Cork on display in a community's fashion show.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Bridgenorth Beautification committee collects recycled wine corks as a fundraiser. One of their other fundraisers is a fashion show. This year's fashion show included a collection of cork items including a beautiful dress made with cork fabric.

Designer gown - cork fabric.

Skirt, umbrella and cap all made of cork fabric.

Recycling used wine corks helps the environment and community groups.

Bridgenorth is a small, quaint town near Peterborough, Ontario. As with all towns, Bridgenorth grew and changed. It was no longer the quaint little hamlet it had once been. So, in 1994, the Bridgepoint Beautification Committee was formed. This committee works to keep Bridgenorth beautiful and relies on funds from fundraisers to do so. Recently, this committee began using cork in their fund raising efforts.

Cork? Fund raising? How do these tie together? In an effort to keep cork stoppers out of landfills and to assist not-for-profit or community groups, Jelinek Cork launched the "We want your natural corks" fundraiser.

If you are a community group or not-for-profit that would like to help the environment and your group, there is more information about this program on the Jelinek Cork website.

If you are interested in donating your used natural wine corks to the Bridgenorth Beautification Committee and you are in the Bridgenorth/Peterborough area, please visit the Bridgenorth Beautification Committee website.

For other natural cork collection locations, visit: http://jelinek.com/collection_locs.htm

Corks of Art by artist Julie Lee

Beautiful art work created from recycled wine corks. Each piece uses approximately 600 wine corks.

Corks of Art
By artist: Julie Lee

Corks of Art is a tribute to the many celebrations and conversations that have been accompanied by wine. It is a beautiful complex of how the wines have been cultivated and produced, to preserving those special moments into a uniquely designed painting as well as other forms of art.

This concept is a 1st and only of its kind in the world, as well as the many distinctive quality of wines the Jelinek clients have savoured. I wanted to pay hommage to the "art" of making these wines. Every wine cork has been hand selected and assembled to make a "canvas-like" backdrop in order for the perfect painting to emerge.

You don't have to be a wine snob to appreciate this fine art. We all find beauty in different things, through our form of art you'll find the same appreciation and a way for you to individually relate to it.

For more information and additional products, contact Julie Lee at theworldisyours_56@msn.com. The website, www.corksofArt.com will debut in a few weeks.

Start with a cork and end with a bug - Walt's Poppers.

Walt's Poppers - amazing! Though these popping bugs are nice to look at, that's not what they are made for. These miniature works of art are true work horses - what many anglers turn to (and think of) when needing a "bug".

Walt Cary began his fly-tying career as a bartender in the 1950s. After he uncorked a bottle of champagne he went to toss out the cork when he thought what a terrible waste of a good material. With that Walt began using old corks, whittling them down and painting them. Over time, Walt perfected the art and created a very successful business. His creations involve a standard cork body which he hand selects. He sands the cork, fills in any cracks, and then puts it through a ten-step painting and finishing process which includes at least seven coats of paint. Truly a work of art - both on land and in the water!

Yard Sale for the Cure hosted by Jelinek Cork and the Cork House

Yard Sale for the Cure: "The stuff you no longer need will help fund the cure for breast cancer".

On Saturday May 30, 2009 Jelinek Cork hosted a Yard Sale for the Cure at the Cork House (the Jelinek Cork showroom located in Oakville, ON). The Yard Sale for the Cure is an organization that raises money for Breast Cancer research and treatment by holding a massive series of Yard Sales in selected neighbourhoods across Canada.

The Jelinek Cork/Cork House sale began early with the event setup - tables full of all sorts of items - from cork items to clothing, from kids toys to new designer shoes, from lemonade stands to bbq hot dogs! Many people donated items and time to help with this event.

The day was incredible - a huge success with hundreds of people stopping by to browse, purchase and offer support. Jelinek Cork was very excited to raise $2000 for breast cancer research.

Thank you to everyone for helping support this cause.

A little about finishing cork floors with the natural vegetable oil finish.

Q:
Could you tell me a little about cork floor finishes, specifically the vegetable oil finish (Jelinek Cork Comfort Finish Flooring)?

A:
Cork flooring is not impervious to stains and oils unless it is coated with some sort of finish. In fact, an unfinished floor takes stain very well, thereby allowing the floor to be stained various colors before being finished. Once coated, the finish is what protects the floor from further staining. All cork floors need some sort of finish to protect them. The most common cork floor finish is polyurethane. Polyurethane is a fairly flexible finish that allows the floor to provide somewhat of a 'cork feel' while it protects. After that there are more rigid finishes such as aluminum oxide, vinyl, and epoxy (in order of rigidity). The more rigid the finish the more it protects the floor but the less the natural properties of cork are available. For example, one reason people purchase cork flooring is for the soft, warm feeling underfoot. A cork floor finished with epoxy is so rigid that you loose this feeling entirely.

