Angels – the Costumiers
London

“We often find ourselves working to very tight deadlines with large numbers of costumes needing to go out at the same time to a large production. These are the times that we absolutely depend on our Propress steamers! When all the costumes are gathered together and checked prior to despatch, problems in terms of creases or crushes are quickly and effectively rectified with a Propress Steamer.
The steamer is marvellous at refreshing fabrics that are nigh impossible to iron, whether velvets or heavily decorated surfaces, polyester and other man made fibres or delicate silks. It is the speed with which we can prepare costumes that appeals but also that the steamer generally freshens the garments in a way that dry cleaning, sometimes, cannot. We could not do the same job with an iron, in terms of either speed or effectiveness.
We have used Propress Steamers for over 15 years and can testify to their durability and reliability. If they do need a service, Propress is able to repair and return them to us within a couple of days, which is much appreciated if we have several hundred Santa Clauses to turn around just before Christmas!

Ben Stanton
Manager

A Stitch in Time
Dublin

Just a note to say how pleased I am with the results from the Propress we bought at the Birmingham show last January.

Prior to using it, we sent out finished embroidery to customers with the framing ringmarks very visible on the garments, particularly on dark items (t-shirts, polos etc). We would advise the customer to iron them prior to wearing them, but this was not practical in many instances.

Now that we have the Propress our customers are delighted with the finished product. From our perspective, the greatly improved Customer Service comes at nominal extra time and cost. The garments now leave us “ready to wear”.

It’s the best piece of equipment I’ve purchased in the 3 years since I took over this business!”

David Nolan
Director

Bath Theatrical Costume Hire
Bath

“We bought our first Propress in 1994. It is certainly not the
most glamorous piece of equipment we use, but it is key to
our ability to offer the level of service we do. I would not wish
to be without it”

“The financial outlay has proved a sound investment, which I would recommend to others to consider.”

Dinah J Auton
Director

BCC
United Kingdom

“As distributors of environmentally friendly clothing made exclusively from natural fibres we know from regular contact
with our shops that your machines are used regularly, often on
a daily basis.

We also hear excellent reports from them about your high standard of after-care service. One shop which bought a machine from you four years ago recently had to replace a part and was delighted how quickly you were able to help.

We will continue to recommend Propress to all of our Earth Collection ® shops throughout the UK and hope you will continue to maintain your high standards!”

Jonathan Wilson

Bennetts Traditional Marquees
Bournemouth

“I bought a steamer from Propress about 15 years ago. I cannot remember who told me about it or where I saw one working. Whatever the source, I am very glad I did.”

“It is one of my oldest bits of working equipment, simple and very effective to use”

“Trevera lining inevitably looks creased when just unbagged, especially at the start of a season. It does not matter that the creases will fall out in a week if the event is tomorrow. Equally inevitable is that the best customers, who take the most expensive options are also the most particular and want the lining to look just ironed – right now! There is no other tool that will remove creases from hung up Trevera lining as well as a Propress.”

Andy Bennett
Proprietor

Bethany Christian Trust
Edinburgh

“BCT has used Propress Steamers for a number of years in our standard charity shops to remove creases and generally freshen donated clothes for sale.

Recently it was decided to get a Propress Steamer for our furniture shop as well. Any cloth covered suite and sofas that come in will now be steamed. It does not take long to steam each item and it seems well worth the effort.

• Steaming removes obvious creases and marks in the fabric – especially from something else that has been stacked on top.
• When cushions that are crushed from being crammed into a bag or box have been steamed they look as if the covers have been taken off and ironed
• Steaming removes most musty smells and gives a lift to the fabric, so the upholsters appears more appealing
• We display curtains hanging up, so customers can easily see the whole curtain, check its size and any damage. Hanging up is also the quickest and simplest way to steam the creases out of both sides.
• Foam cushions often come in almost squashed flat at the front. Steaming releases the foam from sticking to itself, so it springs back to its full size and the covers look the right size again.

