No Man's Land, or Where Prams Collide - The new DFO Canberra in Fyshwick.

For men, however, my advice is to drop the girls at the DFO and then head to Kembla street for some Zierholz beer until they call you to collect them.
Funny you should mention that – we went in to Zierholz for lunch on Saturday and the place was packed. Didn’t even occur to us until a bit later why that was – the poor bar manager was being run off her feet (she reckons previous Saturdays they’d had maybe 12 people through in dribs and drabs) – doubly so since the person who usually helped her was off for the day. Somehow she managed to maintain a smiling, bubbly demeanour. Looks like a lot of people took the “let’s go to the DFO…then have lunch at that brewery place” plan.

A]ELN]ETLN]PLBEA]T

Obviously ancient Sumerian script.

Either that or random capitals

As luck would have it, I’m fluent in ancient Sumerian. It says “the Aliens are coming.”

Seems Granny was right, after all 😉

L

I welcome our new martian overlords

I’ve decided it’s code for “The martians are coming” ….

Nah, my cat is smart. Unlike this person.

Actually my cat has only one working eye, a steel plate in his leg, and apparently had the largest balls the vet had ever seen….thats my boy..

scootergal said :

A]ELN]ETLN]PLBEA]T

The cat did it.

I’ve just come back from DFO and found it very disappointing. As a large, well-built male I have to ask why all the sizings of clothes stop at XL. I really wanted to go on a spending spree but there was nothing in my size.

Granny said :

I was just thinking, “Wow! All those abbrevs are far too hip for me to understand!!”

*chuckle*

Well , I’m pretty sure this person has some sort of learning difficulty. It probably made sense to her.

heinous said :

Just so everyone knows, someone has used my password and posted under my username. I have reset it, but please ignore anything that was said in the last few hours, as I haven’t been online. Thank you.

Someone hacked my password and has been using it for the last year! Please ignore all of my (ahem their) previous posts and let’s start afresh then hey wot?

I don’t back away from any of my posts sweetie, but I don’t use capital letters and abbreviations either.

s-s-a said :

I hate this. I hate Canberra’s need to consume rubbish. I’m sure most people out there will love the place, but for me it holds no real interest.

I don’t mind whether this was from the real Scootergal or not but I’ll say ditto to it anyway.

I still haven’t been to Brand Depot and have no plans to visit either there or DFO. I bargain shop (occasionally) at the Salvos near Fyshwick Markets :).

This was from the real, the one and only, and I shop there frequently as well.

I hate this. I hate Canberra’s need to consume rubbish. I’m sure most people out there will love the place, but for me it holds no real interest.

I don’t mind whether this was from the real Scootergal or not but I’ll say ditto to it anyway.

I still haven’t been to Brand Depot and have no plans to visit either there or DFO. I bargain shop (occasionally) at the Salvos near Fyshwick Markets :).

Just so everyone knows, someone has used my password and posted under my username. I have reset it, but please ignore anything that was said in the last few hours, as I haven’t been online. Thank you.

Someone hacked my password and has been using it for the last year! Please ignore all of my (ahem their) previous posts and let’s start afresh then hey wot?

grunge_hippy said :

i’ll do what i did when brand depot opened… wait 6 months until the buzz dies down, be bitterly disappointed because there are no clothes shops that cater to women beyond a size minus 8 who actually like to look less like a skanky hooker and wear stilettos to the sky. i’ll then never go there again.

I think you’ll be surprised re: sizes…. most of the time the stock is left over and therefore it’s the larger or smaller sizes, rather than the 10-12.

I bought a dress from Portmans today and it was the last size 10… flipped through the whole rack to find it. There was plenty of larger sizes if that’s what you’re after 🙂

Don’t know why there’s some negative speak re the availabilty of men’s gear at the DFO.

Was out there at the opening on Thu night and came across a great mix of mens stores including Rivers, Diesel, Mossimo, Colorado, Fletcher Jones, Industrie, Factorie, Ron Bennett as well as leisure stores such as Timberland, Core Explorer, Puma, Fila. The list goes on. Cr*ps all over Brand Depot. Of course, there’s more for the ladies, but thats expected.

