The Laundry Ladies - or the development of the Laundry Ladder by Julu

The creators of the Laundry Ladder otherwise known as Lucie and Julia are both from farming families, families who know each other well, and as girls they went through senior school together. When you are from farming stock you grow up knowing that life on the farm is tough and everyone is expected to muck in, and, needless to say muck out. Getting on with whatever needs doing is part of farming life, regardless of how tough or tedious the task.

But this tough start in life has meant that the Laundry Ladies are never phased by hard work or for that matter the many obstacles and problems that can arise when designing products and creating and launching a business.

The idea behind the Laundry Ladder came about as many great ideas do, a solution to an age old problem, in this case getting the washing dried and aired. Disappointed and uninspired by the looks, design and performance of many airers on the market Lucie felt that a good old-fashioned ceiling type airer would be perfect, however living in a low ceilinged cottage put paid to that idea.

Not one to be beaten Lucie spent many hours at her drawing board working on possible solutions until the idea of a wall mounted airer started to make more and more sense. She had her design made into a useable prototype by a local carpenter, and then as it was admired and commented on by numerous friends and family members the idea of developing the product became too tempting to ignore. At this point Lucie approached lifelong friend Julia to help her bring the idea to life.

Neither of the Laundry Ladies had any previous experience in product design and development but both had the fire and determination to make it work.

After initially securing IP rights for the design they went in search of suitable manufacturers, to start with this seemed a fruitless task but in time they identified a UK based firm of craftsmen to make the Laundry Ladder in English ash and a company in Poland to make the pine version. The brackets, pulleys and cord have all been sourced in the UK.

Put simply the Laundry Ladder is a clever product, with an up to date twist on the old-fashioned pulley operated ceiling airer which many of us will remember from our childhood. For ease of mounting and use the Laundry Ladder is wall mounted rather than being ceiling mounted.

The Laundry Ladies - or the development of the Laundry Ladder by Julu

It still operates on a traditional cord pulley system but is fully adjustable and also fully portable; it can be hung almost anywhere indoors as well as outdoors and can be easily taken down to be stored away.

Being wall mounted means that almost any item of clothing can be pegged or hung out, from underwear right through to dresses, trousers and bedding. Additional sets of mounting hooks make the Laundry Ladder even more flexible, making it simple to move from one room to another or from indoors to outside on a bright or breezy day.

Creating a good looking product was of paramount importance to the Laundry Ladies and already many owners are more than happy to have their Laundry ladder mounted for all to see and not hidden away.

With manufacturing facilities secured and timber sourced from sustainable supplies the Laundry Ladder was officially launched in August 2014. Direct sales continue to grow since the launch and independent retailers and online stores are coming on board and stocking the Laundry Ladder.

As sales continue to climb Lucie and Julia are sourcing and adding to their online shop a range of quality useful items that all help to make wash day a little bit easier.

In the course of product development and building the business the Laundry Ladies continue to strive to build enviable working relationships with various suppliers and where possible will use local businesses or small businesses in their quest to grow Julu.

Dimensions 113x60x12.5 and 113x80x12.5cm. Extra sets of brackets are available.

ENDS:

Note to Editors:

The Laundry Ladder is very simply a stylish wall mounted clothes airer made from both pine and English ash. Many people prefer to air dry their washing; it saves money, is kinder to clothes and is much better for the environment. The design of the Laundry Ladder means that literally any space can be utilised for drying clothes and when not in use the front is simply raised using the pulley system. The Laundry Ladder is strong enough to be retracted even when loaded with clothes.

Versatile and attractive, the Laundry Ladder is available in two sizes in a natural English ash or pine in either natural or white finish. Its traditional design makes it perfect for any kind of home and an extra set of brackets will allow it to be mounted outdoors on breezy or bright days.

Laundry Ladder in pine or natural English ash, available in 2 sizes 113x60x12.5 and 113x80x12.5cm. From £149 to £294 from Juluwww.juluhome.co.uk

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Creators of the Laundry Ladder Julia and Lucie are available for comment and interviews.

For more information or high resolution images please contact Nick Butler at Practical Media Services. 01892 667314nickbutler@practicalmediaservices.com