By SARAH MATTHEWS

Chan Uoy ended up in Dimboola almost by default after his initial plans for a ‘tree change’ to country Victoria fell through.

He could not be happier.

Mr Uoy has become a champion for the picturesque Hindmarsh town alongside the Wimmera River and his foray into retail has become a drawcard for the region.

Mr Uoy and his partner, Jamie Uoy, have opened Dimboola Imaginarium after buying the town’s National Bank of Australasia building in Lochiel Street early last year.

The imaginarium is a ‘whimiscal living room filled with curios, collectables, toys, books, plants and other unique gifts’.

It is literally a living room, with Chan Uoy likening the space to a cross between a 19th Century British drawing room and a museum.

“Because the shop is our living room as well, it is a warm and inviting space. There is a wood fire and it is homey and cosy,” he said.

“It has become a drop-in point for locals, who come in to say hello. They also bring their visitors here, to show off the shop.”

Mr Uoy said he had never experienced an imaginarium before creating one.

“The word to me conjures up things that are whimsical and fantastical – anything that stimulates imagination,” he said. 

“We wanted a business name that would encapsulate what we were trying to do – our vision for the bank – and we came up with Dimboola Imaginarium. 

“A lot of people don’t know what an imaginarium is and they don’t know what to expect. It’s hard to describe, you really need to come here to experience it.

“Our feedback from locals is that it is like entering another world.”

When creating Dimboola Imaginarium, Mr Uoy drew on his 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry.

He bought his first restaurant in Yarraville, Melbourne, in 1998.

“Back then, Yarraville was an up-and-coming village,” he said. 

“I was one of the first people to gut a building and do it up. I had four walls and I had to decide what to put in it. I later moved to Docklands, opening another restaurant, in 2005. 

“With restaurants, it’s important to create a world for the customer to experience. So, you create an experience you think they will enjoy. It is the same in retail. 

“Retail is challenging and all the research says for retail to succeed you need to provide an experience. Online shops can’t do that. You just click on items and add them to your cart, but a physical store has atmosphere.”

Mr Uoy said he sourced unique items from far and wide to sell from his living room.

“I already had a few brands in mind that I liked, plus a lifetime of experience travelling and visiting shops throughout the world,” he said.

“Certain brands set the tone, such as our Seletti lamps, made in Italy, which feature creatures such as monkeys, mice and black crows. 

“In Melbourne, they are the kind of thing you can only buy in places like Prahran, and overseas, they are in the top stores, because they aren’t cheap. 

“We also have beautiful stationery from Budapest. We are only the second shop in Australia to stock it, so it’s good to bring something like this to the Wimmera. 

“We have unusual titles for books, that you don’t see in normal book stores and we stock a lot of religious books, because I like them.”

He said the collection included a copy of a 16th Century Lutheran Bible, one of the first bibles printed on the Guttenberg press.

“Some people see our shop as a museum as well, because we sell items from all over the world,” Mr Uoy said.

“A mother and daughter came in the other day and the daughter said, ‘Mum, we don’t even have anything like this in St Kilda’. I love to think it’s so out there that they don’t have this in St Kilda.”

My Uoy said the imaginarium attracted a significant amount of travellers. 

“People see we’re open and come in and are pleasantly surprised, because we’ve got such an unusual offering,” he said.

“Word of mouth is also really good. We attract a lot of people from Horsham as well as surrounding towns.

“They might go to the café for a coffee and wander down to see us, stopping at other shops along the way. It has become a shopping experience.” 

Mr Uoy said Dimboola residents had embraced the couple as well as the store and they loved being part of the community.

The couple originally planned to buy the Mechanics Institute building in Stawell but the sale fell through. Their home in Melbourne was on the market and they were keen to find a new location for their ‘tree change’.

The Uoys looked at four other buildings before arriving in Dimboola.

“I loved the bank but Dimboola was even further than Stawell so I needed something else to convince me to move here,” Mr Uoy said.

He said he saw comments online about a project to turn the old burnt-down Dimboola Hotel site into a community park.

“I read the comments and it gave me a window into the community,” he said.

“I thought, I want to be part of that.

“It is our last big project and we want to do it well and have fun doing it.”

Mr Uoy said there had been plenty of buzz in Dimboola recently, with the arrival of another retail store, Tilley and Mango, and the sale of the town’s historic Star Theatre. 

“The lady who bought the theatre is an ex-customer of mine from Yarraville, so it’s a small world,” he said.

“It’s very exciting to see the community thriving. I’m trying to put Dimboola out there because more and more Victorians are going to be looking for holiday locations close to home.

“They can’t travel overseas, so I want them to come to Dimboola and see what the town has to offer.”

The entire June 3, 2020 edition of The Weekly Advertiser is available online. READ IT HERE!