Next: Cork In It

Cork could be nature’s most perfect material. Lightweight, waterproof, durable, pliable and renewable, it comes in stylishly modern forms via Daniel Michalik, a University of the Arts industrial design instructor. Daniel has spent the past five years working with a dense grade of Portuguese cork reclaimed from wine-stopper factories. His most recent creation: this softly blocky, deftly askew lounge chair ($1,850; $240 for kids ­version) and ottoman  ($2,200 for set; ottoman not sold separately). Relief cuts in the chair’s back allow for reclining. A slant to the footstool makes for perfect leg-draping. And because it’s cork, it floats. Available from
Minima, 118 North 3rd Street, 215-922-2002, minima.us, or via the artist at danielmichalik.com.