Spotlight on The World of Coca-Cola - Artist Gordon Chandler

The next feature in our 'Spotlight on The World of Coca-Cola' series is Artist Gordon Chandler of Carrollton, Georgia. Chandler's works in the new Pop Culture Gallery exhibit at the World of Coke are entitled “3 Cokes”, “Carrollton Coke” and “Three Color Cokes”. Chandler uses many re-purposed materials in his art, including the Coke bottle. He started W&P Builders in 1976, a construction company that manufactured welded steel woodstoves, and began equipping the studio that he still occupies today. Much of his work is inspired by traditional Southern collectibles. Originally from Massachusetts, he also shares with us a memory of Coke as a kid, and something else that he learned was pretty popular with Coke in the South!

Painted Wall Sign In Pontiac, Illinois

We have received photographs from Georgia muralist Sonny Franks of a painted wall sign he recently finished in Pontiac, Illinois.  Two newspaper (Pontiac) accounts (Gwinnett) detail the origins of the sign and the dedication to Sonny's father.

I wanted to share both the original 1941 Canadian cardboard poster and some of the photos Sonny sent us showing the sign progress.

Collectible Contour Glasses Available At McDonalds's in Asia

I just received our set of Colored Contour Glasses for the Archives Collection and they are great.  I love the different colors and the great contour box they arrived in.  If you are traveling in Asia this summer, you need to look for the glasses.

The Coca-Cola Company and McDonald’s Corporation are joining hands to bring a new limited edition colored “Coca-Cola” Contour glass series to millions of consumers throughout Asia Pacific. The campaign will cover nine markets – Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea, The Philippines, Malaysia, Tahiti, Samoa, and Fiji  – and it follows the very successful partnership around the Beijing 2008 Coca-Cola Contour glass promotion.

McDonald’s, which has been a partner with Coca-Cola since 1955, will offer customers the chance for a limited time to collect these quality “Coca-Cola” Contour glasses in six colors – Pink, Green, Blue, Lime, Charcoal and Purple. The “Coca-Cola” Contour glass was developed from the “Coca-Cola” Contour Bottle, one of the most recognizable cultural icons and collectible items in the world.

Dispatches From Denver - Farewell And See You In Milwaukee

For our final post from The Coca-Cola Collectors Convention, I wanted to give you an idea of what the well dressed collector wears to the closing banquet.  I posed with Dan Dean who was sporting a handsome "Its The Real Thing" outfit.  Even the shoes matched!

If you are planning to join us in Milwaukee in 2010, you better begin planning your wardrobe.

Spotlight On The World Of Coca-Cola - South Africa Folk Art Bottle

This week for our focus on the World of Coke, we wanted to highlight one of the 24 folk art bottles that are on display. 

Originally created for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, held in Atlanta, Georgia, The Coca-Cola Salute to Folk Art was collection of folk art bottles from 54 countries. To create their own one-of-a-kind bottle, some countries commissioned well-known artists, while in most cases, competitions were held to select the artistic concept best representing that country. Many of these contests selected the entries of school students and local artisans.

The program celebrated the folk art and craft traditions of some of the countries where Coca-Cola is sold around the world. Each work of art started with the same basic “canvas” – an oversized three-dimensional Coke bottle – onto which artisans applied their local art traditions and indigenous materials to make the bottle their own.  Since the 1996 Games, the Folk Art Bottle program has been utilized by other countries as well.

SOUTH AFRICA

ARTISTS: Maria Msiza, her mother Anna, her sisters Johanna and Sarah, and friends Anna Ntuli and Francinah Mtshwene

A team of six artists from KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga, created this bottle, which is covered by a “glove” of beads tied with nylon thread.  The artists incorporated the boldly contrasting shapes and colors of traditional Ndebele house painting in their beadwork, and labored five weeks to complete the sculpture.

Of the six artists, five are former domestic workers who formed an artists' cooperative specializing in Ndebele art and craft.  Most of their work is sold in flea markets in Johannesburg.

Beads, nylon thread, on hollow plastic bottle form
Bottle height: 87 inches

Capping the New Coke Bottle at Turner Field

You may have recently read our post about the gigantic Coca-cola contour bottle at Turner Field in Atlanta that is making way for a new high tech bottle to be unveiled on July 16th. We were able to get a sneak peek at the construction of the new 49-foot tall Coca-Cola Sky Field Bottle that is replacing the bottle that stood for 12 years in left field. The new bottle is traced with 15 vertical ribs comprised of 9,000 single LED lights, each capable of producing up to 16.7 million different colors. The bottle's label is comprised of a high-resolution, changeable screen that's made up of 96,000 pixels, and best of all - the bottle will still have the capability to shoot fireworks after every Braves home run. Be sure to watch out for the unveiling of this bottle on July 16th, and in the meantime, check out this fast-motion video of the construction crew putting the cap on the bottle - literally!

Recipes for Your Summer Barbeque

Like many of you, I really enjoy cooking outdoors during the Summer, and I am always looking for new recipes to try. Over the last few weeks, I have found some interesting posts that use Coca-Cola as a key ingredient. The first recipe is for BBQ ribs on a site called Laura's Best Recipes. I think you will agree that she has a winner here.

http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2009/05/29/coca-cola-bbq-ribs/#comment-472

The next recipe comes from the Kitsap(Washington) Sun newspaper for a brisket of beef using our favorite beverage.

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/jun/07/ann-vogel-brisket-of-beef-a-la-coca-cola/

Finally, renowned British chef and journalist Nigella Lawson posted a story about using Coke with ham on the National Public Radio website. Take a look, and more importantly, try it yourself.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104803510

Let me know about your rating of these recipes, or share some of your own with us.

Dispatches From Denver - Local News Coverage

During the swap meet, Heidi McGuire, a reporter from the local Denver NBC affiliate 9News, spent an hour interviewing me and a number of the collectors to find out why they collect and what material was available.  If you have never attended a Collectors Club meeting, her report will give you a good idea of the variety of items available at the Swap Meet. First, click here to watch the video.

If you have ever wondered what went on during an interview with the media, here is a chance to find out. While Heidi interviewed me we recorded and want to share just a minute of the 8+ minute interview showing you the other side of the camera (and lights and reporter and microphone.)

Dispatches From Denver - Coca-Cola Trivia

For the past ten years, Randy Schaeffer and Bill Bateman have presented one of the favorite events at the Coca-Cola Collectors Club Annual Meeting - Coca-Cola Jeopardy. This year in Denver was no exception. As the game goes on for almost an hour, I only video taped the portion of the program where they introduce the categories, but I think you will enjoy both the humor and the audience participation.

Dispatches from Denver - Small Collectibles

Roger Robinson and Dale Wohlgemuth gave a fascinating presentation about small collectibles.  I always enjoying learning something new from collectors who specialize in an area and love what they collect.  In this case, we all learned about the wide variety of pencils, pens, openers and buttons.

We took a few minutes after the presentation to speak with Roger about his favorite pencils.