Closure of Eileens Emporium

[MarkC]

Very sad news. Eileen's will be sorely missed. Good luck in the future to Derek, staff & their families.

 

Mark

[CEINEWYDD]

Terribly sad news for the business owners.   

[Alan J Kirkman]

So very sad to hear this you will be very greatly missed. All our thanks for what you have done for us for years and all the very best for the future. For all those of us of an age it is so sad we hear the news on the day of the MMRS show.

[lesmond]

Very sorry to hear this. 

 

I hope that you can quickly move on from a very stressful time 🥰. 

 

Les

[Tony Wright]

So sorry to hear about this, and my thoughts are with Derek and his family. 

 

I've bought lots of stuff from Eileen's Emporium down the years, particularly at shows; thank you for your excellent service.

 

With best wishes,

 

Tony. 

[magmouse]

Like others, I have found the service from Eileen's Emporium enormously valuable over the years - lots of useful supplies, always very efficiently delivered.

 

Commiserations to Derek and all those impacted by this - hard times indeed.

 

Nick.

[gr.king]

7 hours ago, Derek Russan said:

I am very sorry to have to tell you that Russan Limited, trading as Eileens Emporium has ceased trading and appointed liquidators.

 

We have done our best to send out all the stock we have for pre-paid orders. I am sorry that we were not able to complete all of them.

 

Any clains against the business should be sent to:

Christine Vaines, Begbies Traynor, Suite C 11 Kingsmead Square, Bath, BA1 2AB | T: 01225 316 040 | Email Christine.Vaines@btguk.com

 

At least as proprietors, you appear to have had the good sense to trade as a limited company. I hope you have also managed to avoid signing any personal guarantees for any current bank overdrafts, loans, or debts to suppliers. Personal experience of Begbies Traynor suggests that they do a good job, but (just a thought) you might want to make doubly sure that they discover, settle and close off any of the firm's accounts that have accidentally been created (or left) in previous (or incorrect) versions of the Eileen's or Russan names. You don't want the debt-collecting hounds of Hell coming after you, long after the company has been officially liquidated and its affairs wound up. I hope you can look forward to a peaceful, enjoyable and financially tolerable retirement.

[bluestag]

6 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

It is indeed a blow to those who build their own models, either from kits or by scratch building.

 

However, there are at least two other traders who supply comparable tools, materials, etc. although they may not have the high profile that Eileeenss Emporium has enjoyed, since Eileen and Jim Pitchforth started the business decades ago.

Jol,

 

And who would those be?

 

Kevin

[drmditch]

Very sad to hear of this.

Many thanks for your range of products and your service.

Hope you are able to move on without too much difficulty

 

[JaymzHatstand]

Echoing others thoughts here, sad new and thoughts and sympathies with you all at this difficult time. I had been creating a shopping list for the new year as I'm running low on a few supplies, but my personal modelling hindrances pale into insignificance against your announcement.

 

All the best and thanks for the fantastic service and range availability in the past. You will be sorely missed!

 

Cheers

 

J

[adriank]

Thank you for years of excellent service. I really appreciated your wide range of tools, materials and kits and the care with which you packed and dispatched them. This is a sad loss, particularly for those of us living overseas.

I wish you well.

 

Adrian

[Rich Papper]

Very sorry to hear this, and as others have said best of luck to you Derek and the family. Small consolation in difficult times, but the products you’ve supplied will continue to give good use and service for a great many years along with the skills passed on with soldering courses etc.

Thank you.

Rich

[Compound2632]

Eileens had become my go-to place for online ordering of tools, materials, and wagon kits; I have found the service to be both prompt and helpful. It's no consolation but I was about to place an order but found the website closed a few days ago. Many thanks to Derek and colleagues for their support of our hobby; I suppose there just weren't enough of us returning the compliment by placing orders. Difficult times. 

[Nick Lawson]

What very sad news. Like everyone here I have appreciated the quality of service, particularly the speed of delivery. Quite apart from stuff I knew I wanted, your website was always worth a browse. I will of course particularly miss the Extreme Products.

 

Best wishes for the future.

[Jol Wilkinson]

10 hours ago, bluestag said:

Jol,

 

And who would those be?

 

Kevin

 

Squires of Bognor and Hobby Holidays are the two I have in mind (they were both at Scaleforum this year).

 

A number of suppliers best known for other products also supply some of the materials that EE were well known for. Brass wire and tube is available from PPP and Alan Gibson. K&S metal is available in many model shops. 

 

It is also worth looking outside the model trade if you are looking for good quality tools, e.g. in the jewelry sector. Cooksongold supply high quality Busch drill, Valorbe files, Dremel accessories, etc.

[RedgateModels]

16 hours ago, Phil Parker said:

This is terrible news for the hobby, and most importantly, for you and you family. As a long-term customer, I'm going to miss you both online and at exhibitions where both your products and service have always been excellent.

 

All the best for the future.

