Cork production is not well balanced across Europe; nearly 50% of global production is located in Portugal, due to its climatic and soil requirements. Yet it’s a material used in everyday life, and some industries have already taken interest in its properties (hydrophobic and insulating) to apply it to other uses, particularly textiles. 

Lucile Drouet, cork master designer, has been working with this material for years, experimenting with its properties to the utmost; successfully dyeing it even though it’s waterproof. During the residency and workshop periods, which took place entirely in Portugal in 2023 and 2024, a group of young designers were introduced to the rich Portuguese cork heritage through discovery of innovative structures such as Texteis Penedo and CITEVE (textile research center), as well as the process of harvesting cork bark thanks to SEDACOR, in top of going and wandering in cork oak forest. Thereafter, the workshop allowed them to experiment with cork as an artistic material, creating new ecological and sustainable alternatives in contemporary textile art.