I met Jorge one morning in March at Frank’s Deli on
Durham Street after contacting him by email to
discuss something that I was working on. I was back
in Sudbury looking to piece together the plan to
purchase Doran’s Northern Breweries and convert it
into The Brewer Lofts. Meeting Jorge wasn’t in many
ways unlike others who I’ve met to discuss this
‘mysterious’ project - though, he provided a unique
context and perspective that differed from anyone
else.

As a photographer myself, one has a certain respect
for those who are doing good work and exploring new
avenues of creativity that are realized in many forms.
My interest was to better understand how Jorge first
found himself in the building, what his thoughts were,
what it felt like and the conditions that he faced. All of
this is documented in ‘Northern Breweries: revisited’
published in 2010 which in an excellent reference for
our conversation and the plans I had in front of me.
The proposition for him - to reshoot the building. The
only creative direction was to photograph it on a blue
sky day as a counterpoint to his original experience in
the building four years earlier.

We proceeded to meet at Lorne at Victoria on a sunny

Saturday a few months later to let him do his thing. I
set off to clean one of the many enormous rooms in
the building to begin work on its initial stages of
rehabilitation. The building after all is the star. Jorge
and I wouldn't have met for any other reason than for
it - and for that, I’m thankful.

Now into Summer, reviewing the photos while he was
editing this magazine, I feel the difference in the
building as much as the photographer himself.
Maybe change of season, or change of reason.
Whatever it is...change is good. Either way - this first
edition shows where we started, in a series to follow.

- THE BREWER LOFTS - Greg Oldenburg