Staying Lucid in the laundry (open to suggestions on this)

Doing the Laundry on a Saturday afternoon, as Claire Tomley discovers, has never been so enjoyable where fashion, art and fish fuse together at Brisbane's Lucid Laundry.

On the corner of Brunswick and McLachlan Streets in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley stands the Sun building. Formerly the Sun Newspapers building, this is one of several urban renewal projects that have witnessed a blending of the "old" and "new" in Fortitude Valley and surrounding areas. In 1991, with the support of the Commonwealth and Queensland Governments, Brisbane City Council established the Urban Renewal Task Force, now known as Urban Renewal Brisbane, and since this time the revitalisation of these urban areas and the need to encourage neighbourhoods of diversity and creativity has been recognised.
For local Brisbane designers and Lucid Laundry owners Bianca, and brother Tristan Dynes, the opportunity to take residency in the basement of the Sun building arose from a friend.
"We used to wholesale for five years before we opened the shop around Australia and New Zealand and our intention was always to open our own Lucid shop . . . We were looking around here and there were no shops available and then this came up through a friend," explains Bianca.
However, since opening the store four years ago the Dynes' focus has shifted to stocking other labels. "It was always going to be Lucid, as well as other labels, but because we were in here all the time we didn't really have time to concentrate on our own label . . . but we will get back to designing," says Bianca Dynes.
Located on Brunswick Street's bustling shopping strip, the store is perfectly positioned to capture Lucid Laundry's growing customer base and as Bianca Dynes contends, shopping strips provide a "better atmosphere".
With a target market ranging from 15 to 50-year-olds, including both men and women, Lucid Laundry offers a vast range of labels to a wide variety of shoppers. Furthermore, the capacity of the store's large floor space also warrants the ability to carry a large and broad range of stock, as Bianca Dynes explains. "We have young school kids to older ladies and we've got different products that suit, because we've got the space we can widely cater . . . it's definitely not one type of person."
Stocking local, national and international labels, core clothing labels include Rare, Buddhist Punk, Lenny, Flux, Punk Royal, Worn By, Vintage Vantage, Nookie, Platform, Tightknickers, Hemisphere and T-Box. Lucid Laundry also stocks a range of accessories including Diptyque, Lomo cameras, Mimco, SamBag, Loaded boots, AM eyewear and Ray-Ban as well as swimwear labels Jets, Rosa Cha, Flamingo Sands and Hallican Boodie.
With buying decisions based primarily upon the wearability of garments and the Queensland climate, together with quality and uniqueness and Lucid Laundry's customers, the store caters for all types of clientele with well priced basics through to high end expensive labels. While current trends are considered, the Dynes' prefer to stock one off pieces and new labels to retain a sense of exclusivity and individualism.
Describing their target market as non-stereotyLucid Laundry also promotes local artists, displaying and selling various pieces which are hung on the store's walls from the local Vernon Dath Galleries. Bianca Dynes explains: "It has only been here for a little while, so we are just starting to sell it now, but it suits the shop."
With artworks featuring strong, bold colours and designs they add to the store's character which is somewhat suggestive of the late 1950s, and 1960s Pop Art movement. Visual merchandising is key aspect of Dynes' business with branding encompassing a consistent quirky, strong, colourful, yet simple style. With a large open space at their disposal the Dynes' have created an almost gallery-like store, where the clothes are presented like works of art. Bianca Dynes says "it is such a big open space and we've filled every corner in a different way."
Clothes take the focal point, showcased on "old skool" style mannequins and butchers hooks which are hung from the ceiling, as well as a cable racking system. Utilising the character and features of the building, the clothes and canvases are displayed against the simplicity of white walls creating a feeling of spaciousness and light. The structural design of the basement has also proven an advantage, with the layout featuring several levels and recesses which contribute to store's overall personality. Lucid Laundry also features a sunken fish pond. Bianca Dynes reveals "basically it was a big open space and we couldn't really do anything else with it so we put the walls up on each side and we always wanted a fish pond in here."
The store's atmosphere and character is also enhanced by the Dynes' choice of music, "Tristan and I both love 'old skool' classics like the Stones and Rod Stewart as well as the new music...we have a very eclectic mix of music in here," says Bianca.
With five staff members a strong emphasis is placed upon customer service, ensuring friendly and helpful assistance for shoppers, yet in a relaxed manner. Staff members are also offered a hands-on approach in Lucid Laundry's business activities with involvement in buying, merchandising and photo shoots.
Marketing techniques employed to promote Lucid Laundry include a customer database and e-mail, together with editorial opportunities. At present Lucid Laundry does not engage in any paid for advertising, however, they are currently planning a promotional campaign for summer, which Bianca Dynes says "will be great."
Lucid Laundry offers the unsuspecting passer by a truly unique retail experience, where "old (skool)" becomes new within a little piece of Brisbane's history.

BOXOUT
Store: Lucid Laundry
Location: 367 Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley, Queensland.
Owners: Bianca and Tristan Dynes
Customers: Men and Women aged 15 to 50
Labels Stocked: Rare, Buddhist Punk, Punk Royal, Custo Barcelona, We, Adidas,
T-Box, Worn By, Vintage Vantage, Yo Japan Anzevino & Florence, Saviour, Joveeba, Tightknickers, Lenny, Platform, Zanerobe, Flux, Valerija, Nookie, Phoenix Anahar and Hemisphere. Rosa Cha, Flamingo Sands, Hallican Boodie and Jets swimwear. Accessories by Diptyque, Lomo Cameras, Mimco and Sambag, Loaded boots, AM eyewear and Ray-Ban
What's Selling: Rare, Lenny, Worn By, Flux, Mimco bags and Lomo cameras.