Two decades of The Crewing Company!
Our journey began on a houseboat, where Stephanie Hatton (nee Asplin), our Founder & Chairman, set up the first TCC office. From there, we moved to Ealing Broadway and eventually to the iconic Pinewood Studios, where we stayed until early 2013. During this time, some huge films were made there, including James Bond, Harry Potter and Pirates of the Caribbean.
In 2012, just before the London Olympics, we moved to our current offices in Hackney Wick, one of London’s creative hubs. It was also the year that Laura Davis, our current Managing Director, who is currently on maternity leave, started her journey with TCC as a Bookings Assistant.
The Talent, The Clients, The Relationships
We take pride in the fact that some of our freelancers have been with us from the very beginning, helping us to grow and develop, and we feel it’s the best proof of the relationships we’ve built along the way.
Over 20 years, we’ve built lasting relationships with clients who continue to trust us with their productions and creative teams.
“We’ve worked with The Crewing Company for a number of years and have always found them incredibly reliable and easy to work with. They consistently understand what we’re looking for and come back with great freelancers who are a strong fit for our projects. It’s reassuring to know we can rely on them to find the right talent, often at short notice, and we’ve built a really great working relationship with them. Thank you for your help over the years”.
Some of our freelancers have been with us since the very start. We asked a few of them to share what being part of TCC has meant to them:
“I do remember nervously walking into The Crewing Company offices when you were based in Ealing Broadway and meeting Steph there. I guess that was some time in 2007. Steph was very welcoming and put me at ease immediately. My first job with you was for a company called In2Vista on 11th October 2007, and from memory, it was a shoot/edit job for Hays Recruitment, shooting on MiniDV tapes and editing on Final Cut Pro! Thanks to the bookings I have had through TCC, my skills and experience have developed hugely in the last 19 years. I’m now editing with Premiere, with an emphasis on sports rather than recruitment, both for broadcast and online.”
“I have worked on some of my best shoots over the years, commercials with great blue-chip clients, production teams that turned into friends, all with the fantastic support of the TCC team. They feel like family, and I consider myself very lucky to be a part of this great company!”
“It’s been a privilege being with The Crewing Company from the very beginning. It’s got a real family vibe and I think we all need a bit of that. I appreciate that sense of belonging. I’ve seen TCC grow and evolve a lot over the years, but what hasn’t changed is the kindness and the support which I’ve always received as my career has grown too.”
Many of the projects we work on are covered by NDAs, so we can’t always share the work publicly. However, as part of our 20th anniversary celebrations, we’re excited to finally launch our portfolio, giving us the opportunity to showcase some of the talented people, creative projects and productions we’ve been proud to support over the years.
Where We Are Now
Having joined TCC in 2007, Eve has experienced first-hand the many changes of the past 20 years, as well as the values that have remained at the heart of the company.
“There have been so many changes over the past 20 years. Simple things, such as no longer needing to flip through paper CVs in alphabetical folders trying to find the perfect freelancer for a placement, to now searching through our database at the click of a button. There have also been plenty of things that fundamentally haven’t changed. We still take the time to learn about the people we work with, what they enjoy, and their goals and ambitions for the future. Holding a face-to-face meeting and speaking on the phone is still so much more valuable than simply reading a short cover note, CV or references. With the introduction of new software and technology, changing working practices and industry developments, change is inevitable. But the one constant is the care and attention to detail we try to put into every booking we confirm. Whether it’s a one-day shoot, a six-week edit, or a two-month producer placement, we take pride and care in what we do. “
Twenty years has given us a lot to look back on – from a houseboat office and paper CVs to a UK-wide network of creative talent and an industry that continues to evolve at an incredible pace.
But for us, the most important part of the story has always been the people. The freelancers who have trusted us with their careers. The clients who have trusted us with their productions. And the team behind the scenes who make those connections happen every day.
We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve built together over the past two decades, and even more excited about what comes next. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the TCC journey so far.