 

@Derek Russan What Phil said. I have always tried to promote your products when doing my demos at Warley and will greatly miss your wonderful resource. I always considered you and your team as friends in the hobby.

 

Hope you and your Family are OK

[Compound2632]

6 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

Squires of Bognor and Hobby Holidays are the two I have in mind (they were both at Scaleforum this year).

 

I have bought from Squires at exhibitions but I'm afraid I find their mail order system hard to navigate, which is one reason why Eileen's online ordering was preferred.

[ELTEL]

Condolences too on behalf of  Stafford Railway Circle

 

Your stand has been a regular at the Stafford Exhibitions from as long as I can remember, having over the years had a number of different owners including Eileen and her husband who originally started the business

 

Like many of others have said you will be sadly missed on the exhibition circuit as you offered  a range of tools and materials which are not easily sourced.

 

 Terry 

Edited December 12, 2022 by ELTEL
Erroe

[Mike_Walker]

Having only just caught up with this sad news this morning, I echo all that's been said before.  A terrible loss to the hobby and best wishes to Derek, his family and staff.  I used them quite frequently, especially at shows, and was intending to place an order for a number of things after Xmas - hoping that the postal situation might improve by then.

 

The problem I have with Squires is they have a fantastic range but they seem to be stuck in the 20th century with no way to simply order on line.  You have to either phone them or send in an order by post!

[gr.king]

19 hours ago, Derek Russan said:

I am very sorry to have to tell you that Russan Limited, trading as Eileens Emporium has ceased trading and appointed liquidators.

 

We have done our best to send out all the stock we have for pre-paid orders. I am sorry that we were not able to complete all of them.

 

Any clains against the business should be sent to:

Christine Vaines, Begbies Traynor, Suite C 11 Kingsmead Square, Bath, BA1 2AB | T: 01225 316 040 | Email Christine.Vaines@btguk.com

Just a couple of quick further thoughts: While Begbies Traynor are doing their bit, don't forget simple basic stuff like reading the meters at any commercial premises that you lease and making sure that you keep proof that the utility companies have been notified that the tenancy has ended and that the account (in the relevant name) is closed. Don't rely on a landlord to be honest...

 

For those small traders with the luxury of not being in a crisis, I would suggest that another liability to look out for, and to avoid if possible at a much earlier stage, is a property lease that doesn't simply name the landlord and the company (as tenant) but which also names the company proprietors as "parties" to the lease. That's a cynical tactic to give the (often big, well-off) landlord a claim against hard-pressed individuals in event of default, in disregard of the small trader's limited company status. 

[whart57]

I have recently experienced excellent service from Eileen's. It's when mistakes are made - which are inevitable - that you get to see the real quality of a business and Eileen's get a ten from me. I'm really sad to see them go.

 

One observation though. Compare the number of responses in this thread to the pile-on that accompanies a Hornby announcement and you get an inkling of the difficult trading conditions for a company like Eileen's. The scratch and kit builders that form Eileen's customers are getting fewer in number, and we don't spend as much as the acquisitive collectors who have cupboards full of RTR. Speaking personally, it takes me months to get through £30 worth of bits of brass and basic components. And that's when I'm being productive.

 

I wish Derek Russan and his staff all the best for the future, but forgive me if I also see this as a canary in the coalmine for the way I do railway modelling.

[Clem]

Very sad for you Derek to have to give out this news. You've always been my first port of call whenever I needed tools or raw materials. You've always given first class service -  in my experience of the highest order - and you are going to be massively missed by any modeller who does more than just buy boxed railways.

I hope everything is sorted out in as good a way as possible and I wish you all the best for the future. 

 

Clem

John Clements.

[Pebbles]

Tragic!

[Reorte]

Very sad to hear this news, EE has always been a great Aladdin's Den to rummage through at an exhibition, where you'd know you'd find whatever you're after (as well as a few other "hmm, that looks useful" bits and bobs).

[polybear]

2 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

 

Squires of Bognor and Hobby Holidays are the two I have in mind (they were both at Scaleforum this year).

 

A number of suppliers best known for other products also supply some of the materials that EE were well known for. Brass wire and tube is available from PPP and Alan Gibson. K&S metal is available in many model shops. 

 

It is also worth looking outside the model trade if you are looking for good quality tools, e.g. in the jewelry sector. Cooksongold supply high quality Busch drill, Valorbe files, Dremel accessories, etc.

 

Sadly it seems that Hobby Holidays has now finished with Exhibitions; ISTR he was (is?) looking to sell the business - I've also seen mention that if he does continue on a mail order only basis then his excellent range may well be reduced.

Whilst Mail Order is obviously far better than nothing, how many times have you seen someone at the Eileen's (or HH) stand with a digital vernier measuring a dimension on a piece of brass angle etc., or getting invaluable advice regarding the best glue to use?  That's the great loss.

The cost of some mail order deliveries is also an issue for certain products (such as paint), or if you only need one item.  A great loss.