Vicky Meets… Emma Lock, Owner, Seabreeze Laundry, East Wittering

When did you open Seabreeze?

We opened in October 2020 during Covid. I worked in hospitality for years and I also had a cleaning business, so I decided to extend the cleaning business to laundry.

Who are your clients and what do you offer them?

We really focus on the local community. We do pick-ups and drop-offs to domestic clients and to Air B&Bs, hotels and other commercial clients.

We’re fairly flexible about where we travel to. Ken and his van pick up as far as Lordington Park at the moment.

As well as linen, we do everything from knickers to vicars’ robes.

We are also cobblers, and we offer a dry cleaning service. From repairing your boots to cleaning your wedding dress or dog’s bed, we do it all.

We also offer free advice. For instance, if you have a holiday let you will need linen that will withstand constant laundering. A super-soft high thread count bedding set from a department store will soon look tatty. For commercial laundry you need a heavier, crisper and thicker linen with a thicker weave. 50% polyester and 50% cotton mix with a ‘percale’ finish is best. We’ll gladly advise customers on the right linen for their business and their budget.

What is the art of good laundry?

Don’t over dry things and always use good quality detergent and conditioner. Unless a stain needs particular treatment, we use a really good eco detergent. We try to be as environmentally-minded as possible (we have teamed up with a company called ‘Make it Wild’, which means we off-set our carbon footprint by planting trees) and if someone brings something to be dry cleaned and it can be hand washed, we’ll advise the customer.

Oil is probably the worst stain, but we love a challenge! Bring it to us directly though; if it isn’t treated correctly you can make it worse. We also have fantastic irons and fantastic ironers.

We iron everything by hand, so everything has a really pristine finish.

What other challenges does a small business like yours face?

High overheads, high insurance costs and the cost of living. The last 12 months have been tough. Also, ironing in the summer – it gets SO hot! We finish and go and jump in the sea.

What about the positives?

Our big ‘high’ is our regular customers. We love chatting to people, and to those who have supported us in the last 12 months THANK YOU! The village has grown over the years, but it still has a real community spirit.

What does the future hold?

We would love to upgrade to bigger machines. We’d have to change the whole electricity supply and do some internal work, but we could service more clients then.

What is the most unusual item you have ever cleaned ?

The inside of a motorbike helmet. Worn for years, I had to wet vax it and use lots of steam. It came up beautifully!

For further information: www.seabreeze.co.uk