Yours sincerely

Ian MacDonald
Manager

The Bethany Shop

Andrea Billingsley
Tauranga, NZ

“After leaving Bridal wear in 1988, I decided to start my own business making soft furnishings. In September 1990, I purchased my steamer for £330 after a home demonstration by a Propress Agent.

I always fitted my own drapes, pelmets and blinds. When I arrived at the job and carried in my “little steam machine” my customers were always very impressed and I am sure they felt very valued, knowing that they were going to get a really professional finish.

I could almost hear the refrain “she even steams them you know” when they passed on their recommendations to their friends and relatives. I believe having the ability to steam the drapes definitely gave me the edge over my competitors.

Word soon got around, my competitors were asking to borrow my steamer for particularly stubborn jobs. I was more than happy to hire it out for £10 an hour or £50 per day.

I have never had to have it serviced, and it has never let me down. I can honestly say that in a world that delivers many disappointments, I have never once regretted purchasing my “little steam machine”.”

Yours with regards

Andrea Billingsley,
Soft Furnishing Consultant

Cats Protection
Haywards Heath

“We rely on volunteers to prepare the clothes for sale and on the one occasion we didn’t have use of our steamer, the volunteers were not pleased to have to use an iron! This lead to us not being able to prepare enough to put out each day and disappointing our regular customers. We must have lost up to £30 a day due to this.

Steaming is not only the most efficient and timely way of improving the presentation of clothing which is donated crumpled and creased, but also the finish it gives confirms the view the articles are of good quality and therefore can be priced realistically.

A Evans

Churchill - Curtain Cleaning Services
London

“Churchill Curtain Cleaning Services was established to provide the highest of cleaning and textile care to our customers.

Propress Steamers became necessary for on site removal of transit creasing and for that final dressing that sets off the presentation to the client.

Churchills have had an association with Propress Steamers for nearly 20 years and consider their performance and durability compliment the very standards that Churchills adhere to.”

David Posner AGCL

Claire Barker Associates Ltd
South London

“We have used Propress Steamers to prepare collections for all manner of fashion shows over many, many years.

The Preview Shows we produce at the Bridal Buyer’s Exhibitions in Harrogate are probably our most important and challenging, but also most exciting, annual events.

We simply could not produce these fashion shows without Propress Steamers to keep the bridal gowns looking their very best for each of the 3 shows, repeated over 3 days.

We would go so far as to say – I don’t know how any bridal retailer could succeed without having their own Propress Steamer!”

Claire Barker

Cliveden
Berkshire

“When guests arrive and unpack, especially just hours before a function in the evening, having a Propress enables us to respond to requests to press an evening gown, delicate top or DJ. I can imagine hotels without a steamer being wary about offering to iron these types of garment in-house, as there would be insufficient time to send them out to the dry-cleaners.

Clivedean House is a great location for weddings and we host many during the year. We are happy to take the Propress to the bride's room and she will often give her own gown a final steam to make sure it looks perfect. We can offer the same service for the rest of the bridal party, who have come to the hotel to dress before the wedding.

Curtains and upholstery can be given a periodic steam in-situ to freshen them up and remove any creases. Propress Steamers are very effective, useful, hardworking machines and I would be happy to recommend any hotel to consider investing in one.”

Yours Sincerely

Dance ‘Till Dawn
Banbury

“I used to have to send every new dress, whether it was for sale or hire, immediately to the dry cleaners as that was the only effective way of removing the deep packing creases. This obviously used to increase my costs quite a lot over the year. When you showed me a Propress Steamer I tried it on some new dresses before deciding to buy one and found I could steam out all the packing creases quickly and very effectively myself.

Also every dress that we hire out needed to be either dry cleaned or washed and then it had to be pressed by the dry cleaners. Now the dresses are either washed by me or just dry cleaned, depending on the fabric, and then I do all the pressing my own Propress Steamer, thus saving me more money with every dress hire.”

“The Propress Steamer is also great fun to use and very satisfying. I can provide a better service by quickly steaming a gown just before the customer take sit away, so every dress goes out looking perfect.

