Friday Fun Facts – Life is Good with the Firebird

So if you live in Charlotte, you already know that the #1 destination for tourist photos and selfies in the QC is on the sidewalk in front of The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.  

It is here that the Firebird outdoor sculpture (affectionately named “Disco Chicken” by many locals) calls home.

Some Friday fun facts compiled by the Croixstone Consulting team that every Firebird aficionado should know…

  • The sculpture was created in 1991 by French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle (1930-2002).
  • It was purchased by museum patron Andreas Bechtler specifically for placement in front of the museum.
  • Andreas Bechtler loved the sculpture and found it to be “joyful, uplifting and engaging” and stated that “it makes you feel that life is good” (don’t we all feel this way on Fridays?).
  • Firebird is adorned with 7,500 mirror mosaics over polyester on steel armature and stands over 17 feet tall.
  • The sculpture weighs 1,443 pounds.
  • It gets restored three to four times a year at an annual cost of $5,000 to $8,000. The process largely involves replacing cracked mosaic mirrors.  It is believed that “nocturnal skateboarders” are largely responsible for required restoration work.

Friday Fun Fact – Peanuts, Innovation + the Croixstone Consulting Offices

So what do you do when you get stuck with 500 pounds of unwanted raw peanuts?

If you are an innovator, you see the opportunity to build the foundation for a nearly $2 billion snack foods company. When food broker Phillip L. Lance was stuck with those raw peanuts back in 1913, he looked past the challenge and saw an opportunity to roast the peanuts and sell them on the streets of Charlotte. Those 500 pounds of peanuts, coupled with the visionary talents of a forward-thinking entrepreneur, led to the birth of Lance, Inc., now a publicly-held, multi-billion corporation named Snyder’s-Lance, Inc. that retains its headquarters in Charlotte.

In 1926, Lance built a plant along South Boulevard in Charlotte’s South End neighborhood from which to base its growing company. Fast forward to 2016, and you’ll find the company based in a shiny office tower in Charlotte’s Ballantyne district. The South End plant was renovated as a mixed-used building in the late 1990’s (now known as The Lofts at Factory South) and is home to a vibrant community of small businesses (like Croixstone Consulting!) while also providing cool residential lofts to some of the QC’s most creative folks.

We are inspired by the story of Phillip L. Lance and his legacy as an innovator and business-builder in Charlotte…and we are proud to base our unique Croixstone Consulting offices at his former plant.