Vanbar (Carlton) is moving!!

Mick Fagan

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I just googled it and did a photo search, looks quite big, with a for lease sign on the front.

I'm wondering if Nth Melbourne is going to be wound up as well?

Mick.
 

Andrew K

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yes - Southwark....one of my favorite drops And I'm a born and bred Victorian!

But given a choice I'd much rather drink their Vintage Stout

Then again - you guys in South Australia have Grumpy's up in the Adelaide Hills - Andrew makes some fantastic beers - last time I was there he had a great Irish red on tap...and his Stout! What a beer...and he makes a great pizza too :munch:

A meet up in Melbourne to discuss photography over a beer or three - great idea! count me it ...
 

Joachim_I

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I have been told today that Vanbar does not accept E6 jobs for the next 5 days or so due to the move. Seems I need to wait a bit longer for my Blue-tongued Lizzard shots I took at Kangaroo Ground last weekend.
 

wotalegend

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There was a tweet on Twitter this afternoon from Vanbar saying that they are up and running at the new address.
 

Kevin Caulfield

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Has anybody here visited the new store yet? Please tell me they have finally thrown out the expired FX39. I have a six year old son who was born after the expiry date.
 

Joachim_I

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Kevin Caulfield said:
Has anybody here visited the new store yet? Please tell me they have finally thrown out the expired FX39. I have a six year old son who was born after the expiry date.
Click to expand...

I was there to pick up a film. Many shelves and displays were still empty. It looks like they have more space now. I did not pay attention to that FX39 Although I pass the store twice per day, the new location is really inconvenient for me. I pass the store an hour before they open and two hours after they close.
 

Poisson Du Jour

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They're moving even further than I desire to go — by car, on foot or by bike. Having said that, it's true Vanbar is in need of a bigger premises than the old place in Carlton: it gets really cramped in there.

At the moment, it's the Colour Factory in Fitzroy that is attracting my gaze.
 
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Kevin Caulfield

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Thanks for the info, Joachim. A couple of months ago, I was very excited to find an unopened box of FX39 in the North Melbourne store. I asked one of guys to take it off the top shelf and open it, and what do you know, it was a full box the same old stock, expiry July 2005!!!
 
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munz6869

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Having determined that the Fitzroy Vanbar seems like a bag shop with some photo stuff around the edges, I duly journeyed this afternoon to the North Melbourne store (which is now the more convenient one, location wise) to get some paper developer, and gleefully spotted two bottles of Adox Adonal, which I bought IMMEDIATELY. I only have 5 1/3 bottles of Rodinal left, so this will keep me going....

The guy said they have a regular supply of Adonal now, but there were only two bottles on the shelf - so I remain sceptical.

Marc!
 

Kevin Caulfield

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I just checked out the Fitzroy store. It's certainly much bigger than Carlton, but as Marc said, it is pretty much a bag shop, with a little bit of photo stuff around the edges. The chemistry and paper offerings have been slimmed down a lot. There are very few developers. No more Paterson stuff. There are a few fridges with colour film, but I couldn't see very much B&W film at all, definitely not in view behind the counter.

But Marc you will be pleased to know they do seem to have plenty of Adonal. There were about nine bottles on the shelf and I think I saw at least one other full box behind those.

And by the way, everybody, the North Melbourne store WILL be closing and moving into Fitzroy. Then I'm guessing it will be even more of a bag shop.
 

Oxleyroad

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Oh dear. I wonder what that means for those of us who buy raw chemistry?
 

crazy_ahqmed

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I'm guessing it wont be long until North Melbourne closes. They've already removed it from their website.
 
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munz6869

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I wonder how they'll go, long term? When I studied photography eons ago at RMIT, every student bought their supplies there because it was within easy walking distance, and I'm sure they still picked up a lot of that trade, even though current RMIT students tend to organise bulk B&H purchases instead because it's soooo much cheaper, and of course it's mostly digital stuff, because there isn't a single darkroom at RMIT anymore :-( (I was helping a student in a computer lab a few months ago, when I looked around at the suspiciously black walls, and a couple of remaining amber safety lights, and realised to my dismay that the room had once been a very large darkroom indeed - instead it was now full of Mac towers and cinema displays).

Marc!
 

Kevin Caulfield

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I was in the North Melbourne store today and asked how long they would be there and they said that they haven't really been kept in the loop but that it probably wouldn't be there for much longer. The receipts show the new Fitzroy address but also the North Melbourne one.

Marc, they had a shipload of Atomal at North Melb. There were about seven bottles sitting in the middle of the floor, but underneath those there were 12 boxes of 8 bottles each.
 
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munz6869

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Still looking for the perfect 'blad, Kevin, but that is a good point: "...but I need all this developer for YOUR great negs!", etc...

I've been going through my Rodinal at a rate of knots - partly because I use quite a low 1:25 dilution compared to most people (it seems), and partly because I've been shooting an awful lot of film this year, which isn't such a bad thing (ie if Kodak goes bankrupt, it can't be my fault, as the part of the fridge I've taken over is still full of yellow boxes and packets).

Marc!
 

LachieC

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Woah!

Should have looked here earlier.

So, yes, we are in business at 450 Gore ST.

Yes, North Melbourne is closing to doors to the public in the next little while (weeks).

No, we haven't reduced our range of analogue photographic items. Not one, unless a distributor has discontinued it.

No, we haven't got more bags than we used to! They are just all over the place! (look out for bag sale..)

RAW chemistry is also here to stay I assure you, we have been receiving supply deliveries at our new location.

We currently have 137 bottles of Adonal in stock, nationwide.

Customers are welcome to park in the 4/5 car parks with the big "AUTHORIZED PARKING ONLY" signs on them. We have had to do this due to local construction workers using all of them!

The store is not currently 100% finished. We were forced to move in a very short time frame and as such things are still, frankly, a bit of a mess.

We are processing E-6 (135-4x5), C-41 (120-135) and B+W (120-135) in our lab, which is on-site and has been freshly serviced

Any other questions are best directed to lachiec@vanbar.com.au for prompt reply.

-Lachie
Vanbar Fitzroy
 

Kevin Caulfield

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Thanks for the info, Lachie. By the way, Maria will miss your regular lunch order.

I should correct my comment about the old FX39. It has an expiry date of July 2006, not 2005. I am still amazed they are selling stock that old though. However the newer FX39 I have been using has an expiry date of December 2009 and it has been working fine. They should be automatically applying a discount though - I don't see why the customer should have to request it.
 
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