Astronomia - Opened
Astronomia the new astrology shop don't do things by halves. The shop which has opened in the former Jane Elliott unit sells some serious telescopes. Just a quick glance in the window will explain what I am talking about.
This is a shop which will be not used by most of us but serves a specialised, high end, market. To me it is definitely preferable to another estate agent, coffee bar or charity shop.
Hope it does well.
posted by The Cockerel @ 10:49 PM
13 Comments:
Well I must say that shop is the most unique I have seen ever. I suppose if you are serious about star gazing it would be well wort a visit, i don't mean to be negative but i just can't see it working.......I do hope i'm prooved wrong if it does work it will add a little more character to the high street.Good luck to them
The Mole
Westcott Willie would love to purchase a telescope from Astronomia. However, since a recent debacle involving the police and social services and a gross misunderstanding over a pair of binoculars.....
I personally cannot see anyone who would remotely be interested in this shop. All it is has in the window, is a few very expensive telescopes and globes on sale. What a waste of a unit in Dorking. How many of these random, so-called specialist shops can Dorking have?? I hate to say it, but it will probably be gone by the end of the year!
Well, I wish this new shop all the very best in Dorking. It is certainly very unique and fingers crossed it will pull in the customers. Hopefully, the owners have done their homework on Dorking and their specialised business and I am hoping it will be around for many, many years to come. Jo
Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Astronomia is my shop - I'll tell you why I opened it in Dorking.
It sort of just happened - I have run the IT company that occupies the rest of the building for the last 10 years, and when the landlord offered us the premises, we took it. Then I started thinking about what to put in it!
I studied Physics with Space Science for my degree so the astronomy came naturally to me. It also fulfilled all my aims - something that would bring people into Dorking, a non-chain store, and NOT another showroom, which seems to be the way the eastern end of Dorking High Street is going.
It may not be as specialist as you think, though - we have telescopes for less than £200 which will find the stars and planets for you - all you have to do is the star-gazing, no specialist knowledge required!
We will be around for the long-term - so far business has been very good. That's probably because we are the only dedicated astronomy centre for miles around but I'd like to think I could inspire people to make astronomy their hobby... its really quite something to see the rings of Saturn and the craters of the Moon with your own eyes!
Would you mind correcting the original post?
Astrology and astronomy are diametrically opposed. Just don't get Sir Patrick Moore started on the subject!
I saw Astronomia for the first time today and did a double-take. This really is a specialist shop! I for one will be stepping inside to see whether I can afford to fulfill a childhood ambition and own a proper telescope.
If the landlord has set the rent appropriately, it would be nice to think that this shop can offer the personal shopping service that cheaper internet suppliers just cannot match and that it can survive for a long time.
It is so nice to see a shop which counteracts the cloning of the British High Street.
[JR]
I fully intend to buy a reflector from this shop, it's a great idea. I bought one for my sister a while back which was great value and wanted one where I used to live (in Raynes Park) but the height of the buildings around me and the light pollution from the railway and London in general made it unrealistic. Now, out here, I can really get a good look at the heavens. I can only imagine the range of stars that can be seen from Box Hill after dark....
Great of the owner of Astronomia to explain his reasons for opening up in Dorking. Dorking is a very special town. It has a great blend of shops. For Dorking to succeed, it should not try and compete with higher order centres like Guildford, Reigate and Epsom. It needs to redevelop and amalgamate units to provide larger modern units. It needs to adopt a better marketing strategy for the town. It needs to improve bus services from the outskirts and rural areas and finally, it needs to continue manintenance and enhancement of the town centre. The reason why I love shopping in Dorking is its character and appearance and the range of specialist/independent retailers. That is why it is so importance to welcome the likes of Astronomia with open arms, shop in these premises and spread the word that Dorking is a very unique shopping experience.
Sadly, the people of Leatherhead do not understand the importance of specialist/independent retailers. In the last couple of weeks, a glut of specialist/independent retailers have put their retail properties on the market - Kia (jewellers), Earth Collection (women's clothing), a South African specialist shop, Corbetts (independent bookshop), another specialist furniture shop in the Swan Centre. All, we have had opening up is Munch (chain bakery/sandwich retailer), Starbucks, Greggs and Carphone Warehouse. It is enough to make you physically sick.
So, to the people who sneer and doubt the logic of the independent retailers from opening in Dorking, I hope that you are proved very wrong. When I think of Dorking, I think of the Harley Cafe, The Wow Gallery, Nina boutique, Pandoro, Fothergills, Wellers the newsagent, Saffron, Cummings, Rowes, SC Clears, Bakehouse, the numerous antique shops, John Eccles, Dorking Floors, Dorking Windows, Dorking Flowers and many, many others. So, very best luck to the newly opened Astronomia. Welcome to Dorking and long may Dorking be a mecca for the specialist/independent retailer.
Leatherhead Lip
i think this new shop is unique as ive never seen the like in any other town,really need to visit it soon..pity its not open sunday too,also is there any plan for a website?
We have now managed to get our website online - it just contains details about the shop and our general lines at the moment rather than stocklists/pricing etc. The address is www.astronomia.co.uk
For info, we stock the popular Celestron and Meade telescopes, Celestron Binoculars, many accessories for both brands, plus a selection of astronomy books and some globes.
At some point we will probably launch an online stocklist with pricing and perhaps the ability to purchase, but at present our focus has been on making the shop a success.
Neil
Having recently moved from Dorking to North Wales (much darker skies) I was pleased to learn about the new Astronomy shop opening up. I hope they are planning an online shop too. My husband and I will certainly call in when we next visit our old home town.
all the best Astronomia! How about opening a North Wales branch?
Jane
Excellent shop to have in Dorking. What a great range of products and a very helpful staff member. I wish this shop all the best and hope they have a lot of success. It will be great to get more people into astronomy as it's such a wonderful part of our lives.
A great addition to the high street - I wish them all the best.
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