Dim sum, wine, coffee … and your unmentionables? A classy laundrette is winning hearts in Cape Town, writes Brent Meersman.
Ever felt like sitting in a laundry eating dim sum and listening to French music? How could such a concept not be irresistible? Last time I had a dim sum breakfast at I ♥ My Laundry it was accompanied by the pleasant tones of Constance Amiot, Pascal Lejeune and Sandrine Kiberlain. Management has a strict policy to play only French music.
This quirky little establishment also offers dry cleaning, dyeing, alterations and ironing services.
Did I mention that it is a wine shop too? And a coffee bar. And a gallery. Confused?
Somehow it all hangs together as if it is the most natural thing in the world. The brainchild of owners Clayton Howard (currently sporting a conservative version of a Mohican haircut) and business partner Mico Botha, this April it has already been open for one year.
It is something you’d expect to find in lower Manhattan, and perhaps the I ♥ My Laundry logo primes one for that. The inspiration actually came from a place (now defunct) called the Public Library in Soho, New York. The interior is exposed red-brick walls crammed with artworks. A laundry line runs diagonally across the middle with an ever-changing exhibit of things pegged to it. The entire centre of the shop is taken up by a massive 14-seater concrete-slab table; it had to be cast in the shop, the cement piped into a mould from a concrete mixer that idled outside.
The table is crammed with tsatskes de luxe from such design labels as Bowpeep — “handsome things”, Sweet & Soutie — “gift ideas”, Toucheefeelee — “home décor and pamper products”, and even Wagalot organic dog biscuits made by the nongovernmental organisation Work 4 You.
Every Wednesday evening at a free wine tasting and “laundry party”, photographers, designers and artists launch their work in the gallery and shop space. The result is a kaleidoscope of creative delights and as a result the interior is completely redecorated on a four-week cycle. Even more novel, one can lease the art on a monthly basis for one’s own home or office.
To accompany the food there is no shortage of wine, as the laundry is also Cape Town’s only social media wine distributor and wholesaler. They buy in bulk and offer some wines at silly prices, such as R28 for a bottle. The venue can also be hired for parties of up to 60 standing or private sit-down dinners for 14 people. As one would expect, Howard and Botha have a dozen suggestions for themes, including toga parties.
At this laundry, you can easily find yourself three sheets to the wind.
I ♥ My Laundry, 59 Buitengracht Street, Cape Town. Tel 084 660 0777 or 083 602 0291
Via Mail & Guardian
