As so many of you expressed your appreciation over my son’s inspirational desk (Creativity Challenge #42)…I thought I would invite him this Thursday, to share some of his creative work with us. And he said Yes – so – I hope you will enjoy his explorings!
Sösdala Distillery
There lies an old distillery right next to what feels like endless farm fields. One might assume that the farmers grow potatoes, barley or wheat here – since they are all big components in making spirits – especially Vodka.
This distillery, which is considered one of the oldest in Sweden, was built in 1860 – the same year Sweden passed a law against moonshine. At the time, alcohol consumption was becoming a big issue. Some workplaces even offered to pay their workers in home brewed spirits. This law marked an important milestone towards state-regulated spirits, and an overall healthier relationship to alcohol. But on the flipside, it also gave birth to lucrative smuggling from Denmark.
Sadly, the remnants of the production were few. Some barrels could be found, as well as rusted taps and scales. They had some straw beds left, along with a very rusty stove. I’m impressed that the tall chimney is still intact. Though I wonder why they built a square chimney instead of a round one – since the latter is proven to have better airflow.
Bjärnum – Mattssons Furniture Factory
A remnant from a time where this little town, located in the southern parts of Sweden, flourished with furniture factories. It was abandoned in 1982 and will soon be demolished to make space for a new housing area. I like to imagine that the craftsmanship within these walls will be decorating households for decades to come – so that even if the factory is no more, their work will live on.
Some of the original machinery is still intact and would probably function if serviced.
The ground floor invokes the feeling of a haunting murder scene due to the red color pigment leaked onto the wooden floor. Every single scratch and mark reveal the countless hours of pacing and activity inside. Scrapings from the wooden joist creating a half moon shape onto the door – which most likely led to a loading area.
Posters and signs can be found throughout the factory. The top one forbids the use of tobacco, while the bottom one is a poster for seminars about ”international issues”. The year is 1933, and the fee for the whole course was 1 Swedish Crown. Today, 2019, that would be 32 Crowns – an interesting way to get a perspective of currency inflation.
The building consists of three whole floors. While the lower ones are filled with machines and tools, the upper floors mostly contain books, almanacs and old photos. Ranging from the 1890s to the 1980s – almost a whole century of history.
A stack of paper signed ”L.S” is hidden in a desk drawer on the middle floor. Intimate letter correspondence between one of the workers, assumably a seamstress, and her husband who was sent into World War II. We get to invest ourselves in the hardships of past times. The longing hearts of two lovers, separated. Exchanging handwritten words, feelings and prayers.
Urban exploring is an interesting way to experience and learn about history. These places are all forgotten and abandoned. Sometimes they’re just empty shells. I enjoy searching for puzzle pieces, trying to recreate their stories to show the beauty of it all. It’s a way to pay respect to these life stories – and a way for them to be remembered – if only for a short moment in time.
I would like to thank my Mother for this opportunity. This blog is an inspiration for me, and I hope you enjoyed this peek into my thoughts.
Sincerely,
David P
Leya 
Pingback: Lens-Artists Challenge #133 – My Photography Journey | Leya
David, both of you are excellent photographers and I loved reading your post as well as looking at the photos. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
janet
Thank you for your lovely comment!/David
This is a wonderful post; well-written and your photos are stunning. Old buildings are rich with creative possibilities and you have made the most of them. 🙂
I am happy to share my thoughts and photos here!/David
A great post. It seems that you are both inspirational.
Thank you kindly!/David
what a wonderful post! the photography and narratives are just awesome! thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you for your positive comment!/David
As soon as I saw the first photo, I wished to congratulate your mother on it. Alas, now I can’t. 😉 But I can thank her and you: her for asking you to take part, and you for agreeing. I enjoyed your photos immensely, especially the book and the door next to it but also many others. You can do this again sometimes, guest star on her blog, or start your own. WordPress is a wonderfully supportive community, as you can see.
Thank you for your encouraging words, Manja, I enjoyed participating – and it might be that I will do that again some day… Planning to visit the Mattssons once more before it disappears./David
Love this! Your son is very talented. I love abandoned buildings too. I like to visit them myself.
Thank you very much! Glad you liked the post!
You have a remarkable eye for presenting details that cause the viewer to truly study each image. That is the highest compliment for a photographer. Your work is quite simply remarkable.
I’m very honored to receive such high praise. I will take your valuable comment with me in my future work.
/David
Fascinating! That these treasures are just sitting around, abandoned, for so long amazes me. I’m glad you took the opportunity to treat it creatively and reverently. I’m thinking that in America, vandals would have destroyed it long ago.
Thank you for your warm words. Many of the hidden gems are kept secret between enthusiasts because of the risk of vandalism. No place will ever remain untouched, of course, but I appreciate when these places are treated with respect.
What fantastic post … images and writing, I wonder who he got that from ???? Just beautiful. David, thanks for sharing. l loOooOoOOve the book image.
Thank you. My mother keeps telling me it’s the other way around, but I don’t trust her!
/David
David, you have good genes. *smile … both love to write and use their cameras. Excellent post.
Fascinating. I love old buildings like these..as you say so much history lies within their walls, so many stories.
Yes – and stories are thrilling to try and decipher./David
Awesome post, well written and beautiful photos!
Thank you very much!
/David
evidently you have inherited your photographic eye from your mother – this urban exploration is living history and the angles and details you chose bring the place right in for the viewer too to peek into the distillery and wander about the disused furniture factory. Every shot was remarkable – was it a fish eye lens you used at the end?
Thank you for those magic words Laura. I’m fortunate to share similar interests with my mother, making good use of that inheritance, hahaha!
It is indeed a fish eye lens. As a skateboarder at heart – it is my most precious lens.
/David
What a wonderful place to explore and discover so many things from the past. Great buildings. Thanks for taking me there 🙂
Happy to share it with you!
/David
Wonderful post! I’ve never seen anything like that twisting staircase
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
The twisting staircase was, believe it or not, fully functional as well. It leads up from the cellar to the main brewery.
/David
David, these are wonderful, almost haunting images….a place I would love to see for myself but sure I never will…Thanks, Ann Christine for posting these!
Thank you very much Sue!
If you ever visit Sweden again, I’d be glad to take you there – if it is still standing.
/David
Right, Ann Christine – when can I come over?! You’re always so busy….
Haha, well, yes. Everything is always full up it seems! We will find a date someday though. Can’t say when. Though I would pop over to you first – someday…:-D Right now over full…there’s the EU election first ( I am working full time there) and then…
But well, your troubles with EU are worse than ours anyway.
Wishing you a great weekend!
These are wonderful.
Wonderful words, thank you!
/David
I love seeing photos of abandoned buildings, industry especially, not a subject matter I have managed to get into myself but each time I see peoples work it calls to me. Thank you for sharing David, and thanks to Laya for enabling this 🙂
Thank you.
Abandoned buildings certainly have a special atmosphere to them. I hope you can find some interesting locations near you. Once you start, it’s easy to get quite the appetite for it!
/David