Washington, DC, Oct. 13--Cork has gone way beyond bulletin boards and bottle stoppers. Long appreciated for durability and resilience and widely used on floors and small household items, the material is being adapted to more high-profile furnishings, such as chairs, benches, lamps and wall coverings, according to the Washington Post.
Used by Chinese fishermen for floats as far back as 3000 B.C., cork comes from the cork oak tree, predominately grown in the Mediterranean region. Portugal is the largest producer. Once the tree--which has a lifespan up to 200 years--reaches maturity, the bark that naturally sheds as the tree grows is harvested or stripped. The process is repeated every eight to 14 years to allow sustainable growth.
Used as the first gymnasium floor and the original decking for battleships, the material has long appealed to architects, including Le Corbusier, Richard Neutra and Frank Lloyd Wright, who installed cork flooring in his famous Fallingwater home in western Pennsylvania. Despite its durability, cork faded from style in the 60s. In recent years, it has attracted new fans, particularly for use in kitchens, partly because of its antibacterial, mildew-resistant and cushioning properties.
It's not hard to see why, according to Andrew Dent, director of the materials library for Material ConneXion, a New York-based clearinghouse for innovative products and materials.
"It's cushy and comfortable; it doesn't absorb water, and because it's porous it holds air and is a good insulator against the cold [you can walk on it barefoot], and it doesn't get very hot. Furthermore, it's attractive because of its interesting striations and texture."
About five years ago, artist and designer Kevin Walz joined with cork producers in Italy to found KorQinc, a New York-based company whose mission is to develop innovative uses for the material. Walz literally pulled cork out of the bottle, using recycled bottle stoppers to make a cork aggregate strong enough to be fashioned into a piece of furniture without any reinforcement.
"I didn't just want to put cork on the furniture; I wanted it to be the furniture," says Walz. "Cork has two great properties: elasticity and memory. The furniture supports, moves and returns to its original shape. It's completely ergonomic and an insulator of heat, sound and movement. Its rich, honey color fits in well anywhere in the home, and for people who care about the environment, it's a 'green' material--a renewable resource."
KorQinc also makes tabletop products, architectural moldings and fabric as well as flooring, which are all produced in Sardinia, Italy.
Products made from the material are not inexpensive, says Walz, "but when you consider that the original floors at Fallingwater only now need some repairs, it's competitively priced compared to wood, and it lasts longer."
"Cork is coming back," says Beth Aberg, owner of traditional furnishings store Random Harvest, which has locations in Alexandria, Georgetown and Bethesda. And to prove it, she plans to show lots of it in her new Georgetown store, RH 1300, for contemporary home furnishings, which opened last week.
"It looks good, wears well and works with anyone's decor. You may not want to use it for your dining room table, but used sparingly, it's fun and innovative," says Aberg. "We sell a cork-covered stool that could be used in a bathroom, kitchen or family room."
She jokes, "People love a piece of furniture that you can use as a coaster at the same time."
