A new generation of cork products
Cork isn’t just back. It’s the new black, and it’s taking over the joint. If you thought cork was just for flooring and the odd bottle of wine, you were underestimating its potential massively. Queensland-based Cork Imports Australia is launching an exclusive new range of cork products, never before available in Australia, with items as varied as chairs, stools, coffee tables, lampshades, wall cladding and even baths and sinks!
GALLERY
Made from the hydrophobic suberin bark of the Quercus suber (cork oak) tree, agglomerated cork is highly durable and highly sustainable — harvesting of the bark can happen continuously after a tree reaches maturity, with no detrimental effects to it — the tree can happily live for 300 years!
After harvest, the bark is “seasoned” in the field for 12 months, which both ages the cork and dries the naturally occurring oils and resins. It’s then steamed clean and any natural bio-organisms growing on it are taken off. After the thickest part of the bark is whisked away to be used for the (no less important!) wine industry, what’s left is granulated, washed and formed into blocks using steam pressure. This heating process releases naturally occurring resins within the cork, which solidify as they cool and bind the compressed granules together. It really is nature at her most marvellous.
The fact that they’re naturally waterproof, fire retardant, insulating, hypoallergenic, high density and comfortable underfoot makes cork tiles a great alternative to timber, bamboo, carpet, vinyl or concrete and this New Generation Cork range retains all the naturally occurring properties of cork in unique contemporary designs and an array of gorgeous colours. The “kitchen of the 1970s” look is long gone.
Warm in winter and cool in summer, cork’s antistatic properties mean it doesn’t attract or retain dust, and it’s easily cleaned anyway, using hot water and methylated spirits.
Importing only the best Portuguese cork, Cork Imports Australia is set to reinvigorate interior design style for the 21st century with this range, at a time when sustainable materials are the only materials that really matter. With no trees needing felling and no toxic binders used in production, your client’s project could have one of the most sustainable, renewable and coolest furniture around!
Cork Imports Australia | corkimports.com.au
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