ADVERTISING FEATURE
SPOTLESSLY CLEAN WITH SARAH LACEY
Offering everything from bespoke cleaning to seamstress services, Lisa de Silva has been to meet Sarah Lacey as she celebrates her 15th anniversary in the family business that’s been running since Victorian times
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he Lacey family have been laundering and cleaning the clothes of Mid-Sussex since the mid-1800s. With 30 years in the business, Sarah is the 4th generation of her family to continue this tradition and has just celebrated the 15th anniversary of her shop in Haywards Heath. It’s a heritage that Sarah is proud of, and the business has an unrivalled reputation for expertise, and excellence. Whether you’re looking for dry cleaning, laundry or clothing alterations, the firm offers a high-quality personal service. Along with regular dry cleaning, the firm specialises in the cleaning of wedding dresses and christening gowns, which Sarah does herself, by hand. This bespoke This bespoke service extends to service extends vintage and high-end to vintage and and to reflect this, we’ve designer clothing, which really expanded our many dry cleaners high-end designer haberdashery range. We will not undertake. Yet clothing also have a good range of Sarah’s experience and dyes and anti-moth products, expertise mean that people so people can prolong the life of can trust her with their most their clothes, fabrics, and carpets.” precious garments knowing they are Over the past 150 years, the business in the very best of hands. has continually adapted to reflect the Another speciality is the laundering of bedding, including duvets and pillows, times. This ability to evolve has been and clothing. Not only will everything essential during the past two years of the come back freshly washed and pressed Covid-19 pandemic. but any missing shirt buttons will also “As an essential services provider, be replaced. In fact, alterations are we were allowed to stay open,” another service offered by Sarah told me. “Some of our Sarah and her team. customers rely on us for “I love sewing their laundry, so it was and do most of the good to be able to alterations myself,” keep them going confided Sarah. with clean sheets “I’ve also noticed and bedding. a real ‘Make Locals also do and Mend,’ appreciated our trend recently ever-changing
window displays of vintage clothing during lockdown periods.” Sarah also kept herself busy making face masks, sales of which raised an impressive £3,000 for St Peter & St James Hospice. The business is also responding to environmental concerns: plastic bags have been replaced by paper bags; garments are wrapped in biodegradable plastic; foam shirt protectors have been replaced by cardboard ones; hangers are recycled; solvent emissions are regularly monitored to comply with current legislation and the machine dosages are automatically controlled by computers to avoid overdosing. A skilled and passionate seamstress, Sarah also enjoys making Victorian clothing from original sewing patterns. As part of a Victorian re-enactment group, she not only gets to make the most incredible outfits, she also gets to enjoy wearing them. l Sarah Lacey Dry Cleaning 1 College Road, Haywards Heath RH16 1QN 01444 416644 enquiries@sarahlacey-drycleaning.co.uk www.sarahlacey-drycleaning.co.uk June 2022 | SUSSEX LIVING 137
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