STORIES
ROOTS
How a fascination, which became a passion, became a lifestyle
My mum often tells me how, as a child, I would disappear from sight while scanning the shoreline. Looking down, I was always searching the ground for small treasures. Shells, fossils, feathers, bones; little souvenirs to add to my ‘collection of memories’.
I’ve always had a deep fascination with stories and history. With everything that made me wonder about the past and sparked my curiosity about origins and tales. That’s why, for me, it has never been just about the physical value of things, but above all about nostalgia. About the backgrounds, roots and stories that old items carry with them.
Old objects have a soul, and that is what distinguishes them from what is new. Signs of use are like scars; a patina that gives an object character and charm. An originality that only time can offer.
“Fascination for Tangible Stories”
As I grew older, my collection, knowledge and passion continued to grow. My fascination became a lifestyle, and I wanted to share it with others. By offering relics, I hope to help people revive the past and let old items tell their stories. I believe people have a deep appreciation for what has been preserved from times gone by, and that these objects may even stir memories or fantasies. That’s what Roots Revived is all about!
— Dirk
Faunatic
I have a precious memory of coming across a huge mounted moose head as a child. I remember how intrigued I was by the size of its head and the enormous antlers attached to it. Even though I knew it had long been dead, hanging there high on the wall, it still seemed to look me right in the eyes. The thought of this animal once roaming the wild forests and plains sparked my childlike imagination.
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Combining my two biggest fascinations, nature and history, I dreamt of one day becoming a paleontologist when I was little. Spending your days travelling to remote places, digging for tiny clues left behind by the past; to me, this seemed the most adventurous life one could have. The idea of discovering species that inhabited the earth millions of years before we did, species we didn’t even know had existed, set my imagination running even further.
Having always loved and been around animals, I wanted to know as much as possible about the things I saw and found in nature, and I started to collect everything I associated with them.
I never became a paleontologist, but I did fulfill my dream in another way: by dedicating my life to reviving history. Much like a paleontologist, I spend my days searching for relics that have been fossilized by time.
Over the years, I have gathered quite a collection of natural and historical relics, some of which have become rare and unique over time.
However, collecting and selling taxidermy and animal specimens always comes with a dilemma. It remains a sensitive subject to many, and for good reason. We humans haven’t been very careful with the earth and the creatures we share it with. Much of what was once wild and untamed has been claimed and polluted by our doing. This awareness has sometimes left me wondering whether it is ethical to own what truly belongs to nature. Isn’t it hypocritical to love animals and yet decorate your house with taxidermy? I never mean to encourage trophy hunting, poaching or the smuggling of illegal species, especially endangered ones.
I thought about the motive behind my collection and realized that, to me, these beautiful pieces are not trophies, but memories and mementos of what were once majestic living creatures.
That is why, by salvaging and selling these specimens, I want to share my fascination and admiration for animals and nature. I also hope to intrigue people, the same way I was intrigued as a child when I saw that moose, while raising awareness and appreciation of the precious but endangered wild kingdom that we so urgently need to cherish.
History
Every item in the Roots Revived collection has been carefully selected for its roots and nostalgic value, yet most of these pieces leave you guessing about the stories behind them.
This is what gives these curiosities their mysterious charm. A sense of the past triggers our imagination and makes us wonder what an object has been through, the places it has been and the people who once owned it. Tangible relics that have survived intact, while their history has long been forgotten.
But in some rare cases, the story has been preserved alongside the object, passed on from generation to generation. Sometimes these stories are so special that they stay with me long after the items have left my hands. Like these stories.
- GWRWhen I first came across this heavy monogram, I initially thought it read “CWR”, due to its missing pieces. It…
- Livpäls
Serious weather calls for serious equipment. That must have been the thinking behind the Swedish army’s development of this remarkable… - Cetiosaurus
C E T I O S A U R U S Shot on black-and-white film, this original press photograph captures…
- Type IIIIn the 1960s, back when the famous red tab was still spelled “LEVI’S” with the iconic “Big E”, Levi’s introduced…
- Venlonia
The headstock of this vintage parlor guitar, that I found in a local thrift shop, was marked with an old…
Fate
Reviving and preserving these precious stories might seem to be my main motivation, but the other half of what I’m trying to accomplish is passing them on. Making sure they won’t be lost or forgotten, but end up where they always seemed to belong: with people who share my passion for history and tales. Fellow enthusiasts, collectors and wonderers. People who don’t just see these relics as physical investments, but truly appreciate their nostalgic value, and who will add to it by attaching even more memories and stories. It feels like a shared duty to cherish our heritage.
As mysterious as the past of some finds is, so is their destiny. Where these items will end up is always a surprise, but in some rare cases it seems fate has chosen a place better than I could ever have imagined. Like these places.