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The Green Machine- a bit disappointed.

Seriously though from what I've read on this thread and the likes of Pedros videos the industry seems to be turning a corner in that the most successful businesses seem to be on-trend with the zeitgeist in aspirational lifestyle. I keep expecting to open Elle Decoration to be faced with the likes of Takashi Amanos huge tank...no white socks though:eek:
 
Elle Decoration, my guilty pleasure.

I think the design we're after is Apple Store + water........iAquarium!?!?
 
It's interesting to see the growing examples without white socks :) However i have to add that keeping up pro scapes in a showroom is extremely difficult, so i understand why there are general displays in most places. Shops need to turn themself to a boutique, thats the current trend. This need big investment larger staff and if this not thinked over carefully it could be overkill for many. There was a great thread in the past that you could offer help to any shop. We use this sometimes in my country wher we have around 15-20 displays.

The white sock contest :) was just like that. Pure fun with the experienced community. And the result is over on our expectations.

But i agree without great displays and eye catching things we give no reasons to visit. For everything else theres the home delivery
 
Seems we need to borrow Amano's midnight pixies that keep his Sumida Tower tanks so perfectly. Poor sods spend all night upside down in water trimming and vacuuming :dead:

Tanks do look nice though :D

Love the scapers scapes idea! It's great to see other peoples scapes on here, but to see them in the flesh, at one convenient location.......I'd travel for that.


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viktorlantos said:
But i agree without great displays and eye catching things we give no reasons to visit. For everything else theres the home delivery
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And if you can't master home delivery........?
 
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As promised a couple of weeks ago, pictures of Findley's scape at Charterhouse . I have to say, I was a little disappointed this time - its either gone down hill or I've got an awful lot more picky over the past year… anyway here it is, good, bad or indifferent:

They also had one of the super-duper-jet filters under the stand - looks like its made out of a piece of nuclear reactor. looks quite stylish in real life.

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It was pretty pants when I visited just after opening tbh. Dull and overgrown? At least the algae is gone now :rolleyes:

Maybe it's a lack of aftercare, but I'm only counting 3 plants. I've got more varieties of anubias growing in one tank than he has species. It looks like there is some sort of scape buried in there.

They should tear it down and let mr Farmer scape it up! :wideyed:
 
I have to agree James. When I first saw this tank I was only just getting into this hobby - just shows how horizons change. It's a shame because the space they've created could hold some great tanks showcasing all sorts of experts in their field. Examples of their work for enthusiasts to learn from. Shame really. Even the marine tanks left me cold this time.

Love to see a Farmer scape in there! And a Barr, Amano, Knott, Sabat, Lantos… just imagine a showroom full of all masters work in one place.
 
Its a great space. I was a little underwelmed by the marine stuff as well. There were two bonkers long tanks in the back left of the show roomthat looked interesting, a tall tank with jellyfish and a nice hardscape behind the 'reception' desk.

At least these guys have mastered online/postal service. No bad reports that I hear of.
 
They should tear it down and let mr Farmer scape it up! :wideyed:
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Definitely
Love to see a Farmer scape in there! And a Barr, Amano, Knott, Sabat, Lantos… just imagine a showroom full of all masters work in one place.
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Proper scapers, if they all did a scape in the same place, anywhere in the uk i would have to travel to see them
 
A very wrong plant selection for a shop display aquarium. I bet they are dreaming nightmares about the stems :)
You want it to look good more or less all the time if its the only planted in the shop so strong middground with occasional slower growing stems at the back. Replanting the stems, not leaving them cut. etc. etc. And much less light! Been there once and was not impressed at all. The ADA tank was just trimmed so could not judge it.
 
Big clown said:
Proper scapers, if they all did a scape in the same place, anywhere in the uk i would have to travel to see them
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For that I'd travel pretty much anywhere in the country. It'd be a pilgrimage site for the faithful masses :eek: The store that hosted those tanks........oh the possibilities!!!!

An isle for each major brand, an little stepped seating amphitheatre style demo area (inc. projector for video linkup of demos abroad), tanks displayed against black walls with plenty of room between tanks and bench seating like an art gallery (very restful & contemplative with no reflections) and a screen nearby the with the build video........:woot::wideyed::what::singing::wacky::clap:
 
Actually that scape looked really nice when it was set up (here), unfortunately the plants are obscuring what was a really nice iwagumi, as Piece of Fish says though, maybe not the right plant choice in the long term. I'm not sure where this negativity towards James is coming from, he's a really nice bloke who loves his aquascaping just like the rest of us. :)
 
James O said:
An isle for each major brand, an little stepped seating amphitheatre style demo area (inc. projector for video linkup of demos abroad), tanks displayed against black walls with plenty of room between tanks and bench seating like an art gallery (very restful & contemplative with no reflections) and a screen nearby the with the build video
Click to expand...
And 95 of the 100 visitors only want a black molly or a gup, or some fishfood, Hard to keep your business "above water"
 
The problem with all walk in stores nowadays is simple....the internet!
We have high standards so want the top end well maintained well stocked beautifully laid out shops to wander into and travel to, but to do this you need to charge top dollar. The mass of internet stores now offering very competative and quality merchandise makes buying from a store financial suicide for most hobbyists inturn making everything tighter for display stores. Obviously it can be done as Victors store in Budapest and the store Pedro visits in Portugal illustrate, but i imagine you need to be exceptionally passionate and driven to make it work. The problem lies when you do neither well, poor internet service and average displays, but high prices = disaster. Such a shame to hear about TGM as everytime i visited it was always worth the 6hr round trip and i always got a cuppa or two and a lot of time with the staff.....but again the price you pay was high and now there are lots of very good, cheaper alternatives. I also feel expectations are much higher nowadays, especially with the likes of UKAPS and many of the world class scapes presented here, its harder to drop a jaw and utter omg to many of us.
 
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