Miles of Ironing

From the archives of All things Ironing - Miles of Ironing.

I have not been able to verify the original source of this story, having found various web articles claiming authorship but all having identical text. In essence, they were quoting a survey from 2008 which came up with some startling results which I will try to relate to you for the purpose of your entertainment.

photo modified by Osca

According to the survey -

Men iron a whopping 73 miles in their entire lifetime

while

Women iron an impressive 215 miles.

215 miles is roughly equivalent to 8 marathons.
That is a bout 2 whole days of ironing each year.

The poll, of 3500 adults found that 45% of men deliberately do the ironing badly

so their loving wife will take over.

25% of men admitted they still get their mums to do their ironing.

The poll also showed that the average person will iron 20 bits of clothing every week, including four pairs of trousers, 15 tops or shirts and a piece of underwear.

According to the survey, 3pm on a Sunday is the favourite time to do the ironing.

A quarter of the people who took part in the survey described ironing as 'theraputic'.

1 in 5 admitted they used ironing as an excuse to get away from husbands/wives, children etc.

Moreover, half admitted they had ruined clothes due to their lack of skill in ironing.

We say - All the more reason to call Osca and let us take the ironing off your hands.

Osca Ironing Franchise Logo successfuly trade marked

About Osca - Osca logo.

While Osca will continue to trade with the Logo we have all come to know and love, it was suggested as a good idea to trademark a separate Osca Ironing logo for the Osca Ironing Franchises to make sure we had the right trade protection for our future franchisees.

The Osca logo artwork was originally designed by Marjory Gardner, a leading Australian children's book illustrator way back in the 1980's with a subsequent re-visit in 2009.

Marjory Gardner

Current Osca logo

Osca logo evolution

New Osca Ironing Franchise logo

One more step closer to getting the Osca Ironing franchises off and running, we have successfuly applied to trade mark an Osca Ironing logo.

DIY Ironing Chair

From the archives of All things Ironing - Ironing chair.

Hard up for space and nowhere to do your ironing?

Here is a Do It Yourself solution - an inexpensive and practical high-back valet chair that unfolds to become a compact ironing board!

This humble pine ironing chair asks little in the way of space while providing two coat pegs, shoe storage and underside accommodations for cuff links and tie clips. And when the heat's on, the hinged bottom and back can be locked horizontally to take care of any "pressing engagements."

The denim upholstery fabric, backed with cotton underlay is tough enough to serve well in either capacity.

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Iron Lady Ironing

From the archives of All things Ironing - Margaret Thatcher ironing.

Margaret Thatcher, the 'Iron Lady' offered to pay for an ironing board for No 10 after becoming PM, having insisted on using her own household items.

In documents from 1979, kept secret until 2009, the Iron Lady said she could provide her “own crockery” and “an excellent ironing board”.

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Kate and Charles Ironing

From the archives of All things Ironing -  Kate and Charles ironing.

For Kate it was a day out with her father-in-law. For Charles, it was a chance to learn new skills.

"Do I keep ironing that? I am going to be here all afternoon!" Charles joked.

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Tony Abbott Ironing

From the archives of All things Ironing - Tony Abbott ironing

While the political debate over this news story descended into a gender based row, we note the perfect single crease on Tony Abbotts shirt sleeve.

Source - ABC News February 09, 2010

Australian Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott taking a turn at ironing a shirt during a visit to a Queanbeyan Dry Cleaning business.

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Care Labels explained

Osca Newsletter 23.7.2012 - Useful information.

Garment Care labels can sometimes be confusing.

Before you take that next perfect garment home, always check the care label. We all want our new addition to the wardrobe to continue looking as great as the day we bought it for as long as possible, but inevitably, there comes a day when it needs to be washed or dry cleaned and inevitably ironed.

At Osca, we always try to check the labels before we iron your garments so please don't remove the label even if it is a little scratchy on the skin. It is the best way to make sure your garments are ironed to perfection.

Advances in chemistry and nano-technology mean new fabrics are being manufactured all the time. Just because a fabric looks like cotton and feels like cotton to the touch, it may not be.  A wrong temperature washing machine setting or a wrong setting on the iron can ruin a garment in seconds so to ensure your garment is taken care of correctly, always follow the manufacturer's instructions.

Here is a list of the most common garment care labels to help you make the right choice, whether, buying, washing, dry-cleaning or ironing your garments.

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Rid Jid Ironing board

From the archives of All things Ironing - Humor.

It is a better world we live in when this advertising for a Rid Jid Ironing table is so ridiculous that it is almost funny.

The text in the advertisement reads -

You are a Dear, Thoughtful Husband !

"You're always seeking some way to make work lighter and easier. And this Rid-Jid ironing table will help wonderfully. I've wonted one for months. It not only makes my Christmas happy but my ironing will never be a task anymore!"

"And it's so strong, and so convenient. It can't creep or crawl, and never has to be lifted to put on and take off circular garments."

See your dealer early and reserve one for wife, mother, daughter or sister.

Advice to men from Osca - Do Not Try This At Home !

What impact will the Carbon Tax have on our prices ?

