Celsious, the Concept Laundromat

June 01, 2020

Wash, dry, fold. A rather mundane routine we’ve all become accustomed to doing once every two weeks or so. And for most New Yorkers, it’s a task done offsite that no one looks forward to—at what seems to be a very ubiquitous type of business or establishment. However, one laundromat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn has worked to eradicate this monotonous chore and provide a new experience for the modern launderer.

Corinna + Theresa Williams of Celsious, the archetype for contemporary laundry, describe the laundromat as a ‘premium sustainable garment care provider’ which targets the organic infatuated and thrifty millennial who is immersed in a simple lifestyle and aesthetic—as well as a demographic who cares about a “clean and green” approach by utilizing energy sources efficiently. This concept laundromat is the first of its kind in the borough and in NYC. Located on North 7th Street, just a few blocks west of Bedford Ave, it is immediately recognized by its minimal yet bold square logo.

Interview by Tiffany Harrison
Lead image by Atelier Dore
Interior images by Pedro Beraldo
All other images courtesy of Celsious

Possessing natural light, high ceilings, and a spacious spa-like atmosphere, the ambience of the laundromat’s interior also complements its soft, neutral-hued visual branding which consists of buttery yellows, creamy oranges, and warm taupes. In the pre-pandemic age, you’d be waiting for those organic cotton basics to prepare for the rinse cycle while Celsious occupied you with plenty of ways to keep busy. You could grab an organic coffee and nibble on some appetizing (and equally clean) locally sourced baked goods, or cool out in the mezzanine lounge area which also provided a quiet environment to get studying done. Times have radically changed since then, and Celsious now turns to its website and social media platforms to provide more engagement with customers.

The Celsious website, formerly welcoming visitors with oddly satisfying visuals of linens swaying delicately across the screen, has upgraded to a platform that provides more products, content, and information that coincide with the current times. The site’s focus is on e-commerce—offering assorted products from their in-house line that feature 100% biodegradable materials that do not contain any corrosive or acidic elements. Inclusive to this assortment is laundry soap crafted from environmentally friendly ingredients like baking soda, washing soda, and vegetable soap. Sweater pill remover, microfiber laundry balls, and fabric softener can also be purchased from the website. Celsious is immensely dedicated to tidiness, cleanliness, and good sanitation practices, although the laundromat was engaged in these practices long before it became mandatory to be.

Laundry is also considered essential during these uncertain times and in coordination with the strict guidelines of social distancing, Celsious has chosen not to be open to the public and self-service isn’t currently available. However, the laundromat does offer two drop-off services that include Wash-Dry-Fold and Wash-Dry-Bag. Celsious also caters to essential workers such as medical professionals and those with weaker immune systems for special accommodations as well as priority booking for drop-off services.

What are your career backgrounds and how did they influence and inspire the conceptualization of Celsious?

Theresa studied Product Design at Central St. Martin’s in London and worked as an eyewear designer before moving to NYC to help me bring Celsious to life. I pursued a career in journalism and worked as a fashion editor at Elle Germany, followed by a move to NYC to be Editor-at-Large for Harper’s Bazaar Germany. Living in New York for the first time, I was surprised at how unpleasant the laundromat experience was. The places in my neighborhood were dark, had a musty smell, no AC, and hardly any seating. I was also disappointed that my clothes would not come out of the wash very clean. In a city with top-of-the-line amenities, I couldn’t believe that nobody had thought to improve the laundromat experience. So I decided to create it!

What are some challenges that you’ve had to overcome during the early stages of this start-up?

Permitting and licensing was a huge undertaking—there is so much bureaucracy and runaround involved when starting a business in New York. The buildout was also incredibly challenging. Instead of choosing a previous laundromat location to renovate, we went with a location with high ceilings to allow for tall storefronts and lots of natural light. It ended up being a complete gut renovation and was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do.

Are you looking at future expansion of Celsious? When and where?

