Closure of Eileens Emporium

[Jol Wilkinson]

2 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

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.

 

Hopefully Phil at HH will continue with some shows, which are sufficiently profitable through having sufficient attendance by the model makers out there.

 

Keeping in touch with your customers through exhibitions is important for the small producers of kits, bits, etc. They can't afford the sort of adverts the RTR discount warehouse's place in the mainstream magazines and, as you rightly point out, can't provide the helpful service that many modellers can benefit from, through an online sales operation. 

[cctransuk]

2 minutes ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

 

Hopefully Phil at HH will continue with some shows, which are sufficiently profitable through having sufficient attendance by the model makers out there.

 

Keeping in touch with your customers through exhibitions is important for the small producers of kits, bits, etc. They can't afford the sort of adverts the RTR discount warehouse's place in the mainstream magazines and, as you rightly point out, can't provide the helpful service that many modellers can benefit from, through an online sales operation. 

 

It is possible to run a small producer business without any advertising at all - I've been doing it for 23 years, and have never placed an advert anywhere.

 

A website, word of mouth and the odd new product announcement here bring in a reasonable level of trade.

 

That said, I couldn't make a living from Cambridge Custom Transfers, and I keep no stock - everything is printed to order.

 

Any tools and materials business run in the same way would have to have a much reduced range available and, ideally, be operated by a couple, with one having a separate, full-time job.

 

John Isherwood.

[t-b-g]

2 hours ago, Jol Wilkinson said:

 

Hopefully Phil at HH will continue with some shows, which are sufficiently profitable through having sufficient attendance by the model makers out there.

 

Keeping in touch with your customers through exhibitions is important for the small producers of kits, bits, etc. They can't afford the sort of adverts the RTR discount warehouse's place in the mainstream magazines and, as you rightly point out, can't provide the helpful service that many modellers can benefit from, through an online sales operation. 

 

I visited Phil last week and he told me that he had done his last show. Having said that, he did stop once before and then start again.

 

He is building up to retiring and is considering several different options, including a reduction of the range he sells, or packing it in altogether after his attempts to sell the business came to nothing.

[djparkins]

5 hours ago, cctransuk said:

 

It is possible to run a small producer business without any advertising at all - I've been doing it for 23 years, and have never placed an advert anywhere.

 

A website, word of mouth and the odd new product announcement here bring in a reasonable level of trade.

 

That said, I couldn't make a living from Cambridge Custom Transfers, and I keep no stock - everything is printed to order.

 

Any tools and materials business run in the same way would have to have a much reduced range available and, ideally, be operated by a couple, with one having a separate, full-time job.

 

John Isherwood.

 

Hi John,

 

I've not advertised or been to a show since 2002, but I earn a full time income and support four other people on the turnover from my web site and from one trade customer. So I cannot agree entirely, though I do see the point you are making.

 

We certainly do live in challenging and difficult times right now, and it is so very sad to see a company such as this one have to close down. We've had three real bad patches in the 46 years I've been full time in the model business - the early 80s, early 90s and 2008-10. We have managed to come through them all though.

 

This one feels different I have to say. It appears to me to be a kind of 'new reality', which is very painful for many. There are big adjustments to make, with the market being squeezed by both the economic/cost of living crisis and by the inexorable growth in RTR. IMHO this is how  it is going to be going forwards and you can either survive in it or you can't. If I were just starting out I'd be very worried and probably just wouldn't bother! I'm lucky in owning both the roof over my head and my business premises outright and to have enough stock on the shelf to keep me going for a long long time. But not everyone is that fortunate, I agree.

 

Best to everbody in these difficult times.

 

David Parkins

www.djparkins.com

Edited December 12, 2022 by djparkins

[heavymetalwagons]

VERY SAD NEWS

some have said not many people bother scratch building but the last show i went to (doncaster pre plague ) eileens stand was constantly busy .(have ordered a lot since then)

although they did have at least 2 "staff"(may have been more)  working .

I surpose the amount of stock they have to hold and somewhere to keep it =business rates etc  all adds up .

shame but could not someone take over in some form ?

as for squires ,yes there ordering system is a bit old but it works well enough for me =never had any complaints 

[Hibelroad]

Sad news indeed and I hope Derek and his family are OK once the dust settles. I have bought from Eileen's for many years but as others have noted it has only been occasional purchases, mostly at exhibitions. In the past, when large numbers of modellers made occasional purchases, the company could remain buoyant but unfortunately there has been an inevitable shift from the old manual metalwork skills to computer based crafts. So sadly the market for the kind of products Eileen's traded in is shrinking. 

