Interesting Facts about Cork

"Cork in Hollywood"

Cork is used in special effects in cinema and the Circus:

Cork grain is used to simulate realistic terrain (sand, dirt) on movies and theatre sets.

Thanks to its lightness, cork granules are used in special effects scenes to simulate explosions in movies and to create special flooring in the circus...

This technique was used in films such as:

Total Recall, with actor Colin Farrell, 

Gangster Squad with Sean Penn,

Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise,

Meanwhile, the expanded cork granulates was used in

Ghostbusters to simulate debris of buildings, and in the movies Volcano and Dante`s Peak recreating volcanic rocks.

As a general rule, when in film are shown somewhat bullet 

hitting the particles after impact are projected made ​​of cork.

For the blackened third degree burns seen in films like 

The Giant Behemoth (1959), X the Unknown 

and

The Brian from Planet Arous (1958), 

makeup artists often use Pan-Cake or burnt Cork. Pan-cake foundation (which is packed in a circular cake-like form, hence the term cake), comes in a variety of colours, including black. Pan-cake makeup can be wasted off rather easily with soap and water. It dries flat and does not require a heavy application of power. When the black coloured variety is stippled directly onto a person it resembles scorched skin. For added thickness burnt cork mixed with mortician`s wax gives a more drastically charred appearance.

Blackface minstrel in theatre, Blackface was an important performance tradition in the American theatre for roughly 100 years, beginning around 1830.

It quickly became popular elsewhere, particularly so in Britain, where the tradition lasted longer than in the US, occurring on prime-time TV as late as 1978 (The Black and White Minstrel Show) and 1981. In both the United States and Britain, Blackface was most commonly used in the minstrel performance tradition, which it both predated and outlasted. White blackface performers in the past used burnt Cork and later greasepaint or shoe polish to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips, often wearing woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats, or ragged clothes to complete the transformation. Later, black artists also performed in black-face.

In the Cirque du Solei they use to:

Sand Cliff deck:

The pride and joy of the KÀ Carpentry Department is the Cork cleaning system. It is used to process the 4,000 pounds of Portuguese cork used each day to create the "sand" on the beach during the Wash Up scene. Carpentry has technicians whose sole job is to care for the cork each day, which includes filtering, sifting it for debris, removing static electricity and keeping it moisturized.

Scenic Elements:

For the Wash-up on the Shore scene, the beach is created using 350 cubic feet of granular cork from Portugal.

Leave your comment and do not forget to visit our on-line store to enjoy wonderful gifts in cork. 

FASHION CORK UK AT LONDON ECOLUXE CATWALK

Cork accessories on the Catwalk at Ecoluxe Fashion Show, during London Fashion Week February, 2014 brought by Fashion Cork UK

London Fashion Week is one of the biggest fashion events in the world and Fashion Cork UK had the opportunity to present itself on the catwalk.

On February 17 Fashion Cork UK has been shown on the catwalk as part of London Ecoluxe Sustainable Fashion Show. We were next to the great international designers - such as By Stamo , Deploy, Elena Garcia, and others, leading the way for ethical fashion.

We are very excited to have had the opportunity to work with Ecoluxe London. It is the perfect platform for us to showcase our work.

We promote our environment, eco-efficiency through support with production, clean manufacturing processes and waste management/recycling, ethical fashion, and sustainability, allowing us to transform the Cork material in to Fashion Accessories, and bring it to the catwalks of London.

** The pieces featured are:

-  A belt made from cork (By Stamo).

- A beautiful Cork Umbrella in Tiger Bengal pattern (By Fashion Cork UK)

- A pair of Cork gloves in natural pattern and a small handbag (Lilly Flower Bag) also in Cork natural (By Fashion Cork UK).

Our collections are inspired by the natural beauty our environment, the wildlife, glamour, ethic and women's elegance.

Take a look on our website www.fashioncorkuk.com and get for yourself the perfect, luxury and unique gift.

Your opinion is important for us! Please do leave your comment or suggestions.