Osca Newsletter 23.7.2012 - There will be no increase to our prices as a result of the Carbon Tax.

Carbon Tax Word Cloud

As an Osca customer, you will know that we have identified reducing our carbon footprint as a priority many years ago and have installed energy saving devices, introduced new procedures and even changed the equipment we use to iron your garments with. Instead focusing on achieving quality of ironing with additional training.

When the introduction of the carbon tax became inevitable, we were obviously concerned about the impact it would have on our prices. So we did the calculations.

Assuming that our electricity bill may rise by approximately 10%, we took the increase, divided it by the number of weeks, the number of working days per week and the number of customers per day. Even we were surprised at the result. The total impact of the carbon tax on our power bill would be about 13 cents per customer per booking.  The amount is quite small when we divide that figure by the number of items per customer.

Of course it will probably take a few months to really see, as our suppliers make their determinations, but at this stage we see no need to increase our prices as a result of the introduction of the Carbon Tax.

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... on the chemistry of Ironing

From the archives of All things Ironing - Ironing chemistry.

When a fabric is heated, the molecules of the cotton fibres are more easily reoriented. In the case of cotton fibres, which are derivatives of cellulose, the hydroxyl groups that crosslink the cellulose polymer chains are reformed at high temperatures, and become "locked in place" upon cooling of the fabric.

Cellulose is the major constituent of textiles made from cotton, linen, and other plant fibers.

Ironing works by loosening the bonds between the long-chain polymer molecules in the fibers of the material. While the molecules are hot and pliable, the fibers are straightened by the weight of the iron, and they hold their new shape as they cool. Some fabrics, such as cotton, require the addition of water to loosen the intermolecular bonds.

Many modern fabrics (developed in or after the mid-twentieth century) are advertised as needing little or no ironing because chemical agents such as dimethylol ethylene urea are added as crosslinking agents to keep textile fibres stable.

... on the history of Ironing.

From the archives of All things Ironing - History of ironing.

It isn't exactly clear when people started trying to press cloth, but it is said that the Chinese were using hot metal for ironing before anyone else.

Pans filled with hot coals were pressed over stretched cloth as illustrated in this image. Acording to some records, this method was already well-established in China well over a thousand years ago.

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Signs of our times

From the archives of All thing Ironing - It's a Sign.

Jerusalem, Israel

Electricity before Steam

From the archives of All things Ironing - H.W. Seely.

Before the Steam Iron came the Electric Iron.

Born in Richville, Kentucky, on July 2nd, 1854 Henry W. Seely invented and patented the first electric pressing iron on the 6th of June in the year 1882. The invention was named as the “electric flatiron.”

H.W.Seely

Although it is the only invention Seely patented, he witnessed many of Thomas Edison's inventions, including the light bulb.

Unlike current models, the first irons manufactured, used a carbon arc to create the heat needed by passing a current across carbon arc electrodes.

 

  A carbon arc to create heat. It even looks dangerous.

Can you imagine the WorkCare premiums?

 

  1892

Electrical resistance used to heat the soleplate.

1920's

First irons with a thermostat to regulate the temperature.

1939

E.P.Schreyer patents the iron steam chamber.

 

The credit for the invention of the steam iron however, goes to Thomas Sears in the early 1950's.

Mothers Day gift 2011

About Osca - Osca gifts.

Hot on the heels of Easter comes Mothers Day in 2011.  It has been a tradition at Osca for 25 years to give our customers a small gift for Mothers Day and a week from the first Sunday in May we had no gifts.

Panic...

As it happens, this year Easter and Mothers Day were just over a week apart and it wasn't until we had all the easter eggs packed that we realised we had forgotten all about Mothers Day.

Not that we are always ready on time :) Last year we fixed a similar problem by high tailing it to Chocolate Box and ordering a hundred chocolate hearts. It is getting harder each year to come up with something unique so that we don't repeat our selves and don't exceed our budget by too much.

In desperation we visited our mate Gary and as if he knew we were going to call on him, he had the perfect gifts. Fragrant reed diffusers. Already packed in stylish slender boxes, it was just a matter of tying and curling some nice ribbon and adding a little Osca card. Come Sunday night, a day before we needed to start distributing we were ready with all the gifts wrapped and packed. Close, but done.  Now we hope our customers will like them :)

Wrapping this years Mothers day presents was easy as they already came in stylish little boxes. So just a little ribbon and an "Osca card to say "Thank you for your custom".

It always puts a smile on a customer's face when they spy a little gift in their deliverd basket of ironing,

and this is what the diffuser looks like out of the box.

UFO over Melbourne ?

Thursday night on the evening run, what is that streaking across the sky ?

Looking west from Burke Road railway crossing near the Monash freeway.

Most likely a plane, would that make it an IFO ?

Views on the run

A mixture of fog and afternoon traffic smog with the sun just having set makes for a magical silhouette. This moment was snapped while waiting for the lights to change at the intersection of Canterbury and Burke roads earlier this week. A couple of seconds... and it is time to move on with the rest of the run.

