Jelisava

Cork is an amazing substance. I love its color and texture. The feel of it -- hard and soft at the same time. It is environmentally friendly. It is both elastic and impermeable. Someday I hope to have a cork floor in my house (wonderful sound absorption qualities). Design Within Reach just finished their annual Champagne Chair Contest -- participants create a miniature chair using only the cork, wire, and foil from no more than two champagne bottles. With over 1,000 entries, the winner was a cantilever block chair (left); a runner-up (right) looks like a great beach chair:

A single glass of champagne imparts a feeling of exhilaration. The nerves are braced, the imagination is agreeably stirred; the wits become more nimble. A bottle produces the contrary effect. Excess causes a comatose insensibility. So it is with war: and the quality of both is best discovered by sipping.

    ~ Winston Churchill