We would love to see Celsious in all boroughs of NYC! Living in New York is such a unique experience; it’s not easy, but at the same time there’s so much about it that is charming and unlike any other place in the world. Laundromat life should definitely move over to the enjoyable and convenient side. We had started to look at new locations but due to the current COVID-19 situation, we’ve had to put that on the backburner.

Do you have competition as a concept laundromat or is Celsious more of a monopoly?

We’re not the first ones to open a concept laundromat—there are a handful of successful examples, in different forms, around the world. Some of our favorites include our friends at Spin Laundry Lounge and Laundré in SF. In NYC, we haven’t seen anybody offer a space or experience that is as welcoming, beautiful and relaxing as ours (yet!).

How was the overall execution relating to logistics and sourcing materials for the laundromat?

We sourced most of our building materials second-hand because eco-consciousness runs through every aspect of the business. Theresa loves scouring Craigslist for deals; she was able to find some beautiful marble scraps there. We found much of what we needed from The Big Reuse, which is a non-profit that has a massive amount of donated building materials, furniture, and industrial equipment. Our bright yellow bench that everyone loves was from a sample sale. And we saved and repurposed materials while renovating the space: for example, the wall behind the plant accent above the dryers was actually the floor we had torn out. The materials we collected then dictated the design. Theresa actually found the challenge of designing within these constraints exciting.

What enticed you to take on this business venture despite having degrees, credentials, and experience in more creative professions?

Even though we had very different career paths, we always dreamed of eventually doing something for ourselves – together. Initially, Theresa was only going to advise on the design, but Corinna managed to rope her in to stay and see the whole thing through. After Theresa moved to New York, our parents came to help out for 2-3 months, but that also quickly evolved into bigger roles. It’s now a full-blown family affair! We all decided to take on this venture because we truly believe that there is a need for a more pleasant laundromat experience, as well as more education on eco-friendly garment care. If you see a need for something in the world, you have to build it! It’s the only way to move forward.

How has your business adapted to the economical and logistical changes as well as health regulations that the world is currently facing?

We’ve suspended self-service for as long as social distancing guidelines are still in place. We've been working hard to create a new workflow and careful in-store processes. We store unlaundered loads in sealed bags on a different floor than our clean loads. We vigilantly disinfect surfaces and knobs, and we sanitize carts and machines in between washes. Our team is always covered and protected (masks, gloves and coveralls), with additional gear for processing days (goggles and respirators).

Culture

The Club Is Coming to the Stage

We enter and make our way to what is approximately front left of the DJ booth, where we’re accustomed to dancing at clubs in New York. “So is this a techno club or a dance performance?” yells an uncertain participant in my boyfriend’s ear. He laughs, bouncing along to Ben UFO, and yells back, “It’s both!” The club has long been a hot topic in European contemporary dance but it is only now making its way into New York performance venues, largely through transatlantic tours. R.O.S.E. follows recent examples like Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1 (May 2024), (LA)HORDE’s Room with a View at NYU Skirball (October 2023), and Gisèle Vienne’s Crowd at BAM (October 2022).

Do these performances compromise the club’s spirit — a space idealized for its anonymity, dark lighting, and thundering music? The notion of the club as a utopian escape is admittedly just that — an ideal — because of how its intense conditions can create barriers to entry. Still, the club remains sacred for many, a place to forge connections and embrace an alternative state of being. Looking at how performances transfer this spirit to new settings reveals what aspects of the club are essential and those that aren’t.

Sharon Eyal, R.O.S.E. 2024. Photography by Stephanie Berger, courtesy of Park Avenue Armory.

Eyal’s dancers make their entrance. The lighting shifts from roving blue to yellow spotlights as Ben UFO’s tracks transition to more melodic beats. Clad in deconstructed lace Dior lingerie with dark red tears painted on their faces, the dancers move cautiously in a tightly maintained pack, slicing paths through the horde with hoof-like steps and jerky leg extensions. After around ten minutes of this controlled choreography, the dancers vanish as the lighting shifts back to blue and Ben UFO picks up his dubby beats. The club, as we knew it, resumes. This cycle of tightly executed movements and free-flowing club-goers repeats several times, each time emboldening the dancers to plunge further into the crowd.

