FAQs

Yes. That is the whole point. The cork oak is the only tree on earth that can be stripped of its bark and keep living - it simply grows it back, thicker, over nine years. In Portugal it is protected by law. The tree that gave the cork for your piece is still standing, still growing, still working on the next one. Nothing died. Nothing ever does.

No - and you would not want to. Cork carries the fissures, grain and scars of the specific tree it came from, so no two pieces can be identical. Your Hot Spring will have the same soul as the one you saw, and a body that has never existed before. That is not a flaw in the process. It is the process.

Cork has held wine sealed for centuries, insulated spacecraft, and lined the walls of buildings that outlived their architects. It is fire-retardant, waterproof, dust-proof, and it does not warp. Our pieces are built to be used - set a glass down, lean on the table, live with it. It will outlast the room.

Warm. Always. Cork never feels cold to the touch the way stone or steel does, and it weighs almost nothing in the hand. It absorbs sound instead of throwing it back. People who buy our pieces tell us the same thing: they keep touching them.

Often, yes. We have sculpted a national festival’s trophy and worked alongside Portuguese porcelain and lighting houses. If you have a room, a project or an idea, write to us - one piece, one project, one idea at a time.

Barely at all. Cork is dust-proof; a dry cloth handles a spill. Avoid chemical cleaners the bark does not need them and never has. Treat it the way the forest did: leave it alone, and it will keep its beauty for decades.

Worldwide, from Esmoriz, Portugal - each piece packed by the same hands that made it.

Write to us with as much or as little as you have - a room, a sketch, a measurement, or simply an idea. We’ll reply personally, ask what we need to know, and tell you honestly what cork can and cannot do with it.

Yes. We ship from Esmoriz, Portugal to clients around the world, and shipping is free. Each piece is packed by hand for the journey, as carefully as it was made.

Ready pieces are dispatched within a few days. Commissioned work depends on what you’re asking for - usually a few weeks. Cork sets its own pace, and we would rather be honest than fast.

Yes, and we encourage it. Because no two pieces are alike, we send photographs of the actual piece before dispatch, so you know exactly which grain, which markings, which one is yours.

We welcome visits by appointment at Rua das Ruivas 108, Esmoriz. Write to us first so Isabel can be there - it makes for a very different conversation when you can hold the cork in your hands.

Often. We provide samples, specification support, and bespoke development for design projects. If you’re working on something and wondering whether cork belongs in it, ask us.

Tell us immediately and we will make it right. Cork is far more resilient than people expect, but shipping is shipping - and our responsibility does not end when the piece leaves the atelier.