Uncorked 2011:

Ich Bin Ein Pfalzer
Giving German wines a go at •S Wine

In Vino Veritas, So Why So Sniffy?
Wise words for the would-be wine fan

The Grape American Acetic NyQuil Taste Test

At The End of The Bottle
Local entrepreneurs make interesting uses of corks

Wike A Hike, But Dwunker
Oregon combines wine/hiking for the tourists

 

At The End of The Bottle
Local entrepreneurs make interesting uses of corks
By Brit McGinnis

The slogan of Creative Corks N More is “Garbage Has Feelings Too.” But the impression you receive from the web-based Eugene craft company isnt that theyre working with garbage. Theyre working with materials they love. And theyre making things too awesome to describe.

Photo courtesy Creative Corks n More

Even better: Theyre not snobby about the whirlwind success of their wine-cork products. “We started because we had a lot of corks and we didnt know what to give people for Christmas,” laughs Tanita Brown, one of Creative Corks founders.

A barrel full of corks later, Brown and her fiancée had the roots of a business. Creative Corks has become well known mostly for its hanging wall boards, especially those in the shape of letters. Each is entirely composed of corks and takes about five hours each to create. “It can be tedious work, but it allows me to work at home and have time with my cat,” Brown says.

She describes the letters as being especially popular for wedding gifts, though these orders often entail some level of specialization. “With weddings, they usually want etchings of peoples names or the wedding date. They can even request the board to be made out of only champagne corks, when we usually only do wine.”

Brown cant contain her enthusiasm for her budding business: “Its my full-time job now, and Im always just wanting to jump and down for joy because of how successful weve been.”

The head of the grassroots company, however down to earth, speaks with the ancient knowledge of a local crafter. Brown takes pride in the practicality as well as the beauty of her goods. She also has hope that the American crafting scene will expand over time. “People are going to craft more and more over time, just because of the economy. If you can make even one hundred dollars a week selling your crafts, thats enough to pay your cell phone bill. People are looking for new ways to earn money.”

Creative Corks has enjoyed incredible commercial success through eBay, but most of its following comes from one of the most famous craft-marketing websites today ã Etsy.com. The sites become an outlet for crafters to sell their goods to a global audience, and features all of Creative Corks merchandise. Its types of goods have become more and more varied, now including not only cork letters but coasters, keychains and even more types of art featuring recycled material. The companys latest obsession: solar-powered lights made from Mason jars. You cant keep quirky but useful down.

Visit Creative Corks N More online at creativecorksnmore.etsy.com or facebook.com/pages/Creative-Corks-N-More