PAUSE TO CONSIDER THE BEAUTY & SUSTAINABILITY OF CORK FURNITURE
Cool, comfortable material creates fashionable, functional and family-friendly pieces
Cork is a very cool material that is a bit underrated in the home space, says Yvonne Lukowski, founder of B.c.-based Pause Company, along with her husband, Mike Lukowski. Both are trained interior designers, and Pause Company specializes in luxury, functional furniture made from cork.
As interior designers, they’ve been exposed to tons of products, but when they had kids, they struggled to find kid-friendly furniture that they wanted in their home, says Yvonne. The couple sought the opposite of the bright, primary-coloured plastics prevalent in kids’ furniture.
They wanted highly functional furniture that sits comfortably within a fashionable home. Items that don’t need to be stashed away if you have (design-conscious) guests coming.
“We wanted to find elegant pieces that were timeless and whimsical and didn’t really look like children’s products. That’s what inspired us to create Pause Company,” says Yvonne Lukowski.
ENTER THE MUSHROOM STOOL
The first item they’ve designed for Pause Company is the cork mushroom stool, says Lukowski. And although they made it with kids in mind, adults have loved it just as much.
It has a unique, organic form that kids love to sit on and lean on. But it can also be flipped upside down and used as a side table, says Lukowski “Our kids absolutely love it.”
CORK IS SUSTAINABLE
Cork is technically wood and is still alive, says Lukowski.
Pause Company sources its wood from Cork Oak trees in Portugal.
“You take the bark off the cork tree, but what’s amazing is it doesn’t kill the tree. Every nine years, they re-harvest the cork, and it keeps growing,” she says.
They use a high-quality cork for their mushroom stool, says Lukowski. And at $650 a mushroom stool, the price point probably reflects this.
CHAMPAGNE CORK
The cork they use is the same kind champagne corks are made from. The cork bark is harvested and left outside to dry naturally, and then the champagne stoppers are punched out of this cork. What’s left is a “giant piece of bark with thousands of holes in it,” says Lukowski.
This bark is then ground into granules, which are heat-pressed into giant blocks. The sap in the cork’s bark acts as a natural glue. Then, they work with artisans in Portugal who hand-carve their mushroom stools from these cork blocks.
“It’s very natural; there are no chemicals involved. Cork is actually very hard to even dye because it’s impermeable to liquids and gases, which is a fantastic material to have around kids because it’s toxic-free, it’s hard-wearing. And if it does get marked up, you can sand it down lightly, and it looks new again,” says Lukowski.
NICE TO HAVE AROUND
Cork is soft to the touch and has a fine, leather feel to it, which makes it a lovely material to have in the house because it’s nice to stand on, lean on, and sit on, says Lukowski.
You can change the look of cork easily, just by grinding it a little courser or finer.
“It’s also 100 per cent biodegradable because it’s a piece of wood. It’s an amazing natural material.”
We wanted to find elegant pieces that were timeless and whimsical and didn’t really look like children’s products.
EXPANDING THEIR OFFERING
Lukowski says requests are coming through Pause Company’s design connections in Greater Vancouver to create custom items made out of cork, such as tables, accessories like vases and large bowls, and shelving.
“We’re trying to get in the market to do more high-end residential pieces because these stools have been received so well.”
They want to expand their offering of furniture and products for kids, says Lukowski, as that’s where it all started.
CORK FLOORING REIMAGINED
Cork has been used for flooring for hundreds of years, says Lukowski. But what they are seeing now in terms of cork flooring trends in North America is cork flooring that mimics the look of wood. So you may not even realize it’s cork.
“I think they have a 100 per cent waterproof cork flooring now that looks and feels like wood but has properties of cork. You do pay a bit more, but it’s very common to have it as an underlay under a hardwood or laminate because it repels water.”