Upcycling Used Bike Innertubes Into Jewellery

Used bicycle innertubes can be upcycled into functional items like jewellery, wallets, wristlets, key hides, chair and stool weavings, etcetera, and are also incorporated into visual arts. I chose to make jewellery from the innertubes I rescued from a curbside bin destined for a landfill. I was on a coffee run one evening, on garbage night, and saw a bunch of snakey-looking things dropping from a trash bin. Curious, I stopped and found it was a half dozen blown bicycle inner tubes. All kinds of creative ideas flashed through my mind in seconds. I just had to have those innertubes, so I took all of them. Though I create many one-of-a-kind pieces from salvaged discards, my love of working with these snakey, rubbery loops evolved from this serendipitous ‘find’.

Green Jean Ferguson