I have been noticing that cork has been appearing as a design element again. This is a good thing as cork is a sustainable product and has many desirable properties in that it is light, reasonably durable, waterproof and to a degree fire resistant. 
On Cool Hunting there was an article about some (very) desirable hand bound notebooks created by a company called Michael Roger Press that uses cork for the covers. The paper inside is acid free and has been sewn bound allowing you to open the book flat.
More over on Cool Hunting
Meanwhile over on Designboom I saw this cork stool "Senta" that looked interesting.
Created by Fernando Brizio for a cork manufacturing company it is designed as a carry stool; you can pack the whole thing up and re-assemble it wherever you need to sit down. Fantastic for picnics, or, combined with the above article, for use sitting whilst sketching in your cork covered sketchbook.
