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.

Ideas and Inspirations surrounding the "Cork Booth"

As IDS09 begins tomorrow, you'll have to wait until then to see this remarkable booth. Until then, here is a bit about the booth and where the design came from ...

By: Levitt Goodman Architects

"The Collaborations space interweaves the great and long history of cork with a contemporary aesthetic that will allow both design professionals and consumers to appreciate the material in an entirely new way. The design is the outcome of the knowledge gained by both Megan Cassidy and Janna Levitt, the team from Levitt Goodman, as they began to learn the multitude of ways in which cork has been utilized over the past few centuries; the ways in which it is harvested and manufactured, the natural resins embodied in cork and the inherent sustainability of the product from collection to point of sale. In addition, the Jelinek family has been associated with cork for many generations and are passionate about their product. The showroom in Oakville has an extensive archive of historic objects utilizing cork which they shared with Levitt Goodman. In addition, the company is investing considerable R and D into new and innovative uses for the product and some of these are also incorporated into the booth.

As architects and designers it is rare to be able to immerse ourselves in a material that offers such a host of design possibilities and this became an intriguing challenge: how to draw out some of the properties of an age-old material that has a deep routed legacy in the development of glass containers (bottle stops); marine applications (buoys, floats, boat hold insulation etc.). The blackened cork featured as the main material in the carved sculptural forms is in fact an insulation material, used primarily in both ships, to maintain cool temperatures and spaces that have high humidity. The natural resins which in the tree form are like sap, serves as a bond which, when heated, browns the natural material and produces an satisfying burnt wood smell. We were so intrigued by the transformation capable by this humble material that we wanted to bring this to the forefront and get others as intrigues and excited by its beauty, texture, and gorgeous scent. In addition we were excited by the idea that cork can be “carved”, layered, broken, laminated. We began by imagining a solid block of the material as wide and tall and deep as the booth, to which we then began to literally carve away a variety of spatial experiences. We wanted to create an almost soft cave like place where one can pause and that this would be a generous moment of quiet within the overwhelming sensory experience of the IDS. With cork, Levitt Goodman Architects establishes a dialogue with the IDS visitor, allowing them to re-examine their ideas about the capacity of cork to provide a host of architectural experiences. Through notions of “excavation”, “peeling” and “edges” the viewer is offered a space that heightens ones olfactory, tactile, and auditory experiences. These are only some of the potential qualities inherent in the raw material. The cork booth overall is conceived of as a grand piece within which are craggy, carved places of entry. The rough-hewn cork edges convey the idea of this cavern-like space and express’s the beauty the material in its raw form. Most of all, the space creates a place of pause, an aromatic space that invites the viewer to experience cork in a host of carefully curated moments."

We're off to IDS'09

IDS'09 kick-off is in a few days. Its time to get the booth delivered and setup at the show. Here it is preparing to leave...

The truck is docked and ready to deliver the booth to the show.


Finishing the floor.


The towers are lined up, ready to be loaded.


Loading the display into the truck.