General News
6 December, 2024
Creativity runs wild at Dimboola Imaginarium
Five years ago the building that once housed the National Bank of Australasia was vacant, with locals wondering what it would eventually become, with many hoping it would become a restaurant.
Never would they have thought it would turn into a place of imagination and creativity.
"The last five years have been a journey of transformation, both personally and professionally," Chan Uoy said.
"The process has been both challenging and satisfying and by transforming the building, we changed our lives."
When Chan and Jamie Uoy first moved to Dimboola in 2019, they were the new kids on the block.
They were city people wanting to make a change in their lives.
"Jamie and I had fantasised about moving to the country for years," Mr Uoy said.
Owning a retail business wasn't something they knew, as they previously worked in the hospitality industry for 20 years, creating restaurants in Yarraville and Docklands in Melbourne which soon led to burnout.
"My life was like a merry-go-round of the same daily, weekly, and yearly routines," he said.
"I could no longer wait for Docklands to take off, so I had to cut my losses and start a new life, before my physical and mental health took a turn for the worse."
Before they knew it, their life was packed up in Melbourne and was only just beginning in the small town of Dimboola.
"I sat in the backyard momentarily and thought, “What have I done?” but I quickly resolved to give this project everything I had left to make a difference in our lives and the town," Mr Uoy said.
The Imaginarium was born out of creative freedom with the desire of them both wanting to be inspired by life again and create a new experience.
"I love books, and my ultimate dream is to be able to write my own," he said.
"Architecture also played an essential role in an Imaginarium, creating a sense of wonder as we all need wonderment."
To begin with, Dimboola wasn't receiving enough foot traffic after the town was bypassed in 1989 and became quiet, which was an initial challenge for the new retail business owners.
"Boosting tourism was the key, but this would take a while to build up," he said.
"Although Dimboola had many wonderful and amazing things, it didn't have a reputation as a shopping destination for many years.
"We wanted to create a compelling store experience that excited your mind and that you couldn’t get in Melbourne or Adelaide, as we knew we had to inspire people to get off the Western Highway and into Dimboola."
With the power of marketing, social media and word of mouth, the creative and imaginative business soon led the town into change, bringing quirkiness which is what the town is now known for.
"At the start, a local man who had lived in Dimboola for 10 years told us, 'Don’t do anything too ambitious. Some locals would not like it'," Mr Uoy said.
"He was right about the tall-poppy syndrome, but we did it anyway, because we don’t believe in mediocrity.
"When we said it was becoming an Imaginarium, they didn’t know what that was, so they were curious when we opened it."
When the store officially opened in November of 2019, Chan said the response they received from the locals was surprising.
"One local said that we had brought the world to Dimboola," he said.
"The first impression was essential to set the tone of an Imaginarium, as there was no second chance to get it right.
"The products we stocked for the opening, included monkey lamps and candelabras from Seletti in Italy, stationery from Bomo Art Budapest, and coffee table books from French publisher Assouline.
"Why shouldn’t Dimboola have access to beautiful products that only international cities have?"
Chan described life at the Dimboola Imaginarium like a 'sitcom'.
"You never know who will walk through the front doors. The spectrum of personalities and their stories entertain us every day," he said.
"From the customer’s initial expression, we can always tell that this is their first time at the Dimboola Imaginarium. After opening the door, their first response is usually, 'Wow'.
"Through the house tours, people develop an appreciation for Dimboola’s heritage, the positive experiences people enjoy, make the hard work of creating the Dimboola Imaginarium worth it."
Mr Uoy said the store will continue to grow with the town with the aim of becoming an immersive experience, both indoor and outdoor.
"The once-empty shops in Dimboola are now nearly fully occupied, meaning more competition," he said.
"Our offerings have to change with the market and the community’s tastes, so the challenge is to develop new products and ideas that will keep people coming to Dimboola.
"The side garden is perfect for collaborative events, and we would like to call it the ‘Gardenarium’. Plants take time to grow and create shade in the future."
Community members gathered inside the Dimboola Imaginarium, where they helped Chan and Jamie celebrate five wonderful years of operation, all while enjoying an evening of nibbles and tasty gin.
"The last five years have been a creative process that has brought us joy, and we have shared it with others in the community," Mr said.
"What drew us to this wonderful town is still here, but amazing people have added so much more. People are friendly, and the town is a melting pot of diverse and interesting people from all walks of life."