ABD Culture
What’s both fit for adventure AND votes to bring the bike along – even if we’re not on a ride? The wearable answer: Alixandra’s delicate jewelry designs made from discarded bicycle inner tubes. Weightless, waterproof, sport-ready and (best of all) up-cycled, ABD Culture’s pieces help us keep the girly in gritty.
Hi, I’m Alix, owner and creator of ABD culture. We all have a gift to give the world. From a young age, I knew mine was art. It was in college that I honed in on jewelry design. The most iconic piece I made was a brass cuff representing a piece of fan coral I collected in the Virgin Islands. For the next decade, I’d have ladies coming up to me asking, “where can I purchase that?” I’d say, “when I start producing them, I’ll let you know.” But I was at an impasse, I couldn’t consciously put another unconscious product into the market.
Fast forward 10 years and I was at a bachelorette party for a dear friend who was wearing a pair of hand cut feather earrings made out of bike inner tubes. “Those are so cool!” I said, at which point she said, “you could make these.” I agreed immediately. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I were invited to Burning Man and I needed a gift to give. I thought what can I make? I got so excited as I remembered the rubber earrings! They were a smash hit and it wasn’t long before I received my first order from a shop in Squaw Valley. After moving back to Vermont on the heels of my Father’s death, my husband came across a laser-cut jewelry class and suggested I attend. That was the game changer I needed. With this technology I could efficiently reproduce my designs.
Fast forward 10 years and I was at a bachelorette party for a dear friend who was wearing a pair of hand cut feather earrings made out of bike inner tubes. “Those are so cool!” I said, at which point she said, “you could make these.” I agreed immediately. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I were invited to Burning Man and I needed a gift to give. I thought what can I make? I got so excited as I remembered the rubber earrings! They were a smash hit and it wasn’t long before I received my first order from a shop in Squaw Valley. After moving back to Vermont on the heels of my Father’s death, my husband came across a laser-cut jewelry class and suggested I attend. That was the game changer I needed. With this technology I could efficiently reproduce my designs.