Cork is a sustainable material for bags, fashion accessories and furniture

軟木(cork) 通常用作為瓶塞或地磚和牆磚。因為它是可持續發展的材料，它再度流行, 也適用於手袋，時裝配飾及家具。

Usually when I think of cork, it's when we open a bottle of wine, as cork are often used as stoppers.  Cork was once popular also as wall and floor tiles (though they are still in use), they had gone out of favour.  But because cork is a sustainable and renewable material and impermeable, it is now popular again and used for a variety of products, from bags, gift wares to furniture.  

About 50% of cork harvested annually worldwide comes from Portugal which is why Portuguese company Pelcor® uses cork skin for their debut own-brand collection of ladies’ bags, lugguage, fashion accessories, ipad sleeves, iphone holders, umbrellas and a range of office and gift items.

Guests at the Portuguese Embassy in London examined the Pelcor debut collection of bags for Autumn/winter 2012.

Lucia Carpio below tries out one of the latest Pelcor cross-shoulder bags.

The Pelcor range was premiered recently at the Portuguese embassy in London, the first stop for their launch.  The Autumn/Winter 2012 collection features different textures and a range of  colours, from a warm orange to deep berry, and a dark, winter blue, their key colours for the season, complemented by  These will be natural cork shade, chocolate, charcoal and pearl.   The designs are basically functionally and easy on the eye.   Pelcor’s eco-friendly range of products are made with cork skin which can be sometimes combined with conventional leather, suede and textile materials. 

According to Pelcor (based in São Brás de Alportel  and established 9 years ago), cork is extracted from the cork oak tree  that is found mainly in the Mediterranean region., endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa.  It is a vegetable tissue comprising a cluster of cells filled with a gas mixture similar to air and coated by alternating layers of cellulose and suberin.  The cork oak has a lifetime of 250 to 350 years and it’s the only tree whose bark regenerates itself after each extraction. It takes 20 to 25 years before the first cork can be extracted from a cork oak. After this extraction the tree regenerates, allowing cork to be drawn every nine years. An adult cork oak produces several hundred kilograms of cork at each harvesting and will live for many generations.  This operation allows the tree to survive and prosper in a worldwide unique ecosystem in the cork oak meadow.

Last week cork tables by deadwood(TM)  Studio were launched during London's highly popular Clerkenwell Design Week (as seen above, with one stacked and overturned on top of another).

The studio utilises laminated cork, a material that is chosen for being both scratch resistant and insulating.

The tables are made from CNC cut Cork and Birch Plywood and are connected together using a distinct cross brace feature. The styling and shape of the legs creates a highly efficient product, whilst the selection of material offers a distinct practicality. The tables are available in either Coffee Table or Side Table versions. Coffee Table dimensions 450mm x ø775mm, and for Side Table - 450 mm x ø500mm . These will be available at deadgood Studio which is a creative studio set up by the two  Directors - Dan Ziglam & Elliot Brook. "The products we create and the brand we develop must both possess a sustained conviction to qualities such as fun, excellence, precision, craftsmanship, taste and innovation and it is through the execution and articulation of these core brand values that we will reach the most discerning audiences," said Brook.   

More about Clerkenwell Design Week coming soon.