air with some of that stuff now, like, um, I think when she was first born it was hard to get out and we would ski and take turns and stuff like ski in the resort. But I love backcountry skiing now and that's been kind of hard to get back to. But, um, yeah, I feel like the past couple of months I'm finally in the zone where I'm like, okay, I do have time to go out on my bike and, um, I'm not good at it, so I'm not going to say, but I have heard some great advice from friends that are um more about just like saying no to certain things and just saying no to a little bit more. And especially if you're people like us that really value our active time and like being outside, you know that's really high on the priority list and to not feel bad about it.

Natasha:

I listened to a good podcast on hidden brain about time and I really enjoyed it because she was kind of saying like, write out, write everything down that you do for a week and kind of rate it Like how happy does it make you, how does it make you and then if you look at some of that stuff, yeah then you don't have to feel bad. If you're like, okay, I spent two hours riding my bike but it was like a nine. Or I got coffee with my friend and it was a nine, um versus. Then you know to like kind of protect those things in your time management, if that makes sense it absolutely does.

Kristen:

I think I do that similar thing, but maybe not as formal yeah, yeah, but no, it's super hard and I'm not.

Natasha:

I'm she's my first kid, so I'm very new to it all. Yeah, it does get easier.

Kristen:

You're in the hardest part right now, for sure. Yeah, do you have kids? I do. I have a. He just turned 12 this last week, so yeah, and so now he's loves mountain biking and it's skiing and he's like very easy to get out with.

Natasha:

So, oh, awesome, like all the hard work you do when they're young pays off yeah, well, I should ask you, you should give me the advice, oh, oh, I don't know, I still struggle with the time management part, but yeah, but it does get easier.

Kristen:

Um, what have I not asked you that you would like people to know?

Natasha:

Oh gosh, I can't really think of anything.

Natasha:

Um, I mean just a little bit about our team is really small, like um, and I would like to just say like thank you to Anna, who's really kind of my first employee, and she just started a couple hours here and there and now she's like going to all these mountain bike events and doing such a good job and, um, yeah, I think like some we're kind of at this weird point where it looks maybe it like looks bigger than it is, but it's really just me and her and then like a couple of contractors that will, that are friends, that help for projects here and there.

Natasha:

But yeah, I just feel like that's something that I didn't really expect in starting a business. Feel like that's something that I didn't really expect in starting a business. Like I was so excited to make products the way I wanted to, and what's been really nice and really rewarding is like meeting all these different people to work with and how great they've all been and how supportive, even just like the Bozeman community has been, and that's been just like a really nice um bonus yeah, I love that.

Kristen:

Where do you know yet what events you'll be at in the coming year?

Natasha:

um, I don't know, we just finished um Rome Fest and Brit Fest, which were so fun, and Anna got to go to the south, which was like pretty cool because we haven't really had a presence there at all, yeah, and then it kind of like slows down a little bit over the winter. So, if you have any recommendations because I do love going to the event, it's really fun because you know, it's just like I said, such a small team and we're working down here in our basement and going to the events when people can try stuff on and be like, oh wow, like I really like these or I can never find shorts that fit me, and that's been super nice and rewarding.

Kristen:

I have three final questions for you, but before that, where can people come learn more about your brand?

Natasha:

Yeah, so our website is wearecuriouscreaturescom and check out our product there. We have an Instagram that's also wearecuriouscreatures. We're not in any wholesale accounts yet, so buying stuff online is still the only way, but we do have free shipping and returns if you need to find your right size and stuff like that.

Kristen:

Very good. Final three questions. The first one is what bike or bikes do you ride?

Natasha:

Oh, I have a Santa Cruz 5010 and it's actually pretty old. Like somebody was making fun of me the other day and I was like oh no, but I love it. I'm just like so comfortable on it I almost I don't want to upgrade. I have to like relearn, but yeah, yeah, great.

Kristen:

It's also that sustainability piece right. You've got to ride your bike for a while, yeah.

Natasha:

And I do have a gravel bike too, actually. And what's that? That's a specialized crux, okay.

Kristen:

Second question is where is your favorite place? You've ever ridden your mountain bike.

Natasha:

I think we went to Oaxaca and did some bikepacking there and I had a really good time because I think bikepacking like especially the little loop we did it was a good combo of like grinding it out on the uphill and then fun downhill. That was actual like real single track, and so it had like a little bit of that adventure part, but then some actual good riding too and we could like even ditch our bags for a day and rode a lot of the single track. So I think that was a pretty fun trip. And then when you got just rode from town too, which was really cool, and then you finish and you can like go get a margarita, it's the best.

Kristen:

Final question is what is your favorite thing about riding your bike?

Natasha:

Oh, definitely just that feeling of like, feeling like a little kid or a little creature. Um, it's just. It's really different than anything else, and I suppose you get it in skiing a little bit too. But something about bikes it's like that's why they're called those freedom machines or something there's it just like pulls something in your heart. That's a bit of like freedom, exploration and like youthfulness or something I just keep coming back to, that of like that feeling of being a child again.

Kristen:

Love to ask you a favor. If you enjoyed this episode, can you please go ahead and share it? You can do that by sharing it on your Instagram stories or just letting a friend know about it. The more that you help us get the word out, the more women we reach, the better quality of guests we get on the show. So it's a team effort and I really really appreciate you. Until next time, happy writing.