Swing sets, stuffed animals, shower curtains, quilts, clocks, lamps, license plates and an abundance of bottles are all items found on senior Allison Tierney’s seemingly endless list; a peculiar list compiled of her collectibles that create a vivid array of color and personality unique to Tierney alone.

Peculiar? Indeed, all of these items share a common bond of which Tierney is proud to boast: they are all Coke products.

When Tierney was seven, her great grandfather, a dedicated collector of bottles, passed away. “After he died, my mom took all the Coke bottles and started collecting them herself,” Tierney said.

For Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays and other holidays, Tierney began buying presents for her mom in order to add to the collection. “From there it just snowballed,” Tierney said.

Now, she and her mom join together as a mother-daughter team to do their collecting. “It’s great. I started collecting things for her and now people are collecting things for me,” she said. “I’ve even had one of my friends steal a cardboard cut-out of the Coca-Cola Christmas Santa Clause from a dumpster and give to me as a present.”

Although Tierney said she doesn’t go out searching for Coke products, she insists Coke collectors can find items anywhere.

“Gas stations, movie theatres, Goodwill, Wal-Mart, Blockbuster, grocery stores, antique shops, any off the wall place usually has something Coke,” she said.

Interested in diversity, Tierney doesn’t just collect Coke products from the United States; she also collects anything that has a Coca-Cola label regardless of the language it is printed in.

“I have Coke bottles and trinkets from France, Korea, Italy, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica, Bahamas, the Virgin Islands…the list goes on,” she said.

Among her many collectibles, Tierney claims several favored possessions.

“The ‘Hutchinson Bottle,’ an original corked Coke, and a ‘Golden Bottle,’ a 14-karat gold dipped bottle that was once given to employees for doing a good job,” Tierney said.

Although some items are worth more money than others, they are all valuable to Tierney.

She said this hobby sets her and her family apart from the masses of others.

“[In our house], every family picture has been replaced with a puzzle, magazine clip, photograph or sign referring to Coke,” Tierney said.

Patrick Tierney said he appreciates his sister’s eccentric hobby. “I respect her for it,” he said. “She’s done it for so long, and it’s something cool for her to do with my mom.”

When Tierney goes to college, her family is planning on building a house on land they have in McClellanville.

“An entire area will be designated as a sort of Coke shrine,” Tierney said.

This pastime has allowed her to grow closer to her mom in a way she had never imagined. “We both enjoy it and it furthers our relationship by allowing us to share our interests together,” she said.

Tierney is excited she has been able to participate in such an interesting past time started by her great grandfather. “I would like to believe that he’d be proud that we carried on the tradition,” she said.

Although collecting can get exhausting, Tierney insists she’s sticking with it.

“I never will get tired of collecting; I’ve put so much effort into making such an interesting collection that I care so much about,” she said. “I can only hope that others will learn to appreciate and care about it as much as I do.”