The natural vegetable oil finish is the opposite of a rigid finish. This finish maintains the feel and attributes of cork while protecting against spills and stains. It does not protect against heavy pressure points which can cause indentations (eg. a heavy desk with narrow legs will create an indentation in the floor unless furniture pads are placed under the desk legs). The other nice thing about a vegetable oil finish is that it is a natural product unlike all of the rigid finish products - its main component is "safflower oil".

A floor can be coated with vegetable oil by hand (using a rag to rub the oil into the floor) or by a machine. It does not get heated. Multiple applications of the oil are applied to create the finished floor. If finishing the floor using vegetable oil by hand (can be done at home), 3 coats of oil are recommended. The same method is used to refinish a floor if it needed to be done. However, typically only one coat would need to be applied in order to refinish the floor. Cork floors finished with the vegetable oil finish need to be cleaned with a special cleaner (called Dergos natural oil cleaner, available from corkstore.com) about once a month. There is a very small amount of vegetable oil in the cleaner that enhances the existing finish. By doing this, you generally would never need to refinish the floor (rubbing oil into the floor). In comparison, a floor finished with polyurethane often needs a new coat of urethane every 5 years or so (depending on traffic). Recoating a urethane floor involves abrading the existing finish (using either a chemical abrader or a physical abrader such as sandpaper). The new coat of urethane is applied wet and allowed to dry. It is a day long process. With the vegetable oil finish, this type of recoating is not necessary provided the floor is maintained using the cleaner.

The Jelinek Cork flooring finished with natural vegetable oil is called the Comfort Finish line. Please contact us for further details or you can order online at corkstore.com

For more information on cork flooring visit http://jelinek.com/flooring.htm

The process of making a natural wine cork.

After the cork bark is harvested from the cork oak tree, how does it become a wine cork?

After harvesting the cork bark off cork oak trees, the bark is gathered and placed in large piles waiting to be loaded onto trucks and transported to the processing factories. The health of the cork oaks is not effected …. The same tree can be harvested over and over again every nine years.

The bark is cut into strips by a very sharp knife. The thickness of the strips determines the length of the cork stoppers. In the above photo the strips are quite thin …. about half an inch or 12.5mm. This means the stoppers punched from these strips would be ½” or 12.5mm in length, about half the length of a standard wine cork often used on olive bottles or spice bottles.

In this picture the stoppers are being punched from the bark strips by hand, the strips are about 1-1/2” long or 38 mm. These are wine stopper corks. The operator must be very precise. After the corks are all punched out of each strip the leftover strips (those with the holes in them) are called “cork waste”. This name is misleading because in cork there is no waste. These leftover strips are later ground up and turned into cork grain. Cork grain is further processed and turned into other products such as cork floors, walls, insulating materials, bulletin boards, coasters, and much more.

Punching stoppers out of cork strips can also be done by automatic machines such as the one pictured above. This is a safer and quicker process but not as exact as hand punching.

After the cork stoppers are punched out they are sorted into various qualities – usually seven standard qualities - by expert sorters who can quickly and effectively recognize the difference between each cork. Qualities are determined by the number of pores, cracks, or other imperfections.

Here you can see the sorters surrounded by wicker baskets. They pick and choose the corks and throw them into the designated seven different quality baskets without even glancing up. They seldom miss their shots, even those they throw side-handed or over their shoulders!

Following these procedures the corks are washed, branded with company logos, treated with a surface coating to make insertion into and out of bottles easier and smoother, and finally sterilized and packed in hermetically sealed heavy duty poly bags which are not opened until they arrive at the bottling line.

Vegetable oil + cork = Jelinek Cork Comfort Finish Cork Flooring

So what do you get when you take a beautiful cork floor and stain and seal it with natural vegetable oil? Jelinek Cork Comfort Finish cork flooring.

Cork, as you know, is an all natural product. It comes from the bark of the cork oak tree. Cork flooring needs to be finished in order to protect it from daily use. The most eco-friendly floor finish is a natural product -- vegetable oil.



Jelinek Cork's Comfort Finish flooring line can be stained various shades. The stain is also formulated from vegetable oil.

This natural and environmentally friendly surface finish protects the cork floor while maintaining the look and feel of the cork. The finish gives the floor a very soft feeling - some describe it by saying it feels like leather.



