A few months ago I was invited by the Portuguese Cork Association (APCOR) to visit Portugal to experience first hand how cork is manufactured into flooring, fabrics and other fashionable products for the home.
It was my first visit to Portugal and it is definitely a place I would go back to visit as a tourist. The scenery is stunning, the people are lovely and the food/wine is fresh and spectacular. My three-day trip was far too short and I hope to go back to Portugal again in the near future.
My trip started by going to the cork harvest on a tree farm/forest. Seeing the workers stripping the bark off the cork oak trees was fascinating; lots of hard work that takes years of training and skill to do properly.
I then visited a few manufacturers to see just how the cork is cleaned, processed and turned into products like cork flooring (one of my favorite types of eco-friendly flooring for the home), cork fabrics, wallpapers and of course bottle stoppers. Its hard to believe that such a raw, easily grown eco-product can be turned into such fashionable products.
Here is a list of the products that we featured on the show:
- Chair: Custom chair upholstered in Casablanca cork fabric (available in many other colours) and linen. Contact for pricing, www.corkhouse.com
- Purse made with cork and leather: Jean Christoff Ontario bag, $270, www.corkhouse.com
- Cork flooring click tiles, www.torlys.com
- Designer fabrics: Colure Cork/linen and Klipdrift/chestnut. Both fabrics are available through designers from Beacon Hill Fabrics, www.beaconhilldesign.com
For more information about the cork harvest, cork flooring (and other products) and the eco-benefits to cork go to: www.realcorkfloors.com
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