Easter gift 2011

Chocolate Easter eggs. A small gift for all customers who have used our services in the week coming up to Easter. What can I say, It is a tradition and the look on children's faces when they spy Easter eggs in mommy's ironing basket is priceless :)

With a little persuasion, we managed to talk Easter bunny into parting with some Easter chocolates.

 

 

 

 

Each basket contained a small gift.

Easter logo.

February 15, 2011

Osca Newsletter 15.2.2012 - Wish List.

One of the plans for the year ahead is to introduce a shirt only service to Toorak and Kooyong.
Customers will be able to fill in the Osca Shirt Wishlist on-line thanks to this form from Google Documents.

So today, I am testing embeding a link into the blog.

If it works we'll most likely add it to the next web page upgrade.

You are welcome to try it out.
(note - any data collected is for test purposes only and ignore the last untitled question).

What do ironers do on a weekend ?

From the archives of All things Ironing - Humor.

So what do ironers do on the weekend ? Pack up their ironing boards and...

... go surfing of course :)

Ironing board Surfing beginner ? Here are some hints.

Positioning is all important when it comes to surfing. If your feet are not positioned correctly you will fall off or not be able to make decent turns. If you are not in the correct position when paddling for or catching waves then you will find yourself taking a pounding whenever you surf.

If you are not correctly positioned on your ironing board when riding on the wave then you will not be able to keep up the momentum necessary to ride the wave.

Attaining good foot position as soon as you get on the ironing board is desirable so you can get straight into your surfing. You don't want to concentrate on sliding your feet up and down the ironing board when you could be carving it up dude!.

Keep your body slightly crouched to lower your center of gravity. You will find you pobably have your arms out wide to aid with balance which is great. Keep your knees bent at all times, riding a wave can be a bumpy ride. Your body will be turned to the side (which you can see demonstrated in the picture above) and the top half of your body will be turning to face forward.

The origin of this image has not been determined. Found at http://www.stumbleupon.com/ searching for 'ironing'

and the week goes on...

The end of week came by faster than expected. Overall, another good week. All the work got done and delivered on time. No customer complaints.

Sadly, our trainee driver was not successful by the end of the first weeks trial. Although he is a lovely young man with high principals and pleasant manor, an Osca driver requires to have some basic skills, like a Victorian driver's licence. Personally, we were privileged to meet, however personal feelings aside, we are in the business of providing the best posssible service to our customers and ultimately it is the customer's intersts that determine the outcome. Never mind, we'll keep looking.

The workshop crew are still enjoying the new jigsaw puzzle and it is beginning to take shape.

IN PROGRESS -

The new sleeve arms are being made. The sleeve arms are used to iron garments such as 'ladies shirts' enabling ironing a sleeve without a crease. Although we've used various manufactured arms, ultimately the best kind are ones we can make our selves to a customised size and shape design.

step 1 - measure accurately.

step 2 - if measuring accurately fails, draw line by hand

step 3 - once the wood is cut to shape, the ventilation holes are drilled.

"Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert hall."
- A day in the life.

step 4 - the sanding and shaping begins on the bottom side.

step 5 - the top (most important) edges are rounded and smoothed.

step 6 - 'Hey Presto', five new arms ready to be covered with padding.

The Ironer (La Repasseuse)

The Ironer (La Repasseuse) c. 1850

Bronze

Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva

PRADIER, James

(b. 1792, Genève, d. 1852, Rueil)

Pradier was in Italy from 1813 to 1819 and thus missed the upheavals of the fall of Napoleon and the Bourbon Restoration. He returned from his years in Italy an almost unblemished classicist. Yet, after 1830, he infused a new sense of modernity and sensuality in his art. His conversion to realism was sincere and led to him being a pioneer of everyday subjects, such as the Ironer. Significantly, such works are small-scale bronzes. In this semi-private type of sculpture it was possible to experiment with innovations without undermining the values of mainstream monumental sculpture.

Tuesday, and all's well. 

I relayed Sue's comments on the quality of predampening yesterday to Harjit and Ishani this morning.  It is a tricky business knowing just how much moisture a particular fabric might need in order for it to "just right" to iron.  If it is too wet it will need to be dried out and take too long on the table.  If it is too dry it will need further predampening, and again, take too long on the table.  Though Harjit has already been at Osca for over 4 months, getting that "just right" balance takes a bit of training and a lot of practice and understanding of fabric types and how they had been laundered and dried.

Ishani, who has only joined us a few weeks ago is realizing just how much she still has to learn.  So far she has only been learning the correct proccess of ironing the perfect Osca shirt.  This week she he has

Nimali is progressing very well with her English.  She has decided to start a Thesaurus for herself, rather than continuing to rely on translations in her dictionary.

Monday. Everyone is in, a couple of customers were a no pick up this morning, but there is plenty of work in the workshop to keep the crew buzzing.

Nimali had an hour with Eve, practicing her english expression for her upcoming residency application.

Gasbaging with Wats all morning trying to sort out the why's and wherefores of commiting to a daily blog.

Monty is due for a first week trial (again!) at 4:30. Let's hope he's on time.

(arrived at 3:00!) Go Monty If it isn't 15 minutes late it is an hour and a half early. Job ready?)

The new jigsaw is coming along.