A fur, moustache, nose and, of course, tail! It is difficult not to notice furry melexes riding across the city. They capture the attention of both children, whom animal vehicles attract like a magnet, and adults; the latter have already become accustomed to melexes in the centre of Wroclaw, but they are still familiarising themselves with barking and mewing vehicles.
And all of this for fun, as the inventors say.
"Dog goes around"
They created melex animals by themselves, with some help from their neighbours.
“Everybody supported us here; people brought glue and tapes. Local inhabitants knocked on the window pane of the workshop and kept their thumbs up,” says Krzysiek Grześków, one of the creators of animal melexes. “It took us around two weeks to create a dog and a cat, and we used around 11 running metres of artificial fur for each vehicle. Then we attached moustaches, noses, tongues, and here they are,” he says. “We let them out on the streets on the 1st of June, but they still need some improvements,” he admits.
- “Now it is quite a hot time, because we still study and have to focus on the exam session, but from July we are going full steam ahead and will finally put our ideas into practice,” assures Aneta Tarczyńska, a member of the inventive trio. “For now, we can say that the dog and the cat have caught on. Children are crazy about them, and adults smile at their sight. And when we sometimes play barks and mews from loudspeakers, it is a real sensation,” laughs Aneta.
"Cat knows his way"
My interlocutors have really many ideas to fulfil and keep inventing new ones. Some new plans were made even during this interview.
“For example, we want to install a GPS in both melexes and create a special application “TRACK A DOG”, “TRACK A CAT” for smartphones so that people could look for these melexes around the city. And when they find them, they can take a ride at a minimum price,” says Krzysiek.
“In the first place, we want to focus on Wroclaw inhabitants rather than ordinary tourists, so we want to prepare attractive routes for them,” says Marika Mielec. “It is obvious that a trip to the Centennial Hall or the cathedral is nothing special for someone who lives here.”
“In Wroclaw there is still a multitude of unconquered places, and these are the destinations to which we would like to carry people,” adds Krzysiek. - “We are also considering an idea that people who come to us would tell us what they want to see, and we would tell them which route is the best to get there.”
Because it is the smile that matters!
Most of the people who saw riding melex vehicles (including me) must have thought: “Ah, what a great marketing trick! I guess they want to attract customers and make a lot of money.” However, after a conversation with those three very friendly young people who created melex animals, I am sure that they would be most willing to carry people for free if melexes did not need electric energy, which must be paid for.
- “Once I was a melex driver, and I finally decided that I could invest in my own vehicle and go off the beaten melex track a little bit,” says Krzysiek. “And then a completely spontaneous idea came up to design an eye-catching vehicle that would put a smile on people’s faces. And we decided on a dog and a cat!”
Why animals?
“Well, I don't know if anyone would smile at the sight of a tank… Although we still want to improve, develop and expand our idea,” adds Krzysiek.
“For example, I have a dream that some day, maybe in a few years, other melex freaks will follow our route and melex caterpillars or elephants will suddenly appear on the streets of Wroclaw – that would be superb!” laughs Aneta. “And people would talk in melex parking places whether it is a good idea to buy an extra leg for a melex”, she laughs.
To read more about ways of sightseeing Wroclaw, visit:TU.
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