I bought my Propress Steamer almost a year ago and feel sure that I have already recouped the purchase cost through reducing my cleaning and processing costs. So it has already paid for itself and will continue to give me an increased profit on every dress I sell or hire.

Thank you for introducing Propress to me, for making my life easier and for making me money. I would happily recommend Propress to any evening gown shop or dress hire agency.

Jane Marsh
Proprietor

The Fountain Studios
South London

“The customer services team provide a quick and efficient service which matches the products they offer. We have found Propress steamers to be easy to use, reliable and most importantly adaptable.

With a one hectare site which includes studios, dressing rooms, a restaurant and various hospitality areas, it is essential that we have the equipment to be able to ensure that all our clients, prestigious or otherwise, have a wardrobe that always looks brand new and ready for camera. Propress steamers allow this to be a possibility.

We would recommend Propress and their products to anyone who would require good quality long lasting machines with an excellent customer service team to match.”

John West
Facilities Manager

Fountain Television Studios

Hepburn - Bridal and Formal Menswear
South England

“I thought I would drop you a quick line to thank you for selling me such a great product. The Propress steamer has been invaluable to our business. Ease of use, reasonable price and the fact that it doesn’t split or drip water fills me with confidence when preparing gowns going out to Brides.

It just goes to show you don’t have to spend silly amounts of money when buying quality products.

Could I also compliment you on your knowledge regarding the product and the fact that you don’t need to hard sell. If all salesmen treated their prospective customers as you do things would be so much easier.

I would not hesitate in recommending you or Propress.”

Warm regards and best wishes
Marty and Debbie Coldwell

JYT Interiors
Buckinghamshire

“I am delighted with my Propress steamer, which I purchased over 6 years ago. My clients are very impressed when we set it up and steam their drapes after fitting. It leaves them with a professional image of my business. I would not be without my Propress and would recommend other soft furnishing businesses to buy one. That is, if they are not in my area!

Jo Tempest-York
Managing Director/Designer

MagicTouch Promotions
United Kingdom

We first saw a Propress Steamer 3 years ago and it looked an interesting idea. But we felt we could not justify so much money on a glorified iron and also feared that the extra time taken steaming each garment would slow us down.

We now realise we were wrong on all counts! If you spread the cost of our Propress over 10 years and the many thousands of garments that will be improved – the cost virtually disappears.

The Propress Steamer is incredibly quick and effective at steaming out the hoop marks and bruising on the fabric. It was very satisfying that last week we steamed 80 polo shirts in less than 8 minutes! We believe the steamer will become an important differentiator between us and other embroiderers who don’t worry so much about presentation.”

“We changed our minds when we visited a large contract embroiderer and saw them flying through piles of polo shirts with a Propress. The operator was taking just a few seconds on each garment to remove the ring marks completely! We are looking forward to tackling fleece and towelling and to seeing our customers’ reactions.”

Ian Roriston
Director

Next Directory
London

“The use of Propress steamers in the production of our photo shoots helps our stylists immensely. The steamers help with speed, simplicity and safety, all of which Propress provide.

The Propress steamers are low maintenance and are easy to use, which allows our shoots to run smoothly.”

Ben Norris
Bookings Co-Ordinator

Orvis - Sporting Traditions
South London

“Propress steamers are core to our ability to deliver clothes that look their best. In the shops, most garments that are displayed on hangers will be given a quick steam before they are put out.”

“The steamers instantly remove packing creases and give a lift to fabrics that may have been compressed during their journey
from the factory. Linen especially benefits from being steamed with the pile coming up in a way that would be impossible with an iron.”

“Our warehouse in Hampshire has 2 Propress steamers continuously available for use. Propress steamers are quicker, easier, more effective and require much less effort than other steamers or irons we have tried.”

“We are pleased with our Propress steamers and would happily recommend them to any ladies or gents outfitters or mail-order facility, and indeed to our customers who want to continue keeping our clothes looking their best at home.”

