Wasbar - The Lovely Laundrette
by Startacus Admin
You may remember a few weeks ago we featured a great little story about Your Hero Delivery - a superhero laundry service that became so popular it had to close…
since then we have discovered a very unusual laundrette called Wasbar and as a result are fairly convinced that a secret laundry revolution is underway… here’s why.
It is hard to imagine anywhere less inspiring than the humble laundrette… bland, loud, hot and shamefully boring… not exactly our favourite place to hang out. That’s not a criticism, laundrettes are places wherein functionality must come before optional extras such as attractive decor or pleasant odour, right?
Wrong! Over in the Belgian city of Ghent there is a new laundrette that is aiming to break away from the mundane industry standard, and turn the weekly visit to the laundrette into a fun, social and generally much more pleasant experience - very intriguing...
Located in a former bookshop, Wasbar Ghent is a laundrette, quite unlike any other - there are of course washing machines, but instead of being bored to tears whilst waiting for their laundry to be done, Wasbar’s clientele are treated to a number of more pleasant diversions. Fancy a haircut? Then you can get one from one of the in-house stylists! Fancy a catch-up with mates? Then why not have a spot of lunch or even a drink from the bar?
The proprietors Yuri Vandenbogaerde and Dries Henau (no we didn’t make that up, his name really is Dries) say that they wanted to create a laundrette which would allow people to actually enjoy themselves whilst doing the sinfully laborious task of laundry. Visually, the decor places the theme of washing firmly at the centre of proceedings but adds bright colours, cosy furnishings and quirky touches to fill the place with an atmosphere of fun.
The 18 washing machines or ‘the grand old ladies’ as they are affectionately known continue to take pride of place opposite the ‘grandpas’ (tumble dryers) which have each been given a name thanks to a Facebook crowdsourcing campaign. From the looks of it, Wasbar lies somewhere in between your grandma’s kitchen, a cocktail bar, a coffee shop and a laundrette... needless to say we’ll be winging our way there just as soon as we can gather up a basketful.
To add yet another level of brilliance, all of the furniture and fittings are upcycled from old pieces destined for the scrap heap but have now been given a colourful new lease of life and fab new home!
We love it when people think of exciting and innovative ways to make the world a bit more fun to be in, and Wasbar certainly qualifies as that!
Why not check out of few of these fun and quirky ideas?
My Hero Delivery - Laundry Delivered by your favourite super heroes
Jimmy Beans Wool - A Great Little Yarn
Desk Beers - Our Startup of the Week
Glove Love - A matchmaking service for single gloves
If you like what you see here on Startacus and want to get involved yourself, why not become a member of our growing community by joining for free here! Or... if you prefer, why not get features like this direct to your inbox by signing up to receive our bi-monthly newsletter. Simply enter your email address and we'll be in touch.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Artificial intelligence platform Ricochet is on an AI mission to find new business leads that fit the needs of your company.
From understanding more about how a business can invoice effectively to avoid late payments, to what debt recovery means, to how to take legal action against overdue debt.
The challenges of working with a business partner or another co-founder, as told by 12 of the UK’s top startup co-founders
This February 12th & 13th, global pre-accelerator program Startup Boost, will host a virtual demo day from their 'Fall programs' in Detroit, Dublin, Los Angeles, and New York.
Minute is an app that allows you to watch quality short films, tailored to the time that you have available. We took a look at this early-stage startup with a big vision.
Migrants are gonna surround us, With ideas! We take a look at Startup Weekend Dublin immigration...
Five reasons why every business could consider investing in coaching for their sales team.
The FinTech and PropTech startup which rewards tenants with improved credit for on-time rent payments...
.png)
SportTech Belfast startup Pitchbooking, secures £250k investment to help become the market leader in sports facility management.
From understanding more about supplier and business customer negotiations, to contracts, understanding heads of terms, to what should be included in a terms of contract.
Published on: 18th December 2013
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Startup Weekend Dublin immigration aims to builds ideas not borders 7th Feb 2019 Migrants are gonna surround us, With ideas! We take a look at Startup Weekend Dublin immigration...
- Sports facility management platform Pitchbooking nets £250k investment 6th Feb 2019 SportTech Belfast startup Pitchbooking, secures £250k investment to help become the market leader in sports facility management.
- Too Good To Go raises further €6m to keep fighting food waste everywhere 6th Feb 2019 Fast growing tech for good app Too Good To Go raises a further €6 million to accelerate its mission to eliminate food waste globally, taking its total investment to €16m.
- Google+ for consumers shuts down 2nd April 1st Feb 2019 Goodbye Google+. The end date for Google+ for consumers (personal) has been announced as the 2nd April 2019. So what....now?