Typically, these floors do not need to be recoated - even after years of use. About once a month, the floor needs to be cleaned with a special cleaner which will reapply a small amount of oil to the finish.

So there you have it - cork flooring + vegetable oil = a truly environmentally friendly plus gorgeous floor.

Heidi Ackerman at Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion week

Toronto Alternative Arts and Fashion Week has been on since April 21. On Friday April 24 2009, Heidi Ackerman's new collection of Avant Garde and eco-friendly fashions will be featured.

Heidi Ackerman uses eco-friendly materials including cork fabric in her designs. Jelinek Cork is proud to sponsor Heidi Ackerman as she continues to push the boundaries of Canadian Fashion while honouring her commitment to responsible and eco-friendly design.

Jelinek Cork at the Halton Eco Festival

This past Saturday, Jelinek Cork was pleased to be a part of the 9th Annual Halton Eco Festival in Oakville, Ontario. This free-to-attend environmental fair brought visitors from around the GTA to listen to speakers address sustainability as well as visit exhibitors booths and learn about their "green" products and services.

At the Jelinek Cork booth, visitor response was amazing. Many visitors knew of cork only as a bulletin board or wine stopper. Others were more knowledgeable about the many uses of cork and many already use cork in their homes - on their walls or floors. All visitors were impressed with the versatility of cork and the many products created from this natural and sustainable product. Along with cork fabric and cork hand bags, Jelinek Cork flooring was of great interest. The Jelinek Cork Comfort Line of cork flooring was a huge hit. The Comfort Line has a natural vegetable oil finish which protects the floor while maintaining the natural look and feel of cork.

We heard many great comments from our visitors on Saturday. Some of the more common ones were,
"Wow! This has to be one of the most sustainable flooring options."
"I had no idea you could do so much with cork!"
"It's SO comfortable underfoot! and warm!"

We love cork!

Thanks to the Oakville Community Centre For Peace, Ecology And Human Rights for organizing this event.

Interesting Uses for Cork #4

Here is another interesting use for cork - the bee and honey industry.

Cork and the Queen Bee:
When a queen bee is to be introduced to a hive of bees, it needs to be done carefully. The queen bee is foreign to the other bees and could be seen as an intruder to the hive if she is not introduced slowly. To do this, the queen bee is kept in her own cage, known as the queen cage. One side of the queen cage is closed with a cork. The other side is sealed with bee candy and sometimes another cork. The cork on the side with the bee candy is removed and the queen cage is inserted within the frames of the hive. The other cork is left in place to keep the queen from escaping. In a couple of days, the worker bees will have eaten through the bee candy and released the queen bee into the hive.

Cork and Observation Hives:
Sometimes bee keepers want to keep the bees out of the observation hive. This can be done by using tapered cork stoppers to plug the passage of bees into or out of the observation hive.

Cork and Honey:
There are many ways to package and sell honey. One method that is both natural, functional and decorative is to use a natural cork stopper. Being all-natural, cork works and looks great in the container.

Note: I am not a bee keeper however I love honey!

Cork Balls

Most everyone knows cork for its use in wine stoppers and bulletin boards and more and more people recognize it as a floor covering however not as many people know what a cork ball is or what it is for. I'll take a moment to enlighten you ...

Cork balls come in a variety of sizes and are used for many applications ranging from magic props to buoyancy aids.

Ever wonder what's inside one of your sporting balls (ie. baseball, cricket or hurling ball)? Often, its center is made of cork.

What about the little ball in a whistle? Its often a tiny cork ball.

How about a foosball? These balls can be made of cork also.

Cork balls are also floats for level gauges and heads for craft dolls and outrigger cork stops.

Remember, cork floats! Another great use is as a keychain for boaters.

The list goes on and on. Whether for arts & craft use or fishing floats and lures, cork balls can be used.

For more uses, visit www.jelinek.com/balls.htm

Jelinek Cork flooring installed in LEED compliant Oakville Soccer Club building

The Oakville Soccer Club has opened a new indoor soccer facility. The Pine Glen Soccer Centre is the first LEED^®(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Compliant public building in Oakville, Ontario.

Jelinek Cork Comfort Line cork floors are installed throughout the facility's offices. These floors have a natural vegetable oil finish which protects the floor while maintaining the natural look and feel of cork. The pattern used for this facility is Cai Sienna.

Jelinek Cork is present in other parts of the building as well - RubberCork flooring is installed in the community room and staff kitchen (see bottom picture).

Interesting Uses for Cork #3

As mentioned in previous posts, there are many uses for cork besides bulletin boards and wine stoppers. I have already mentioned a couple in previous posts. Today I'll introduce you to another.