Richard Banbury
Retail Director

Pronuptia Paris
Kent

“We have been using Propress Steamers in our bridal shop for over 15 years. Five years ago we purchased a steam ironing board with boiler and have now 2 of these on our premises.

They are a superb asset to our business and something we could not operate without.

The sales and after-sales are excellent and any problems dealt with immediately…”

CA M Mackenzie
Proprietor

The Dressing Room
Northampton

“We bought our Propress steamer from you approximately 13/14 years ago in our first boutique located in Milton Keynes. It had worked very happily for a number of years and we were very pleased with its reliability and performance.

When we opened our shop in Northampton we needed to purchase another steamer but were on a very tight budget so we therefore felt that we would be more economical by buying a cheaper steamer hoping that it would perform at the same standard. Wrong! Within a very short period of time we realised that this was not going to be anywhere near as good as our good old faithful Propress but we had to soldier on..”

After a couple of years of toil we eventually had to give up with this sad alternative but still being very careful we embarked upon yet another economy version. Alas, history repeated itself yet again. When will one learn from one’s mistakes?”

“It has been a salutary lesson and a confirmation that you get what you pay for and most certainly when it comes to steamers. We were very happy to pay that bit more for our second Propress steamer and wish we had done that initially and saved 4 horrid years of being spat at. Still, we all learn our lessons eventually. When we needed to replace our original Propress steamer thirteen years on we came straight back to you without hesitation for our third steamer.”

John and Diana Dowrick
The Dressing Room

Vintage UK
Birmingham

“The impact on the clothes is as remarkable as it is quick and easy to achieve. Clothes, whose worst creases may have diminished on the hanger but still have a crushed feel to them, are instantly brought back to life, looking and feeling fresher and fuller. The acrylic raincoats would never have given up their creases without steaming, wool looks plumped up. We have yet to find a garment that is not improved by steaming.”

“The steamer is also great for flushing out any mustiness from the clothes, which could lead to an old-fashioned charity shop atmosphere. I would now say that a Propress steamer is a near essential piece of kit for any vintage shop. You can keep steaming by the sales counter between serving customers and get though a surprising number of garments in a shift.

The steamer nozzle does get hot, so you have to be careful, but is less hot than the lowest setting on an iron. This means there is little risk of damaging delicate fabrics or those decorated with sequins and beads etc. The steam goes straight past the decorations and improves the fabric behind. The steamer gives ‘body’ to fabrics and lifts the pile in a way an iron cannot.

It is also good news that Propress steamers are made in Britain. I can now see why most charity shops use them continuously and say they last for many years. It is also encouraging that bridal shops are also big users.”

Mikey Brain
Manager – Vintage UK

Wedding Belles
Doncaster

“It has successfully transferred from steaming ladies fashion and knitwear to bridal, bridesmaid and evening wear and is suitable for almost all fabrics.

We have only been without it for three days in the last 25 years and to go back to ironing was a sharp shock remainder just how much we relay on our Propress steamer. Needless to say, we would be totally lost without one.”

Margaret Davison
Proprietor

West London Shooting School
London

“I have always steamed everything that goes onto the shop floor. I feel it is a very worthwhile exercise. When visiting other shops as a consumer, I hate walking into stores that obviously haven’t spent time steaming their stock. Crumpled clothing is a real off putter.

I use Propress because they are no-nonsense steamers. They are so easy to use. It is literally: fill up, plug in, turn on and steam away. Simply painless.”

Gemma Tibbles

Yewberry Limited
London

“We purchased our first Propress steamer just over 20 years ago. It has worked fine but last month it finally died on us. I Google searched ‘Propress’ and was very pleased to find that your outlet was just around the corner. I phoned and was very well looked after and within 20 minutes of my call I had my brand new Propress.

After a couple of weeks, one of your employees rang to ask if I was satisfied with my new steamer, I told him it was a pity the lead wasn’t a little longer. He then said he would deliver me a new lead 35cm longer within two days.

I am very impressed with Propress and everyone involved.”

Gary Ireland
Director