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Thread: New deardorfs?

  1. #1

    Join Date
    Feb 2007
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    Grand Junction,CO
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    New deardorfs?

    http://www.deardorffcameras.com/

    I found this interesting.
    Regards
    Erik

  2. #2
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    May 2006
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    Re: New deardorfs?

    Actually that's not a bad price considering how much the used 8x10's go for on ebay.

  3. #3

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    Re: New deardorfs?

    Quote Originally Posted by tgtaylor View Post
    Actually that's not a bad price considering how much the used 8x10's go for on ebay.

    It's nice to see new stuff being made for our luddite souls

  4. #4

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    Re: New deardorfs?

    Jack Deardorff is gone, so this must be the japanese company that bought the name---or someone else bought or licensed the name from them.
    They look like Deardorffs, anyway.
    Pretty cool!
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jan 2001
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    4,589

    Re: New deardorfs?

    I see that the maker is in Cleveland, Tennessee. That's about 30miles from Athens, TN, which is where the last batch of Deardorf stuff was made just a few years ago, so it's probably the same (Amercan) guy.
    Wilhelm (Sarasota)

  6. #6
    Tracy Storer's Avatar
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    Nov 2001
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    Re: New deardorfs?

    It's Barry Cochran, who worked for Deardorff in TN. aka Attrevida(sp) on ebay, super nice fellow to deal with.
    Tracy Storer
    Mammoth Camera Company tm
    www.mammothcamera.com

  7. #7
    funkadelic
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Yadkinville, NC, USA
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    Re: New deardorfs?

    Ditto on what Tracy said.
    I had the pleasure of snail mail correspondence with Barry a few months ago. I was surprised to see the Deardorff name and an image of a camera in the letterhead. Then again, maybe I'm just easily amused.
    Chris

  8. #8
    L_F_Deardorff_&_Sons,_Inc.
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    Athens, TN
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    3

    Re: New deardorfs?

    Hello all, I haven't been that active on the LF Forum, so thought I should write to introduce myself and to answer some of the questions that have been raised.

    My name is Barry C. Cochran and along with my wife Monica, we own the new company "LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc." Many of you may know us by our eBay username of "Attrevida." We've been active on eBay since 2000 under this username.

    We do indeed own the company, and also the US Trademark for the name "LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc." Over two years ago, we purchased all of the remaining Deardorff inventory, tools, supplies, equipment, blueprints, original images, original documents...the whole works that belonged to John M. "Jack" Deardorff.

    Our plans since that time have been to totally rebuild the company and make it a viable business once again. That has taken time, for there were some gaps in the inventory. For some items, we have sufficient original Chicago inventory that we may never have to purchase new ones again. But, in many cases, inventory had been exhausted and simply not replaced. We've been "filling the empty bins" and are now finally proud to announce that we're in full production once again.

    To answer a few questions...
    (1) Yes, I did manage the company during its short tenure in Athens, Tennessee under the ownership of Gin-Ichi Camera and Tosh Komamura of Horseman. I learned a great deal during those years, and established good relationships with many local vendors in that area. Tennessee production was very limited, and all cameras made during that span were manufactured from brand new parts, none of which came from the original Chicago inventory. Beyond my involvement with the company during this time, the only link between the old Tennessee company and this new one is..."me." That is, none of what we are doing now really has anything to do with the old Tennessee company. I just love the mountains of East Tennessee, and decided long ago to make the area my home. When the opportunity arose to purchase the company, it was an easy decision to locate it in Tennessee, my home.

    FYI: Prior to my involvement with the first Tennessee operations, I had been restoring and rebuilding Deardorff cameras since 1976, the year that I purchased my own first Deardorff.

    (2) The vast majority of our inventory, in short---almost everything we currently own---came from the old Chicago inventory. These are brand new parts that Jack Deardorff retained when the company was sold in 1989. There are a few exceptions: Jack had a limited number of parts manufactured brand new during the past 20 years, while he lived and worked out of Valparaiso, Indiana. But, his resources were rather limited, and not that many new parts were made during that time.

    (3) We are committed to manufacturing Deardorff cameras in all formats from 4x5 through 12x20, using the same materials, tools, equipment, supplies, hardware, knowledge and craftsmanship as the Chicago operation. In every way, our cameras will and do meet or exceed the quality of the original cameras.

    (4) We offer a full range of repair services, and because of the depth of our inventory, we have parts for not only current cameras, but also cameras that have been out of production for many years, such as the Commercial Studio Deardorff's, the Triamapro, and the "Baby" Deardorff.

    (5) We have been almost totally reliant upon eBay for our sales during the past eleven years, where we have built a 100% positive feedback rating on almost 1950 feedback entries. Since 2009, we have sold to over 30 countries and 38 states, and to over 600 unique customers.

    (6) We plan to retain our position on Ebay, but we are also committed to building a huge, in-depth web site where you will be able to purchase new cameras, parts and accessories. You'll also be able to download PDF versions of many original Deardorff images, documents, catalogs, and tutorials.

    (7) Visit our new web site at www.deardorffcameras.com where we are currently accepting "pre-orders" for a "Limited Edition" production run of brand new 4x5 Special and 8x10 cameras. You may also want to revisit the site over the coming weeks and through the end of this year. Some updates and expansions to the web site will happen within the next couple of weeks. Within the next 10 days, look for a "gallery" page that will features photos of the work that we've done so far, along with images of our new facility.

    To fully implement our new web site will take until the end of this year. We will also become more active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube shortly.


    If you have more questions, feel free to contact us through our web site. We welcome your suggestions and comments, we are there to serve you.

    Thanks,

    Barry & Monica Cochran
    LF Deardorff & Sons, Inc.
    A registered US Trademark

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Huntsville, Alabama, USA
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    150

    Re: New deardorfs?

    Welcome Barry & Monica

    Thanks for the update and best wishes for good success in your endeavor.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Dec 2001
    Location
    San Joaquin Valley, California
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    9,599

    Re: New deardorfs?

    Now I know what to put down for replacement cost on my insurance policy.
    I've always dreaded loosing my early 1950's V8 and having to find a replacement.
    "I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White

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