For Brumbies fans one of the stores Podium Sports has 2008 jerseys for $50. These normally are close to $150.00. Also have other Brumbies gear half price or less including polos, caps, scarves and beanies.

Food outlet wise, a mate tells me when out there today there was a Subway and three or four other stores open. I didn’t see these on Thurday night, but putting two and two together looks like they are in area which was curtained off on opening night for a VIP opening party.

Will be great when the likes of JB Hi Fi, Clive Anthony, etc open in the coming weeks.

I was just thinking, “Wow! All those abbrevs are far too hip for me to understand!!”

*chuckle*

Just so everyone knows, someone has used my password and posted under my username. I have reset it, but please ignore anything that was said in the last few hours, as I haven’t been online. Thank you.

So how were the crowds trying to get out of the carpark tonight eh? Personally, I blame the extraordinary low standard of driving ability in Canberra, leading to people needing 50 metres of empty space around them even at 10km/h in a carpark, rather than simply driving smoothly to the exit.

So it’s just a bigger Brand Depot, then? Even looks like it from those interior photos…

JB opening there would be sweet, though. Much easier to hit during lunchtime than the Woden store for me.

A]ELN]ETLN]PLBEA]T

SheepGroper said :

The turn at the entrance doesn’t seems barely wide enough and easly blocked by a bingle.

Speaking of such things, there was a bingle on Canberra Ave at the DFO traffic lights this afternoon where it looked like a large cement truck had collected the left rear quarter of a car. A combination of the extra traffic of people going in/out of DFO and rubber-neckers gawking at the acco mean a slow trip to Struggletown.

scootergal said :

I hate this. I hate Canberra’s need to consume rubbish. I’m sure most people out there will love the place, but for me it holds no real interest. I prefer my shopping experiences to be in Belco and Woden, or as I like to call them, 1975 and 1983. They just look like those years for me.

appreciated!

i actually had a pass for last night, but couldnt be bothered.

i’ll do what i did when brand depot opened… wait 6 months until the buzz dies down, be bitterly disappointed because there are no clothes shops that cater to women beyond a size minus 8 who actually like to look less like a skanky hooker and wear stilettos to the sky. i’ll then never go there again.

works for me. i am pissed we arent getting the IKEA that we were told we were getting! i would have bought those damn cupboards i wanted in july, but didnt because i thought we were getting one!

peterh said :

I will check out dfo eventually, but no gadget shops, no point…

Hear! Hear!

L

I went there last night, and found it pretty bad.

may of just been me.

Maybe i just wrote a really un-girly thing on here. Meh.

(The lines for the shoe shops last night! OH MY GOD..there is more to life than shoes!!)

The bookshop is one of those dreary affairs where people who don’t read books go and buy them for people who they think might like them.

Rubbish. I got myself a great book on Medieval warfare, useful for future D&D sessions and artwork.

I tried to go back at lunchtime, but got turned away from the Nob Street entrance by a disinterested employee, tried another entrance and ended up doing a tour of the underground car park, and it was time to head back for a meeting. Is there really only one entrance/exit to the car park? The turn at the entrance doesn’t seems barely wide enough and easly blocked by a bingle.

Loquaciousness said :

Granny said :

For me it is usually just a job that has to be done, and a thankless one at that. There’s nothing more unrewarding than the ‘you’ve just killed me’ stunned-rabbit-in-headlights look after you’ve just about killed yourself trying to provide something needed by the family.

Yeah, been there. Done that. Probably will be forced into doing it again many times over yet (especially with a daughter starting school next year …). Ugh.

L

I avoid shopping at all costs. trying to shop with a 3yo and twin boys (permanently welded into the stroller) is nothing short of breakdown material.

I will check out dfo eventually, but no gadget shops, no point…

Well, especially if they need a Dick Dastardly costume for instance ….

; )

I too went to the gala opening Thursday night. Lovebumps was meant to be present, but piked because she has a cold or bird flu.

I arrived about 5:30PM and the queue was HUGE. The male:female ratio was about 19:1. It would have been a great place to pick up 20-something females who take pride in their appearance, but Lovebumps doesn’t let me choose without her anymore. Not since I brought home a delightful young lady she works with. (This event is now known as ‘Awkward Night’.)

