Doing laundry: You throw the dirty clothes in a washing machine. They come out, you put them in the dryer. After that, what needs ironing gets ironed. That's two big machines plugged into the wall and one little one.
UK-based industrial designer Oliver Blackwell, who has "worked on everything from agricultural machines through to luggage," has developed the WashDryIron, a drumless combination washer-dryer that reduces three tasks into one machine. "Dirty clothes go in and come out on a hanger crease free and ready to wear. It is green too, sharing water and electricity."
Unlike most of the appealing product ideas we see on the web these days, this isn't a mere concept; Blackwell claims to have built over 1,000 prototypes and has production lines ready to go in China and New Zealand, pending the resolution of the last few technological hurdles needed to "make the project commercially viable."
Another clever product design by Blackwell, due to launch in the next few months, is his Revolution Ball. The product is designed to replace spoolable extension cord systems while overcoming their largest problems--cords getting yanked out, and the difficult of reeling them in or out once things are plugged in (the added cables begin to spiral and twist).
Blackwell has been nominated a Great Briton by British Airways as part of an innovation challenge they're sponsoring.
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.