SilverPan 🫶🏼 Analogue Wonderland

We have an exceptionally exciting announcement this morning: Analogue Wonderland has acquired SilverPan Film Lab!

Founded by Duncan Gammon in May 2018 (the same month Analogue Wonderland first opened its doors) - SilverPan Film Lab has been a trusted name in the industry for the past five years. Right from the beginning Duncan was renowned for his commitment to quality, attention to detail, and personalised customer service.

After two years of growing the business he took up residence on 177 Two Mile Hill Road in Bristol, employed lab technicians to support the growth, and now occupies a lovely retail unit that showcases the lab equipment and team busy at work!

Justine and Duncan - the SilverPan Film Lab superheroes

What does this mean for AW customers?

Analogue Wonderland's goal is to help make film photography fun and accessible for everyone. With that in mind we launched our in-house lab - the WonderLab - 18 months ago with the aim of being able to process every type of film that we sell. However the demand for our core services (C41 colour and B&W) has proven to be much greater than expected. So even as we hire three new lab staff this month (!) we just can't imagine having the spare capacity anytime soon to invest in new services.

Which brings us to Duncan 🙌🏼 He is a true lab specialist and alongside Justine - his premier lab technician - he has accumulated an extensive knowledge of rarer film processes (E6 and ECN2), stand and rotary developing, and advanced scanning methods. His lab has multiple manual processing machines, top-end developing and printing equipment, and specialist scanners (including a Hasselblad Flextight).

We've been partnering with Duncan over the past few months to offer some of his services via our site - but it's not particularly straightforward. By bringing it all under one roof we'll be able to create a much smoother system for you 😊 regardless of what films you shoot!

It will allow our core lab to focus on delivering a fast and excellent service for the most common processes at scale, while SilverPan can specialise - with advanced techniques and multiple options for folks who want a bit more of a bespoke service for their films.

What does this mean for SilverPan customers?

The most immediate impact will be that SilverPan is stocking a selection of our films for purchase in-store! You can't (yet) order from our site for pick-up at SilverPan - but if you're in Bristol then please do pop in to stock up.

Other than that there won't be any dramatic immediate changes. The website remains the same, the people remain the same, and your films will continue to be looked after with exceptional care.

Over the coming months we will start to integrate more parts of the business 'behind the scenes' - in the future you will be able to earn and redeem WonderPoints on SilverPan processing services, you'll be able to pick up AW orders from SilverPan, customer service will all come under one email address and phone number, that kind of thing.

Duncan on a 2019 photowalk, shot by Paul McKay on Cinestill BwXX

A personal note

Duncan and myself have had a remarkably similar journey over the past 5 years. Starting our businesses within a few days of each other, jumping ship from our 'steady' careers at the same moment, turning up to community photowalks and events, nursing our businesses through pandemics and economic crises - we've often leant on each other for ideas and emotional support. So this partnership feels like a natural next step, over-and-above the business rationale I've discussed above.

And one thing we've always shared has been a genuine love of film - from the experience of taking photos, the geeking out over cameras, the delight of seeing slides on a light-box - and most importantly the wonderful community that underpins it all.

It is a pleasure and privilege to be able to work every day with analogue photography, and we are both eternally grateful for the support you've provided that allows us to do so.

Thank you - and here's to the future of film! 🍻

- Paul, co-founder of Analogue Wonderland