Why cork?

I have mostly been working in cork for the last little while because cork is an incredibly versatile, eco friendly material. Cork is actually the bark of the cork oak tree. The bark is harvested for the first time when the tree is between 25 and 30 years old. The tree is not cut down to harvest it, the outer layer of bark is removed, and the tree is left to regrow a new layer of bark for nine years before it is harvested again. This is why the cork industry is one of the most environmentally friendly industries.

picture credit:sallyofmayflower

The cork is left to dry in the forest for a time before it is taken to the factory for processing. Processing includes boiling the planks of cork and then machining the planks into corks

Making Corks in Portugal

Cork is also used in Flooring, buildings, boats, cars, trams, roads, bridges, railways, dams, and airports?

And here’s a little known fact.. rockets and spacecrafts are coated with a couple of centimeters of cork. The coating stops them from burning up upon exiting and entering Earths atmosphere.

So I work with one of the most useful, versatile, long-lasting and eco-friendly materials in the world… why wouldn’t I want to work with cork?