[brightspark]

I just heard the news. My thoughts too are with Derek and his family and staff.

EE was also my first port of call both on-line and exhibitions. 

 

A sad loss to the hobby.

[RexAshton]

Very sad news indeed. My very best wishes for you and your family as you hopefully move forward.

[Chas Levin]

Very sorry to hear this! As others have said Derek, I hope you and your family aod former employees are Ok - I shall miss buying form you!

[Tristan Maynard]

RE: Eileen's Emporium

 

This is very sad news. My thoughts are with Derek, his family and his team who have done so much over the years to support the Hobby, being THE 'Go-To' place for quality supplies and super customers service.

 

Is there anything we can do to help save this business?

 

Regards    Tristan Maynard

[drduncan]

Derek,

 

I was very saddened to hear your news. You were my supplier of brass section and other materials for kit and scratch building, but unfortunately I rarely spent big or often as a little material can go a long way. 
 

All the best for you, your family and staff at such a distressing and stressful time. 
 

Regards,

 

Duncan

[DLT]

Very sorry to hear this Derek, you will be sorely missed.

Thank you very much for the many years of service to us.

David Taylor.

[corneliuslundie]

I can't really add anything to what others have said other than to express my condolences to the team at EE. It will be hard to source some of the things I have bouGht from the company.

Jonathan

[Down_Under]

What a blow! 

 

As a overseas customer, one stop shop for all those bits. I cant think of anyone else online, and so easy to order from.  Not sure where to look for all the fine angle, tube and Avonside jigs. The later really moved my model building, so thank you! 

 

Derek, condolences and best of luck with future endeavours. 

 

James

[caleyJim]

Very sad news indeed. While many of the basics are still available from (e.g.) Squires, what I am going to miss are the likes of the Bill Bedford parts which were exclusive to EE. Hopefully someone will take these on in due course.

[Bucoops]

56 minutes ago, caleyJim said:

Very sad news indeed. While many of the basics are still available from (e.g.) Squires, what I am going to miss are the likes of the Bill Bedford parts which were exclusive to EE. Hopefully someone will take these on in due course.

 

Wizard have some but have warned about availability.

[caleyJim]

1 hour ago, Bucoops said:

 

Wizard have some but have warned about availability.

Thanks for letting us know. Unfortunately they do not appear to have any of the coach bogies. Anyone suggest anywhere else?

[Bucoops]

Perhaps @billbedford may be able to advise what the situation is with the items that EE supplied - rights, tooling etc.

[Bruciethefish]

Absolutely dismayed at this sad news. Best wishes to Derek & Co, you will be missed...

[Andy Vincent]

I dont have much I can add that hasnt already been said other than to extend my sympathies to all.

To bring home some of the challenges that this loss represents for modellers - quite apart from the loss felt by Derek and team just before Christmas - is that I have just tried to find a new source of straight nickel silver wire: HH has some sizes (but not 1mm) and Wizard stocks a couple but nothing in Squires catalog. The only place I found that seemed to have a similar range was in Germany although there was one site (Metalsmith) that had it listed but the date on the website was 2004 and the home page had a long gone Flash plugin so I am not sure that they still exist. 

[Stephen Freeman]

Straight nickel silver wire in a wide variety of thicknesses can be had from Albion Alloy stockists, such as Chronos

[Andy Vincent]

8 minutes ago, Stephen Freeman said:

Straight nickel silver wire in a wide variety of thicknesses can be had from Albion Alloy stockists, such as Chronos

Hi Stephen

 

Many thanks for that - I actually looked at both Albion Alloys web site and their hobby shop. The former only mentions tube but the latter had a small number of sizes of straight NS wire - but rather less than you can get via Chronos. Seems a bit odd that they dont sell all their own products but at least I now know of some options!

Thanks again

 

Andy

[nick_bastable]

https://hobby.uk.com/materials/metal.html may supply some items

[Jol Wilkinson]

13 hours ago, nick_bastable said:

https://hobby.uk.com/materials/metal.html may supply some items

Unfortunately K&S sizes are mainly American Imperial although they do a few metric, but only the .5mm and 1.0mm are of much use.

 

 

[billbedford]

14 hours ago, Andy Vincent said:

I actually looked at both Albion Alloys web site and their hobby shop. The former only mentions tube but the latter had a small number of sizes of straight NS wire - but rather less than you can get via Chronos.

 

Is this what you found?

 

https://www.albionhobbies.com/wp-content/uploads/AA-Precision-Metals-2020.pdf