Clubbing in a building once built for the U.S. Army National Guard on Manhattan’s Upper East Side turns out to be surprisingly successful — at least for the audience. What starts as an awkward, scattered group searching for their non existent seats gradually gels into an engaged, bouncing crowd that erupts in cheers each time the dancers enter and exit. Performance patrons who might never step foot in a club find themselves swept up in its potential for communion, moving in unison with fellow ticket holders. But it isn’t until the very end of R.O.S.E. that the dancers finally break free from Eyal’s choreography and join the fired-up audience in a brief moment of improvisatory movement with the music. By keeping her dancers at arm’s length, Eyal seems more interested in the club as a backdrop for her signature movement style than wholly as a space with meaningful stories to be told.

Michele Rizzo, HIGHER xtn. 2024. Photography by Cameron Kelly courtesy of MoMA PS1.

Back in May, I attended Wire Festival, a multiday electronic music event at Knockdown Center that had no shortage of organically united dancefloors. It attracted a crowd of seasoned ravers who were eager to celebrate the start of spring as they danced alongside DJs who played well into the daylight. I left Wire in an afternoon daze to see Michele Rizzo’s HIGHER xtn. at MoMA PS1. My sleepless euphoria only deepened as the performance unfolded, starting with a lone dancer who looked plucked out of the festival.

The dancer, dressed in sneakers, baggy jeans, and a tight tank top, shuffled slowly into the gallery, perfectly in sync with the looping bars of an understated electronic melody. Soon, other dancers, clad in the same staple rave uniform, joined him — each having traveled from Europe for the U.S. museum debut of HIGHER xtn., which premiered at the Stedelijk in Amsterdam in 2018 and quickly became a fixture at kunsthalles and festivals across the continent. As the score’s tempo climbed, the choreography locked into a 16-count sequence, which the dancers executed with precise synchrony. They remained intensely focused, never making eye contact with each other, as they sought release in the endless repetition of synthesized beats. Once the dancers reached their limit, they stopped the sequence and exited the gallery, one by one.

HIGHER xtn. used the focused daylight of the gallery to highlight the meditative release found in the repetitive movements that dominate dark dancefloors. The performance’s restraint brought more consistency and intentionality than Eyal’s all-encompassing club construction in R.O.S.E. Yet both performances offer enticing entry points into club culture for those who may not frequent raves. Rizzo’s ecstatic, hypnotic repetitions reveal how the club can mirror other meditative practices, while Eyal’s interpolation of performance and clubbing helped hesitant audience members blossom by the end. Still, both works overlook one of the most underappreciated aspects of clubbing — its potential for individual expression. HIGHER xtn.’s pristine uniformity especially risks promoting the outdated techno trope that there’s a “right” way to dance to electronic music.

Maybe this shortcoming is, in fact, a benefit. For habitual ravers jaded by one too many sunrise sets, it’s a reminder to return to the club with more intention. If you pause and peer through the darkness, you’ll see hundreds of people moving to the same beat, each with their own subtle variations. This collective choreography is a ready-made spectacle that doesn’t need validation in a theater or museum. And when the music shifts slightly, you can watch the ripple effect sweep through the crowd while feeling the new beat in your body. Maybe this small bit of magic is best left on the dance floor.

Culture

Real Slick, Jack: Psyche Organic Arrives in New York

Shop Psyche Organic at Happier Grocery and Dimes. Coming soon to @citarellagourmetmarket @unionmarket @gourmetgarage @deciccos @fairwaymarket plus many more.

Culture

Porsche SCOPES Brings Art, Music, and Design to Toronto

The festival was a full immersion into Toronto’s dynamic creative energy. Day one set the tone with DJ collective Living Room, followed by an experimental performance by Claire Rousay that captivated the crowd. Jewelry designer Steff Eleoff unveiled her Porsche Taycan 4S art car installation—a bold fusion of automotive and wearable art inspired by her Sedona ring—while OVO Sound’s Naomi Sharon and DVSN wrapped up the night with powerful, genre-defying performances.

