The Funky Iron is light (at 1.3kg), with a 3 metre power cord and a 450ml water tank. It has a smooth-gliding ceramic base plate, an inbuilt steam pump, a steam trigger, a water spray and a heat indicator light. It’s available to buy from the Funky Appliance Company’s website for £79.99. It comes in grey, pale blue and rose gold.
The iron is a new take on the first product launched by the Funky Appliance Company. The independent British company kicked off a couple of years ago with the first iteration of the Funky Iron, which was initially crowdfunded to the value of £100,000.
The Funky Appliance Company takes small household appliances and gives them a design-led overhaul. The signature look is retro space age, curved and shiny.
There doesn’t seem to be much that’s revolutionary about the products’ functionality but in a marketplace focused on functional-looking items, it’s always nice to see design-led items that don’t have a premium price tag.
The iron is the first stage of planned product launches for this year. It’ll be followed by a kettle and toaster in the fourth quarter of 2020. The launch dates have not yet been confirmed but you can buy now and be among the first to get one when they ship.
The four-slice toaster has cancel, reheat and defrost buttons, non-slip feet and independent control for each side. You can pre-order it on the website in cream, rose gold or chrome. It costs £79.99.
The fast-boil kettle has a 1.7 litre capacity, safety shut off, removable limescale filter for easy cleaning and a 360-degree base. It’s available to pre-order from the company’s website and comes in chrome, cream and rose gold. It also costs £79.99.
As you may have noticed, all of the company’s products cost £79.99. This puts them firmly in the mid-range price bracket, which means heavy competition. They’re not budget-friendly enough for bargain hunters and, even though the appliances look good, The Funky Company is not alone in spotting that people like a retro appliance on their kitchen counter.
Its kettle, for example, is pretty good value next to a Smeg retro kettle, the best price for which is currently £119, in cream, from AO.com. However, the company is also competing with products such as Dualit’s chrome jug kettle, currently £54.99 on the John Lewis website. Plus, even more budget-friendly buys from Swan, whose 1.7 litre retro dome kettle is currently available from Sonic Direct for £39.95 and Morphy Richards, whose traditional kettle can currently be snagged for £39.98 from Currys.
The first iteration of the Funky Iron was well reviewed on sites including Good Housekeeping, so the real test will be whether the second generation’s product quality provides enough bang for the consumer’s buck.