Cork is the natural choice for fashion venture

The Fashion Cork UK does not stop and has recently published an article in Bizcrowd (https://bizcrowd.com/Article/654).

Bizcrowd is the free on-line community for UK businesses powered by RBS NatWest.

Frank Germano, managing director of Fashion Cork UK, tells Bizcrowd why the natural material is perfect for eco-friendly fashion accessories.

Fashion Cork UK’s products include bags, umbrellas and footwear

Why are cork products good for the environment?

Cork is extremely light, impermeable to liquids and gases, elastic and compressible, an excellent thermal and acoustic insulator, highly resistant to fire, equally resistant to wear and tear, but above all cork is 100% natural, recyclable, biodegradable and hypoallergenic – three crucial attributes for a society that is seeking to become less polluted and more environmentally friendly.

The manufacture process of the products sold by Fashion Cork UK aims to protect the environment by taking the bark from cork oak trees that grow in Portugal, placing that bark in water for between three and six months and then baking it in the sun to produce cork fabric. The cork fabric is then taken to our factory in Portugal, where it is cut and prepared to produce fashion accessories that neither use any toxic products or any part of an animal.

What fashion products can be made from cork?

Most people associate cork with wine bottles and flooring products, but it has many other uses. Fashion Cork UK sells a wide range of hand-made, high quality items made from cork fabric and cork paper, including jewellery, handbags, purses, wallets, shoes, belts, umbrellas, mobile covers, stationery, hats, travel accessories and giftware. We have recently introduced a new line of business and office accessories, including a briefcase made from three layers of 100% natural cork.

How long has Fashion Cork UK been trading?

We started trading in May last year. Fashion Cork UK is the trading name of TechPrestige Ltd and the main and sole representative in UK market of Cork Design – a registered Portuguese trademark and market leader. The company group has been producing cork products for more than 20 years and has a presence in a number of countries, including Portugal, Spain, France, Russia, the US and Australia. In the UK, we sell our products online and through business-to-business outlets and business-to-consumer companies.

What challenges did you face bringing cork fashion to the UK?

The UK is one of the most high-profile fashion markets in the world. The greatest challenge I have faced has been creating a culture of green products. This is being achieved by promoting the message that environmental sustainability can generate economic gains.

Some people believe eco-friendly products do not last very long, but it took almost two years to develop our umbrella so it will stand up to the stresses and strains of the UK weather. All our products combine elegant, modern design with longevity.

What lies in store for Fashion Cork UK in 2014?

We are also exploring the possibility of introducing clothing, such as trousers and suits, made out of cork into the UK, and to work directly with UK fashion designers.

But in the meantime, we are continuing to recruit self-employed sales agents to supply the retail trade with our products and increase their availability.

We like to know what our readers think of our blog and visit our products.

Leave us your comments, your feedback is important for us.

The benefits of Cork and History

Cork has a very special place on the planet.

He can get everything you can imagine, without damaging the environment, the animal environment or climate. Consists of the good will of man: the protection of our habitat.

The question is: Why Cork?

"Cork is used for thousands of years. Do not exist many materials that have such along history, or who have endured so well to competition of new materials invented by man. "

It is of utmost importance within the Portuguese economy, whether in forest expansion as in industrial processing. Portugal is the largest producer of cork and cork product are one of the most valuable domestic exports. This material, in addition to a wide range of uses, has an environmental connotation, being not only a raw material but also by the surrounding eco system, cork and any associated fauna and flora.

Portugal transforms around 70% of the world Bark with more than60% of which is for the production of natural cork stoppers.

Contrary to what may seem, cork is part of human culture as technical material since forever, or as a sealant, insulating or buoyant. Even today there is no better material, natural or synthetic, to replace him.

And Compared to other plants?