We witnessed SCOPES Toronto bridging underground and mainstream with day two’s lineup. DJ Korea Town Acid’s set paved the way for Angelphroot and Dameer’s debut of BASSMATI, a track blending South Asian influences with bass-driven sounds. Chippy Nonstop’s return to Toronto and Richie Hawtin’s extended set were milestones of the evening, proving that the city’s underground scene has a global resonance.

The final day featured standout performances from local pianist Harrison, Indigenous artist Tia Wood, and hip-hop visionary Sean Leon, who elevated his set with a live choir. Moonshine Collective’s film and musical performance explored themes of African utopia, showcasing art’s power to bridge culture and technology. Rising Toronto star SadBoi, who paused her tour to perform at SCOPES, further underscored the festival’s commitment to nurturing local talent.

Throughout the weekend, we experienced installations from artists like Mitsu Mitsu and culinary creations from Bar Mordecai, capturing the multifaceted creativity Porsche SCOPES brought to Toronto. This milestone 10th edition, open to all, allowed Toronto’s vibrant arts scene to thrive, underscoring SCOPES’ mission to celebrate local talent while connecting it to a global audience.

office had the chance to connect with rising star SadBoi ahead of the event. In our conversation, she shared insights into her creative journey and reflected on what performing and growing up in Toronto means to her and her work.

How are you, and where are you at right now? You told me you were traveling.

Um, I’m good, I’m feeling really good right now. I’m traveling back to Salt Lake City. I had a show yesterday in Seattle. I’m on tour right now with Coco and Claire.

How is touring life treating you? Do you like it?

I love being on the road. To be honest, I feel like I don’t know—like I’ve had good experiences and bad ones—but this time it’s really fun, especially with the people I’m surrounded by. It’s also the longest tour I’ve been on; I have about four more weeks to go. I’m trying not to think about how many days I have left.

Do you feel homesick?

Yes, because when I start thinking about how many days are left, I start to miss my dogs. I’ve just been trying to stay in the moment—I don’t even know what day of the week it is, to be honest with you.

Oh, sweet! What are your dogs’ names?

Jillian and Winston. I know, they’re crazy names.

You’ll be performing at SCOPES in Toronto, which is where you grew up. Do you feel like the crowd is different when you perform in Toronto compared to other cities?

Yes, I mean, Toronto just feels different because it’s home. Every time I come back to perform, something in my career has changed. The last time I performed in Toronto, people just wanted to have a good time, and I’m excited to perform back home again to see everyone’s reactions. I know it’s going to be different from the last time. It’s exciting to see your own growth. Toronto is a tough crowd, though. If we’re with you, we’re really with you.

So, they’re super picky? You have to gain their respect, or what is it?

I think Toronto people are in their own world, but when something really connects with them, they’ll lose themselves in the moment. But it takes something to bring them out of that. Toronto crowds are tough because even if they like you, they won’t show it outright until they’re really vibing with you.

It’s like a vibe check, right?

Exactly. They’ll enjoy your performance, but it’s hard to explain. When people visit Toronto, they often say, “Oh, you guys are so nice,” and I’m like, “I don’t think we’re that nice, we’re just polite.” Like, you can walk down the street, and no one will say anything, but it’s just our mannerisms.

You mentioned Toronto can have a moody energy, especially at night, and that the underground night scene there really inspires you. Can you talk more about what makes Toronto's nightlife so influential for you?

Absolutely, Toronto has this unique energy that comes alive at night. Similar to New York, there are the popular clubs everyone knows, but you need to find your niche—the people who know where the real parties are. I remember going to raves in high school yards, sneaking in because I wasn’t old enough. Events like Baby, Jerk!, and Yes Yes Y’all were pivotal, exposing me to DJs blending dancehall with EDM—something I hadn’t seen before. Toronto nightlife is moody and intense, but when everyone’s out, it’s like the whole city is alive.