Put a Cork In It
Someone once said, “Whatever you do, POUR yourself into it.” So we did just that. After we poured ourselves a nice glass of Cabernet, instead of throwing the cork out, our creative juices got flowing, and an exciting new art form was created. READ THE FULL INVENTION STORY AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE.
Introducing, CORK TOONS™!
CORK TOONS™ are cartoons drawn on authentic wine corks live at events. Each piece comes complete with an elegant miniature glass display dome with a custom cork stopper. The cork appears to be “floating” when placed on the surface in this solid casing. Upon completion, the artwork is presented in a beautiful organza bag.
Custom upgrades are available to brand your event with a company logo, date, or name.
These are the coolest party favors you’ve seen this side of Napa!
The Story Behind CORK TOONS™:
A Positive That Came Out of the Pandemic
Like many great ideas, CORK TOONS™ started with a very simple question.
During the COVID pandemic, Artistic Talent Group owners Barbie and Keelan Parham were sitting at home one evening when Barbie noticed a collection of wine corks nearby. With her business mind always working, she picked one up, handed it to Keelan, and asked:
“Can you draw on this?” He could. And CORK TOONS™ was born.
Keelan drew a tiny cartoon of Barbie directly onto the wine cork. Barbie immediately saw something more than a fun little drawing. She saw a completely new type of personalized art experience.
The challenge, however, was figuring out how to transform a cork, something people normally throw away, into a valued keepsake. That became the next stage of product development. Barbie began searching for a way to elevate the finished wine cork caricature and eventually discovered the glass display domes that became part of the signature CORK TOONS™ presentation. The design was refined even further by raising the cork inside the dome, creating the appearance that the personalized cork was floating inside the glass.
Even the cork itself mattered. They tested corks from suppliers across the country, searching endlessly for the right surface, size, consistency, and quality for an artist to create a miniature hand-drawn wine cork caricature. Once the glass dome and floating presentation came together, they knew they had something special.
On December 7, 2021, the very first CORK TOONS™ event took place. It was an immediate hit.
Soon afterward, Walt Disney World selected CORK TOONS™ for its popular EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, where guests could watch professional artists create their likenesses by hand directly on individual wine corks. In February 2024, CORK TOONS™ earned national industry recognition when it was selected for Michael Cerbelli’s prestigious The Hot List™ and showcased live at the Catersource + The Special Event in Austin, Texas.
The Original Wine Cork Caricature
CORK TOONS™ pioneered the concept of hand-drawn cartoons created directly on wine corks for the special events industry. What began on a couch during the pandemic became an entirely new form of event entertainment. When you’re looking for the original wine cork caricature experience, look for the name CORK TOONS™.
CORK TOONS™. The original.