Virgin cork bark is the bark that is harvested from the cork tree the first and second time the tree is harvested. This cork has a really rough texture and is not uniform at all. Some sections may be a lot thicker than other sections and its appearance is really natural. Subsequent harvests produce a much smoother and uniform layer of bark. These subsequent harvests produce the higher quality cork required for wine stoppers. So what happens to the bark gathered during the first two harvests? Among other things, virgin cork bark is used in horticulture and zoology for displays and for imitating natural habitats (terrariums, vivariums).

Here are some examples:
1.Orchids – Orchids love cork and cork bark is ideal for mounting orchids and other plants that require epiphytic conditions. They attach themselves to the cork bark and thrive.

2.Reptiles, amphibians and arachnids – Lizards, snakes, tarantulas and other such creatures love to climb on and in things. Cork bark is used to emulate their natural surroundings. The cork bark is completely natural and non-toxic so it is a popular choice when setting up a terrarium or other such habitat.

3.Since cork floats, the bark works great in the water. Frogs, turtles, newts and other partial swimmers need to take a break from the water. Cork bark offers an ideal place to rest.

In memory of Boomer.

Cork closures and CO2 emissions

A PricewaterhouseCoopers LCA study commissioned by Amorim shows the carbon dioxide emissions associated with cork closures are significantly lower than the emissions due to aluminum screwcaps and plastic stoppers.

The year-long study found that CO2 emissions — a key factor in global warming — resulting from the life cycle of a screwcap are 24 times higher than those from a natural cork stopper, while a plastic stopper is responsible for 10 times more CO2 than a natural cork.

Along with this study, it is also known that cork forests store carbon thereby reducing green house gases in the atmosphere. Cork trees store carbon to regenerate their bark therefore a harvested tree absorbs more (up to 5 times more) carbon than one that isn't harvested.

Use natural cork and help the planet.

Calling all Recyclers! We want your Natural Corks!

In December 2008, Jelinek Cork launched its new recycled cork program:

Jelinek Cork Group is delighted to announce a new recycled cork program. Jay Jelinek said “Due to the large number of inquiries we received from the public we realized there is a huge demand to continue recycling natural cork.”

To try and make the process as simple as possible all we ask is for community groups, schools or other not for profit organizations to bring their sorted collected corks to our facility on Speers Road in Oakville, Ontario.

The corks need to be put in a brown paper garden refuse bag, which can be bought at all major grocery or hardware stores. We will pay $15 for each full bag of sorted natural corks. Simply call ahead to arrange your drop off.

Jay Jelinek continued with: “We are encouraged to hear so many people take seriously the desire to recycle one of nature’s most renewable products; by collecting and recycling we were able to divert over 8 tonnes of cork that was destined to end up in landfill.”

This program helps community groups raise both funds and awareness that natural cork is not only a completely sustainable product but totally recyclable and by using natural cork you're helping preserve one of the most biologically diverse habitats in the world.

Each year there are over 10 million wine corks discarded in Ontario alone. The holiday season is the perfect time of year to launch our new program.

For more information about this program please contact:

Fay Stallan
Jelinek Cork Group
905-827-4666

Jelinek Cork Group, 2260 Speers Road, Oakville, Ontario, L6L 2X8
Phone 905-827-4666
www.jelinek.com

World's Largest Cork Tree

The title of World's Largest Cork Tree is given to a tree that lives in the Alentejo region of Portugal. The tree, known as the Whistler tree for the birds that perch in it, was planted in 1783 and was harvested for its first time in 1820. Since then, its been harvested every nine years - that's 21 times! Its most recent harvest was in 2000 and its next harvest is scheduled for this year - 2009. Talk about productive!






Source: http://www.corkqc.com/corkecology/ecology2.htm

By using Cork you are helping our Planet

Cork - One of the most renewable and ecologically friendly materials found anywhere in the world

CORK
Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree (Quercus suber). After the cork bark is harvested from the tree, the bark immediately begins to renew itself. Not a single tree is cut down during harvest. Generally, after nine years of growth the bark is two inches thick. It is often at this point when the tree is re-harvested. Cork trees live 200-500 years.

MORE THAN RENEWABLE
Cork not only begins to renew its bark immediately after harvest but during the trees entire lifespan it is filtering carbon dioxide thereby reducing greenhouse gases. Furthermore, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) “cork oak forests support one of the highest levels of biodiversity among forest habitats, as well as the highest diversity of plants found anywhere in the world”.