We used to go to Brand Depot semi-regularly, mostly for ‘Global Rags’ (all the US brandname coolkid streetwear). But ‘Global Rags’ has gone, and the brandnames are where DFO is pretty strong. Morrissey, Pepe, Abercrombie&Fitch… it’s like someone had spied on my last three eBay purchases.

Walking around time was about an hour. I spent about $70 – two A&F items and some groovalicious rice bowls from ‘Made In Japan’.

Granny said :

For me it is usually just a job that has to be done, and a thankless one at that. There’s nothing more unrewarding than the ‘you’ve just killed me’ stunned-rabbit-in-headlights look after you’ve just about killed yourself trying to provide something needed by the family.

Yeah, been there. Done that. Probably will be forced into doing it again many times over yet (especially with a daughter starting school next year …). Ugh.

L

“More of a Freema Agyeman man myself.”

Had to look up who you were talking about…

Funny the photos you stumble on along the way…

Aurelius said :

JB, if she dumped you over dessert, I hope you got her ice cream

Hopefully she left wearing the ice cream ….

Shopping can be pleasurable when you don’t actually have to buy something. It can be a buzz when you’re meandering along and you see it calling to you from across a preferably not crowded room.

But when you absolutely must find something for a particular occasion or purpose it is just hard work and frankly exhausting both physically and mentally.

For me it is usually just a job that has to be done, and a thankless one at that. There’s nothing more unrewarding than the ‘you’ve just killed me’ stunned-rabbit-in-headlights look after you’ve just about killed yourself trying to provide something needed by the family.

caf said :

s/girls/shoppers/

johnboy said :

Apologies if I implied that “looking at clothes and trying them on” was something all women got off on.

Point successfully made then 🙂

L

JB, if she dumped you over dessert, I hope you got her ice cream

Apologies if I implied that “looking at clothes and trying them on” was something all women got off on.

We should be honest with ourselves though. The good shoppers at DFO will have more to show for their money in the morning.

no different from the hyperdome then?

So shouldn’t the Hyperdome be called “1987”

s/girls/shoppers/

caf said :

Might I suggest the girls instead drop the beer drinkers off on the way instead… otherwise you won’t be able to partake of too much of Zierholz’ liquid product!

What about the girls who are also beer drinkers? Not that a giant retail establishment is causing me any kind of internal unrest over whether or not to go to the pub, I might add. (Go and hang out in a pub, or wear out my shoes whilst causing physical pain to my wallet? What a dilemma!)

What time are we meeting at Zierholz?

L

Inside was, well even bigger than the outside. The shoe shops stretch further than the eye can see.

I don’t know about anyone else, but my first thought was Tardis …

L

A girl who breaks up with you over desert at Madam Yip?

But doesn’t actually leave?

Wasted I tells you.

Back on topic now…

johnboy said :

Gungahlin Al said :

Spooky – see David Tennant and Billie Piper perchance?

More of a Freema Agyeman man myself.

That might be the result of wasting years of my life chasing after a girl who gets stopped in the street for Billie’s autograph.

That would never be a wasted life.

Gungahlin Al said :

Spooky – see David Tennant and Billie Piper perchance?

More of a Freema Agyeman man myself.

That might be the result of wasting years of my life chasing after a girl who gets stopped in the street for Billie’s autograph.

In the US, Mossimo do a big range for the Target stores over there. Good stuff, too. Each article in the $20 range, less for boardies. Actually if you go to the department store clearance shops (Nordstrom Rack, TJ Maxx et al) you can pick up a good range of Quiksilver and Billabong boardies for $20/pop.
We get done here.

“I just had a look on Google Maps and there is no DFO at this site…”
“Inside was, well even bigger than the outside.”

Spooky – see David Tennant and Billie Piper perchance?

For men, however, my advice is to drop the girls at the DFO and then head to Kembla street for some Zierholz beer until they call you to collect them.

Might I suggest the girls instead drop the beer drinkers off on the way instead… otherwise you won’t be able to partake of too much of Zierholz’ liquid product!

Can;t wait to check it out 🙂 And will orbably go with my man, but he’s more of a labels tragic than I am 🙂

johnboy said :

ant said :

Seems odd that they wouldn’t have plenty of bloke gear shops. There’s some shops at Brand Depot (all look teh same to me) selling articles of men’s clothing with hoods, covered in gold foil patterns.