Although all plants producing cell type of cork is in cork oak the “Quercus Suber

L.”, that produces a protective layer that achieves a considerable thickness, and has the capacity to regenerate, possessing characteristics that make them interesting for various applications and commercial exploitation. Microscopically Cork is a lightweight, elastic, impermeable to liquids and gases, thermal, electrical, acoustic and vibration absorbers, harmless, allowing it to be compressed without lateral expansion.

 The industry of cork in Portugal

The cork industry in Portugal, is quite different:

-Small to medium size (family structure, and labour- intensive) sometimes without financial and organizational capacity to adapt to developments within the sector.

-Transformation industries, with a more established commercial component.

-The Modern industry, which consists of small groups of plants, most dynamic and another part of a more traditional nature, and composed of units of small size and character artisan.

There are large differences in equipment, human resources and financial, production control, procurement of raw materials and marketing.

This situation has improved due to the implementation of the ICRP(International Code of Cork Stopper Manufacturing Practice), also with increasing demands from their customers because the production is essentially facing the export markets of high technology, where competition from other products for the same purpose is high.

Did you know?

The cork oak is a tree that dates from the Tertiary Age, the Oligocene, which is considered have arisen in the area of the Tyrrhenian Sea and has progressively and later migrated to the current locations (Olive,1991).

The natural habitat of this species is in the European Mediterranean area and North Africa. In Portugal cork oaks are scattered throughout the country, in pure stands and mixed but predominantly south of the Tagus (especially in the Alentejo).

Usually the cork oak is a species very tolerant of soils, except calcareous or too clayey, where the root system expands easily.

Requires conditions that provide free expansion root, a high degree of aeration and good internal drainage and regular.

The cork oak tree and a slow-growing and long-lived, which can reach 250 350years, although it is considered that the age limit for the production of cork is 150 to 200 years. The adult cork naturally has a size of about 10 to 15 meters, characterized by a short thick trunk which bifurcates the small height from the ground in major strides angle covered by profuse ram aria. The shape of the cork oak influences the production and profitability of cork extraction. Are considered “bad production units “trees with stems low, tortuous, irregular, with poorly shaped canopies.

Recycled Christmas

I found some Christmas decorations very interesting on the internet and I want to share with you my discovery.

Why not join the cork stoppers and make small applications for Christmas?

This year I want to be different and to honour my planet, so I offer cork products.

We are interested in your opinion about the innovation of the cork sector.

Visit our product pages and check out some of the great accessories, gifts, bags and technology that are made of cork fabric.

We are interested in your opinion about the innovation of the cork sector.

The fashion over the years

Fashion is the consumption trend of today.

The word comes from Latin “facere”, means “to make”. 

It is made up of various styles that can be influenced in many ways.

Accompanies the garment and time, which forms part to the simple use of the clothes on the day-to-day. It is a transitory form and easily changeable to behave and especially of dressing or combing.

Cork panama hat

Cork handbag

The fashion takes us into the world of bright and unique of celebrities. Wonderful dresses, famous creators, fabrics and cutting-edge inventions. 

Since the prehistory man has been creating fashion, not only to protect the body from the weather but as a way to differentiate into various other aspects such as social, religious, aesthetic, mystical or simply to distinguish individually.

Fashion can be seen as a portrait of the evolution of behaviour or a kind of portrait of society. It is a significant distinction of non-verbal expression. Stimulates new ways of thinking and acting.

To create style, the fashion designers use five basic elements: colour, shape, trend, texture and harmony.

Joining these ingredients to the benefit of nature: comfort of the planet, our environment, animal welfare and natural beauty of CORK, we have created a new and a unique concept of fashion that suits all styles with glamour and splendour.

The fashion also marked place on technology. Nowadays tablets, mobile phones are part of our lives, being necessary to the world whether in private or professional field.

Look the photos below of covers for your electronic devices that combine with your style, image, professionalism and self-confidence, either for men or women.

Did you know?

Portugal can be proud to have been a pioneer in environmental legislation, the first agrarian laws protecting cork forests having been enacted in the early 13th century, in 1209. Later, during the Age of Discoveries, the builders of the Portuguese ships and caravels that set sail in search of new worlds used cork oak wood for the parts that were most exposed to inclement weather. They claimed that the “sôvaro”, as it was called then, was the best wood for masts and yards: besides being exceptionally strong, it never rotted.

