A corporate career, one frustrated conversation and a giant machine ordered from a train. We meet Agnieszka, the woman behind Poznański Magiel.

Hi Agnieszka, how does someone accidentally end up owning a laundry?

I left corporate life and started managing short-term rentals, which meant constantly using laundries. One day I was complaining to my husband about another delay. He said: “Stop complaining and buy your own magiel.”

So I did! I actually ordered this huge machine while sitting on a train. I had no idea how it worked or whether it was even a good business.

What did you want Poznański Magiel to become?

A kind of “cleaning boutique” — quality equipment, knowledge, good coffee and somewhere people actually enjoy visiting. Today I have an amazing team of women behind it.

Do younger people even know what a magiel is?

Often not! It’s basically huge heated rollers for pressing bedding and tablecloths. Traditionally, the local magiel was also where neighbours met and exchanged gossip. I joke that whenever I’m at a social gathering, I’m there professionally.

What’s the craziest thing you’ve cleaned?

We’ve had antique lace, military uniforms, theatre costumes, inherited wedding dresses and textiles over 100 years old. And giant mascots big enough to fit a person inside.

What job brings the most pressure?

Wedding dresses just before the wedding. You’re not simply handling fabric — you’re handling someone’s memories and emotions.

Can everything be saved?

Unfortunately not. Experience teaches you how different materials will react, but sometimes you have to be honest: we can’t perform miracles.

Does traditional craftsmanship still have a future?

Absolutely. The more disposable everything becomes, the more people appreciate people who can preserve and repair things.

The most ecological thing is the thing you don’t have to buy twice.

We hear you have a strange holiday habit?

Every holiday starts with me finding the local laundry and talking to the people working there. Occupational hazard.

And if Poznański Magiel never happened?

I’d have become an actress. My parents wanted me to become a doctor and wouldn’t pay for my ticket to the entrance exams.

So I ended up running a laundry instead.

At least I still get the white coat.

From corporate meetings to giant ironing machines, Agnieszka has built something that’s about much more than clean clothes. Poznański Magiel is proof that old-school craftsmanship still has a place in a throwaway world — especially when there’s good coffee, a brilliant team and a little neighbourhood gossip involved.

And as for that acting career that never happened? We reckon she’s found her stage. The machines are rolling, the curtain’s up, and Agnieszka is running the show.

Not bad for a business idea born from one frustrated conversation on a train.