There are plenty of shops selling men’s clothes. But it’s not men who buy these things (at least unless accompanied, or possibly forced at gunpoint, by their partners).

I beg to differ. My ex-husband was Imelda Marcos (somewhat prematurely) reincarnated.

For men, however, my advice is to drop the girls at the DFO and then head to Kembla street for some Zierholz beer until they call you to collect them.

Bugger that. I’m coming for a beer.

L

I gave my “opening night” pass to a friend who went along last night. Initally she was afraid to attend for fear that she might go and overdose on bargains with her credit card – she was conviced to attend after I suggested that she could take her purse with her and leave the credit card locked in the car’s glovebox.

Apparently she loved the event last night. Though she was dead tired by the end of the night – there was a lot of walking as the place is huge.

She indicated that there was a queue to get in (where they were served a glass of bubbly) and there were no food places open other than coffee club (which apparently had horendous lines). The shops in the home-makers area are for the most part still under construction.

The freebie for opening night was the ubiquitious reusable “cloth” carry bag – think supermarket green bag but more stylish in a canvas style material finish.

She came back with a pair of Mossimo jeans for her son which she picked up for $40.00 compared with the usual price of $120.00 in the normal retail shops.

Her comment was that “DFO left Brand Depot for dead”

“For men, however, my advice is to drop the girls at the DFO and then head to Kembla street for some Zierholz beer until they call you to collect them.”

That comment reminds me of the sign I saw on the way to Hall last Sunday – “Wood Duck Inn Husband Minding Service” 🙂

I doubt I’ll ever go. I, too, prefer Belco, but if people want to shop at DFO, let them. I actually know someone who went from Canberra to Melbourne to shop at that DFO (as well as seeing a family member – but the tales of the great bargains at the DFO didn’t end).

Skidbladnir said :

This story is so wrong, I just had a look on Google Maps and there is no DFO at this site. 😛

Has anybody else noticed that when Googling for DFO Canberra, the first non-RiotACT hit is actually a “See results for: brand depot canberra”, followed by a link to Brand Depot?

wow, that is really great!

free advertising – must mention it to Brand Depot marketing, they will be thrilled, unless bree is already reading this…

11am ? So you don’t have a job either ?!

Granny said :

Not one smiling face ….

no different from the hyperdome then?

This story is so wrong, I just had a look on Google Maps and there is no DFO at this site. 😛

Has anybody else noticed that when Googling for DFO Canberra, the first non-RiotACT hit is actually a “See results for: brand depot canberra”, followed by a link to Brand Depot?

Not one smiling face ….

> But what about our Hospital system? It’s the worst in the country!

What’s that got to do with a shopping mall?

There’s a minor difference in whp pays for hospital upgrades vs who pays for a new DFO…

But what about our Hospital system? It’s the worst in the country!

ant said :

Shoes eh? Nice ones? Or Frawleys-type shops?

I’m not the droid you’re looking for… but they looked up the snazzy end of the scale.

ant said :

Seems odd that they wouldn’t have plenty of bloke gear shops. There’s some shops at Brand Depot (all look teh same to me) selling articles of men’s clothing with hoods, covered in gold foil patterns.

There are plenty of shops selling men’s clothes. But it’s not men who buy these things (at least unless accompanied, or possibly forced at gunpoint, by their partners).

I hate this. I hate Canberra’s need to consume rubbish. I’m sure most people out there will love the place, but for me it holds no real interest. I prefer my shopping experiences to be in Belco and Woden, or as I like to call them, 1975 and 1983. They just look like those years for me.

I will add comment as I went to the opening last night and found a few good bargains. Nice shoes, and nice men’s shoes too. And nice men’s clothing. I’d give it a few months then go check it out.
I was speaking to a lady who works in the Homebush DFO and had come down for the opening and she believes ours is better than homebush in terms of fitouts, stores on offer etc.

Told yer, people with prams, and on a weekday, people without jobs (who burp).

Shoes eh? Nice ones? Or Frawleys-type shops?

Seems odd that they wouldn’t have plenty of bloke gear shops. There’s some shops at Brand Depot (all look teh same to me) selling articles of men’s clothing with hoods, covered in gold foil patterns.