NOT GOING EXTINCT
Despite rumours, cork is not going extinct. However, some winemakers are causing the cork habitat to be threatened by converting from real wine corks to synthetic and screw caps. Because of the decrease in use of real wine cork, the value of cork as a raw material has gone down. This may cause cork forest owners to sell their land, which in turn may be converted to alternative use (such as real estate development).

BY USING CORK YOU ARE HELPING OUR PLANET
The more cork that is used, the more value the farmers who own the forests get out of their land, making it less likely they will sell their land for development. By using cork you are helping to preserve the forest habitat and thereby reducing greenhouse gases and contributing to biodiversity among plant and animal life. There are many other benefits, including poverty alleviation (many cork forests are in rural North Africa and are critical to their local economy) and employment.

The construction industry has been quick to embrace cork as an acoustic underlayment in multilevel units and for flooring. The interior design industry is also on the cutting edge with unique uses of cork. Both industries also recognize that cork contributes favorably to the LEED rating system. Please encourage your favorite winemaker to support the natural solution and think how you can integrate cork into your home or office.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Please visit our website or this link to the World Wildlife Fund:
http://www.jelinek.com/wwf

Day 4 of IDS09 and the show is over

Today, the last day of IDS09, was another great day at the Jelinek Cork booth. We'd like to thank everyone who stopped by and visited our booth. It was great to meet you all and discuss cork with you. If you have any additional questions, please contact us. We'd love to hear from you!


The award winning Jelinek Cork booth at the close of the show.
Its dark and the show is over.

Day 3 of IDS09 - Another great day at the Jelinek Cork Booth!

Another glorious day at IDS09. Today and tomorrow the show will be open to the public (Friday was Professional Trade day). The public was out in full force today.

Visitors outside the Jelinek Cork Booth

Thousands of guests filtered through the award winning Jelinek Cork booth with the typical comment being "unbelievable" and "stunning".

IDS09 Gold Award - Best Booth Design

Although the booth does not display Jelinek's more traditional products, it shows cork from a unique and previously unseen perspective. Because of this, Jelinek has had lineups and a constant flow of visitors to it's booth.

Examining the booth from all angles


View of Jelinek's cork mosaic floor through columns


Jay Jelinek and Mike Manning from Suntech/GreenBilt
Cork lampshade material on ceiling of display

Some pictures from Trade Day at IDS09 - Day Two

Day 2 was Trade Day at IDS09 - a day for professionals to come network and discover new and exciting resources.

Inside the Jelinek Cork booth.

It is also a busy day for design media.

Interviewing Fay Stallan of Jelinek Cork


Using the Jelinek booth as a backdrop
for filming various news segments.



Finally, Trade Day is when the Booth Awards are presented.

Fay Stallan (Jelinek Cork)
and Mike Manning (Suntech/GreenBilt)
pose on stage after receiving the awards!

Day 2 of IDS09 - The Jelinek Cork booth wins Best Booth award

Day 2 of IDS09 was a huge success for Jelinek Cork. From the beginning of the day to the end of the day, visitors flocked to the booth to discover for themselves the versatility of cork.

The highlight of the day for the Jelinek Cork Group was being awarded best booth in its category. What a remarkable compliment. Thank you, IDS09.
The booth awards are judged by a panel composed of well-known designers (Christophe Delcourt, Alex Chapman, among others) and design-media (Cameron MacNeil, Canadian House & Home). This jury "judged the IDS09 exhibitor booths for their creativity, quality, and outstanding design." Jelinek Cork Group won the first place award in it's category. The 20' x 10' booth was designed in collaboration with award winning Levitt Goodman architects and took weeks of planning and over 400 hours to build!

The Jelinek Cork booth was also the site of television interviews as well as numerous newspaper and magazine interviews.

What a great day and thank you to all for visiting the Jelinek Cork booth at IDS09!

Day 1 of IDS09 - The Jelinek Cork Booth revealed

The hard work paid off - The Jelinek Cork Booth was a big success after Day 1 of IDS09. Here is the finished booth - immerse yourself in cork - a truly renewable resource.


Sonny Jelinek welcoming visitors to the Jelinek Cork booth.


The booth - it is a work of art!


Almost everything is cork in
the booth. Wall coverings, flooring,
ceiling.


One of the openings into the
"room".


Peeking in, display cases
on the walls, Jelinek Cork mosaic
on the floors.


Some of the many products produced
from cork - fishing floats, cork grain,
cork balls, cork "dots", tapered cork,
cork stoppers... The list is endless.


Another display contains cork
fishing floats and samples of
cork flooring.


Another opening. Again,
various types of cork cover
all surfaces.

Visitors to the booth were truly amazed at the diverse nature of cork. Check back tomorrow for more photos and comments from the show.