Just like the dull rocks that often reveal geode formations in nature, one would not expect to find such a sweet surprise inside what look a bit like giant Easter eggs (or perhaps dinosaur droppings).

As a final thesis project for the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Alex Yeatts and Abby Lee Wilcox spent months crafting these monstrous treats.

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Orange-red and purple crystals inside look remarkably natural, particularly the latter (resembling typical amethysts). While hardly healthy, one could imagine subsisting on these gigantic desserts indefinitely.

In a similar vein (treats imitating nature), the “flower cakes” (and cupcakes) of Iven Kawi are stunning works of culinary art, so lifelike one could imagine being pricked by the needles on cacti or grind one’s teeth on the sandy landscapes (via Colossal).

When it comes to abandoned candy stores like these 11 examples, sweet has turned to sour quicker than toothache sufferers turn to their dentists.

Whipsawed by the varying vicissitudes of a changing retail culture, macroeconomic trends and good old urban blight, traditional Mom & Pop candy stores are circling the drain and nobody’s standing by with a plug. Flickr user Bartosz Brzezinski (JohnnyGotHisGun) captured the sour state of one such example – the long-abandoned K&M Candy Store in Detroit’s McDougall-Hunt neighborhood – on December 30th of 2013.

ReSCue Me

Remember the days when stores thought they’d last forever and thus spent lavishly on brand-specific frontages? Maybe Flickr user JJ’s (My Blue Dragon) shot of the abandoned Russell Stover Candies (“RSC”) store on Linwood Blvd in Kansas City, MO will jog some memories – if not a few fillings. Ironically, the KC Royal Blue & White tiled facade has held up remarkably well, which is much more than we can say about the store itself.

Store-gasm

Contrary to any and all expectations, LA Greens Candy Store is neither green nor is it located in Los Angeles – 5477 Chene St. in Detroit, MI is where the abandoned store can be found. It also doesn’t sell candy anymore. The windowless and unoccupied (at least, not officially) building was snapped by Flickr users Gary Tucker and Modesto Speed (ClevelandSGS) on July 24th, 2013 and March 17th, 2002 respectively.

Candy, Tickets and… Things

Methings the 100th St Candy Store in the heart of Manhattan’s East Harlem shoulda maybe stuck to its core competence… that being Candy. Kudos to Flicker user Jake Silby for snapping this shot of the abandoned store’s all-inclusive sign on November 28th, 2011.

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So Long Suckers 11 Closed Abandoned Candy Stores

Chocolate factories were once fragrant masters of their delicious domains but many have fallen victim to high costs, cocoa shortages and changing market tastes.

Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known as “The Sweetest Place on Earth” though residents can’t be blamed for feeling a bit bitter: the historic Hershey Chocolate Factory closed in 2010 after operating for 105 years. Much of the former factory on East Chocolate Avenue was demolished over the past two years though Hershey is legally bound to preserve the iconic twin smokestacks and “cocoa bushes” regardless of future developments.

Home Sweet Home

In 2009 photographer Sebastian Liste embarked upon Urban Quilombo, a photo-documentary odyssey that opened a window into the lives of dozens of families who occupied Galpao da Araujo Barreto, an abandoned chocolate factory in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Creating a community to shield themselves from the violent crime surrounding them, residents of the old chocolate factory managed to scratch out an existence suffused by sorrow shot through with flashes of joy.

In March of 2011, Brazilian government authorities evicted the families from the factory as part of their effort to “cleanse” cities scheduled to host events of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The families who formerly occupied the abandoned chocolate factory were resettled in a new neighborhood, “Jardim das Margaridas”, where Liste continue to document their lives.

Bristol Brush-Off

Elizabeth Shaw has really let herself go. The Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory in Bristol, UK, opened in 1881 and closed in late 2006 ostensibly due to its machinery needing a massive updating the company simply could not afford. It would seem the entire complex – both manufacturing and administrative – was abandoned with very little salvaging of anything valuable. Kudos to urban explorer Nero21 for risking life and limb to snap a few photos of the factory interior, where trays of moldy chocolate fill the stagnant air with a pungent aroma of sadness and decay.

Cadburied

This former Cadbury chocolate factory in Adelaide, Australia seems to have been abandoned for quite some time. How can you tell? Well, signage faded by the fierce and unrelenting Outback sun offers one clue while the stowed 1959 Ford delivery (or “despatch”) wagon parked inside offers another. Full props to Weekend Notes for the evocative images above.

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Meltdown 10 Semi Sweet Abandoned Chocolate Factories

If you’re one of those people who has to have everything arranged in a very specific way, the art of Emily Blincoe is exactly what you’ll want to spend part of today staring at.

Blincoe is a photographer who created the Sugar Series, a set of photos that depict all different types of sweets arranged neatly by their predominant color.

There are familiar candies that you might remember depending on which part of the world you are from, and there are others (Teaberry Gum or tighty whiteys on a stick, anyone?) that might not be quite as recognizable.

Blincoe’s other series (collectively named Colors Organized Neatly) include similarly color-coded objects, all arranged by their respective hues and neatly laid out on vivid backgrounds.

Some candy shops are so colorful and chaotic, you’re not sure where to look. That kind of wild Willy Wonka-esque environment can certainly be fun, but sometimes, simplicity is what it takes to make the truly important element stand out: the candy itself. RED Design Group gets sketchy with a black-and-white store for Candy Room in Melbourne, Australia.

Sweet Enough, a wholesale importer of sugar-free candy products, wanted to break into the retail market with a store that would be “a destination and an experience.” RED Design Group captured a childlike spirit with hand-drawn details like a kitchen, stools and books on stark white surfaces.

“Being strongly influenced by the idea of designing a playful, simple and somewhat illusional space for the Candy Room, the exaggeration of a ‘room’ idea was formulated,” say the designers. “The application was to use line artwork on white space to represent a room.”

They extended the same theme to the store’s branding and packaging, with labels and signage casually hand-written. Walking into the store, visitors are immediately greeted by the bright coloring of the canned packaging, eyes drawn to lollipops, chocolate bars, caramels and much more.