Seattle, Washington based Graphic Designer Madeleine Eiche began her fascination with Egg Nog cartons when she was working at a New York Coffee Shop back in 2002. The kitschy packaging of Canastota's Egg Nog, coupled with her love of pop-art and her fondness for dairy products, inspired Madeline to begin an on-going collection of store bought egg nog cartons from all over the country.
She says "The peculiarities of the packaging range from festive to banal, minimal to unappetizing, and each seem to be printed with complete disregard for color alignment. It is precisely these things that make for such compelling kitsch."
above: the carton that started it all, Dairy Fresh, Canastota, New York
The majority of the cartons are so ugly, I'd hesitate to even call them 'kitsch.' However when viewed together they certainly represent the annual tradition as well as a facet of retail packaging category in sore need of redesign, with a few exceptions.
Guers Dairy, Pottsville, Pennsylvania:
Marcus Dairy, Danbury, Connecticut:
Derle Farms, Jamaica, New York:
Guida-Seibert Dairy, New Britain, Connecticut:
Dairyworld Foods, Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA:
Lucerne Foods, Pleasanton, California (2):
Faith Dairy, Tacoma, Washington:
Umpqua Dairy, Roseburg, Oregon:
Elmhurst Dairy, Roxbury, New York:
Wengerts Dairy for Swiss Premium, Lebanon, Pennsylvania:
Dean's Dairy, Sharpsville, Pennsylvania (2):
Crowley Foods, Binghamton, New York:
Giant, Landover, Maryland:
Tuscan Brand, Franklin, Massachusetts:
Schneider's Dairy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:
Parmalat Dairy, Toronto, Ontario CANADA:
Mountain Dairy Inter-American Products, Cincinnati, Ohio:
Swiss Premium Dairy, Lebanon, Pennsylvania:
Smith Dairy, Orrville, Ohio (2):
America's Choice, Montvale, New Jersey:
Wilcox Farms, Roy, Washington (2):
Turkey Hill Dairy, Conestoga, Pennsylvania:
Rockview Farms, Downey, California:
Lehigh Valley Dairy, Lansdale, Pennsylvania:
Horizon Organic, Boulder, Colorado:
Garelick Farms, Franklin, Massachusetts:
Organic Valley, La Farge, Wisconsin:
Southern Comfort, Lynnfield, Massachusetts:
Southern Comfort (Vanilla), Chelsea, Massachusetts:
Trader Joe's, Monrovia, California:
Silk, Boulder, Colorado:
Originally from Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, Madeleine Eiche is a graphic designer whose other collections include push puppets and floaty pens. Find her work at eiche.co.uk.
Photos by Justin Gollmer.
The Egg Nog Project