Kids and Recycled Cork

The other day, I dropped off a box of recycled wine corks with my daughter's first grade class. The classroom became a big buzz of excitement: What were the corks for? What should they build? How will they build it? After much discussion it was decided to use the corks to build a community. The kids can glue corks together to build tall skyscrapers, they can glue corks side by side to create little houses, they can even make little people, animals and trees from the wine stoppers. Roads will be built where recycled cork cars can drive, fire stations will be erected with recycled cork fire engines, bridges and train tracks all will be built with cork. Once construction begins on the cork community, I'm sure other ideas will surface.

The recycled cork stoppers are part of a unit the children are doing on recycling and the environment. Re-using what could be considered garbage by some, will save room in our landfills and give our "junk" another purpose. In my daughter's class not only are they learning about communities but they are doing so while learning and building with recycled materials.

I look forward to visiting the recycled cork community. It should be a fun learning experience for all!

Need more recycled wine corks for a craft or idea? The corkstore.com has them along with special Cork Grab Bags - bags full of various corks.

Jelinek Cork Fabric in Vogue Patterns Magazine

Cork fabric, also known as cork leather or cork skin, is produced from natural cork - the bark of the cork oak tree. The cork fabric is composed of thin sheets of natural cork adhered to a fabric support backing. It is available in a variety of different patterns and colors. Take a look at the corkstore.com to see the many patterns available. One may think "Cork Fabric? How can that last?". But it does. This amazingly durable fabric is comparable to leather in terms of durability. The main difference? Cork fabric can actually get wet and be washed - unlike leather. Besides being durable, beautiful to look at and warm it is also environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic, water resistant and stain resistant.

Take a look at this month's (February/March 2012) issue of Vogue Patterns Magazine. You'll see Jelinek Cork fabric featured (along with a promo code). The magazine also includes a cool project demonstrating how to make a wallet and e-book reader using cork fabric.

The magazine is available at newsstands or take a peek at their online sampler.

Crafts with Cork on YouTube

There are so many crafts you can do with cork - let your imagination run wild! We've created a few videos on YouTube to get you started with holiday themed crafts. If you have a wine cork collection, you can re-use these or else the corkstore.com has many for crafts including a grab bag of cork (a mixture of various sizes and shapes of cork).

Enjoy the videos and we hope it inspires you to create some holiday (or anytime) crafts using cork.

20% off sale at the corkstore.com

Recently, the corkstore.com - the online store for Jelinek Cork Group - was given a refreshing new look. To celebrate this new look as well as to wish everyone all the best as the holiday season begins, we are offering 20% off all orders over $25. You can order online at the corkstore.com or come visit us at the Cork House (our awesome show room in Oakville, Ontario). To take advantage of this sale, use promo code corkthanks11 when placing your order. This sale runs from today until Monday (November 28th).

Happy Holidays and we hope you enjoy your shopping experience at corkstore.com or the Cork House.

All aboard! Cork board sets sail.

When thinking of cork flooring, most of us think in the home - perhaps a living room or kitchen - but have you ever thought of cork for the flooring of your boat? Jan Cernik did. Boats and sailing are Jan's hobby. In 2008, when refurbishing his boat, he began looking for suitable ship board material for the deck. He considered all types of materials; from teak to various kinds of plastic. He even found materials containing cork however they were not exactly what he wanted or they were too expensive. His investigation into the material containing cork had him consider cork itself. In cooperation with the Czech office of Jelinek Cork, he tested a few possibilities of cork material. His final decision was to use cork sheets (90x60cm and 6mm thick) that were treated with oil as the ship board for the deck of the boat. The boat is on its second season on lakes and rivers and the cork works wonderfully and looks fabulous. Jan is now working on the renovation of another ship (from 1947) and he is ready to use cork again, for the deck of this boat.

Cork in an electric car

In cooperation with Korek Jelinek CZ a new prototype of an electric car was created - with the use of cork.

A team of three czech engineers created a new electric car - using cork material for the interior. The design team chose to use recycled and ecological materials so, in cooperation with Korek Jelinek CZ, they used cork for the seat pads, dashboard and the insides of the doors.

The team participated in a competition „ElectricMotion.cz“ and was tasked with creating a small, simple, attractive and ecological electric car for use in the cities. The newly designed electric car has received a very positive response.















For more details, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L6q5gBLLb4


http://www.facebook.com/pages/Prcek/153572601342181


http://www.hybrid.cz/clanky/prcek-cesky-elektromobil-z-korku-kokosu

"Then and Now": Grape Crushing and Port Wine.

Port wine is a fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Here is a little photo journal showing how the grapes for port wine were crushed a century ago and how they are crushed today. There is nothing like enjoying a glass of Port - especially on a cool winters evening.


THEN ...

A century and more ago, grape crushing was done by foot stomping. It was a joyous time not only celebrating the crushing of the grapes but the economical returns the harvest of that year would bring to the community. As the image depicts, music and song accompanied the long hours of work.













Wines were kept in large demijohns insulated by weaved wicker or grass. These containers were plugged with natural corks hand cut directly from the bark of cork oak trees.



















.... and NOW

Today the crush stompers of the past are replaced by metal robotic "feet", operated by turning on a power switch. It is certainly an easier and more controlled operation but has lost the romanticism of earlier generations. Nevertheless the end of the harvest season today is still celebrated with music and song in most wine regions of the world.













Natural cork stoppers, whether as straight wine corks or corks with plastic tops attached to them as shown in this image, remain the choice of most wineries. An estimated 14 billion straight natural wine corks are used annually today.