I still use a mouse pad made of hardwood and a hempen cover, and find it by far the most pleasant mouse pad I have ever used, with its very slightly rough surface that feels natural to the hand. You can even put it slightly over the edge of your desk and it won't go floppy. Easily cleaned every few months with some water and dish washing soap. In the age of mechanical mice, it also kept the mouse ball clean, but it works fine with optical mice too. I have two, one at home and one for work, and must have used them for more than twenty years now. Very durable, I am sure there would be a market for these things, but I have never seen anything like it before or since.

I bought it from the now-defunct Hober folk web radio, one of the earlier internet radio stations, which only recently finally turned off their stream. Here's an archive page describing the mouse pad: https://web.archive.org/web/20021013110318/http://banqa.uaqa...