We are interested in your opinion about the innovation of the cork sector.

We are interested in your opinion about the innovation of the cork sector.

Visit our product pages and check out some of the great accessories, gifts and bags that are made of cork fabric.

CORK IN TECHNOLOGY, AEROSPACE AND MEDICINE

The cork is no longer just for making seals for bottles of fine wines and champagne.

The Modern life is living with cork everywhere, and the most recent examples are the saunas, and not only, because continues its development, and this time for the amazing fields of medicine and cosmetics.

So I'll share with you a true and funny story. One day, an artist and entrepreneur decided to make a challenge. Determined to launch a product that could surprise the market, combining technology and design, he drew a sauna lined with cork.

Cork sauna, the ultimate in technology and styleHe took the prototype for an Cork Company and, after several tests on cork boards for lining the sauna "The results were exceptional: the cork proved able to withstand high temperature while maintaining odorless and without any toxicity" and with two important economic benefits: the most competitive price and energy saving. The sauna reaches 80 degrees within 12 minutes than the competitor made ​​from wood.

After the testing period, the sauna made ​​of cork was already on the market and quickly has earned followers, especially abroad. "But innovation is not over: this artist is now developing a sauna made ​​of cork to outdoor environment, with incorporated tables, chairs and sun loungers, matching cork with other materials such as metal and wood, thereby creating a new kind of design and renovation.

Sauna covered cork

Medicine at the forefront of research

Innovations in the cork sector are amazing. The area most unexpected - so unexpected that "is still in very early development cycle" - is the medicine. 

In fact, the fine granulated cork is under investigation for its proven capabilities in medical terms. Expectations are high and are not limited in this area. - Also in the sector of cosmetics is possible that the fine granules will play an important role.

What no longer surprises anyone is using cork in aeronautics and aerospace. "NASA and ESA [European counterpart].

They are traditional Customers of cork products, for its large capacity in terms of soundproofing, but mainly in substitution of other heavier materials, where the count weight is very important, particularly because using cork, means less weight and less power consumption.

The cork piled in the sun

Cork tends to be increasingly present in the most important areas of our life.

That's what Siemens seeks: "This German company along with other companies are working on new methods of surface," with the intention of enhancing soundproofing and cut the weight of the compositions.

The same happens with the company Alstrom. But in this segment, the use of cork is not confined only to compositions of transport, but also the control of vibrations of the railway which will determine the difference between a pleasant trip and full of bumps. All this is done with the use of a mix of granulated cork and old tires. "

These are the areas in which the cork is to be investigated and used as an innovative material. 

The rest is known: buildings coated cork, modern furnishings designed with this natural material, kitchenware, lighting, fashion accessories such as bags, shoes, hats, belts, etc. are increasingly part of the day-to-day many consumers.

In a world where the cork is no longer just a way to seal wine bottles, although, this is a battle for life against the use of plastic and aluminum, the part of innovation and the products which result from it already assumes a important position in terms of exports.

What skill enchanting to reconcile the technology, design and research in the cork sector.

I have no doubt that this is a proof that Mother Nature always has the support and the right way, on how to live a healthy life.

We are interested in your opinion about the innovation of the cork sector.

Visit our product pages  and check out some of the great accessories and bags that are made of cork fabric.

Did you know that:

In 3000 BC, the cork was used in China, Egypt, Babylon and Persia for the manufacture of fishing tackle. In Italy, it was found remains dating from the fourth century BC, several artifacts such as buoys, stoppers for casks, shoes and roofing materials.

The Greek philosopher Theophrastus, in his treatises on botany, he says, amazed, "I admire the faculty that the trees have to renew its bark after being removed."

Even in the Roman Empire, 44 a. C, troops used the cork on their shields to protect themselves due to the strength and lightness of this wonderful natural product.