Meet Susan Jenkins | Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Susan Jenkins and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Susan, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Cycle Up Jewelry Plus was created through purpose and passion. This is a business with a purpose: to reuse and repurpose bicycle tire tubes to reduce what ends up in the landfill. The mission is to create a community to support each other in trying to live more sustainably by reducing, reusing, repurposing as much as possible.

We are truly blessed to live on this earth that offers so much for us. As an avid cyclist, I have enjoyed biking through the most amazing vistas. On occasion, flats do happen on these rides. Eventually that tire tube ends up in the garbage. After a ride with a few flats, I could no longer in good conscious throw away the tire tubes and searched for a way to repurpose them. Eventually, the idea was to make jewelry out of these reclaimed tire tubes by painting them. The earrings do not necessarily look like tire tubes but are very unique and extremely light.

Starting Cycle Up Jewelry Plus has been a personal and entrepreneurial goal to minimize my footprint. All aspects of the business is a conscious decision. Shipping and packing materials are compostable or minimally recyclable. As much as possible, displays or other needs are bought used to support second hand stores, etc which decreases the disposable packaging. Even with making jewelry, tire tube scraps are saved and turned into beads, etc. If an online customers is local, the order is delivered by bicycle! There is always room for improvement but ultimately the passion and purpose are the ultimate drivers of all decisions for Cycle Up Jewelry Plus.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work has been a smattering of a lot of different things but primarily, I have wanted to encourage others to be the best they can be, take responsibility and do the right thing, live an active lifestyle and be mindful of your impact on others (and the earth) in the role as a community organizer, a mother of three, a teacher and now as an entrepreneur. My true hope is that Cycle Up Jewelry Plus can be a combination of these goals.

After retiring as a teacher in New York, I moved to Denver to be closer to family. It was very challenging to start all over. I knew that I wanted to try something different that could combine my passions for a healthy lifestyle and something creative. After a few bike rides with a lot of flat tires, I researched what could be done with these old tire tubes. There are a lot of tutorials by generous artists who are making some really cool things with tire tubes. I made earrings out of the tubes and liked it. I started experimenting with different ways to make earrings out of tire tubes and the seed was planted to turn it into a business with jewelry that I had never seen before.

The lesson that I have learned along the way has been consistent: JUST DO IT! I tend to be a perfectionist/procrastinator which is a great excuse to never do it at all. I am also a bit shy and it takes a lot for me to “put myself out there” – especially in new territory such as creating a business! Each time, I just did whatever was making me uncomfortable, I learned something new which led me to something even better.

I would love for all to know that Cycle Up Jewelry Plus is a business with purpose and passion. Buying jewelry online, or in person, or participating in a DIY Sustainable Jewelry Party, is for the customer’s desire to be more sustainable, maybe live a healthy lifestyle and be a little more mindful. Plus, all of the jewelry is unique, great for an active lifestyle, a little bo-ho, a little urban chic, and definitely very light BUT consciously sustainable as possible!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For me, biking here is so amazing that I would take my cycling friends on iconic bike rides. The views are breathtaking and there is nothing better than using your own motor to get to places! To get an easy start, it is always nice to just toole around on the bike paths. I do like the Cherry Creek Trail for the wonderful murals with a nice coffee detour maybe in RiNo to see more street art. Going on the Platte to Mary Carter Trail is fun because it actually has a path that goes right to the Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton. Other medium level rides on trails is to go to Cherry Creek State Park (on the Cherry Creek Trail) or to Chatfield State Park (on the Platte/Mary Carter Trails). One of my favorite rides to share is going up to Red Rocks to show off the amphitheater. It’s definitely a favorite for photos! The most memorable ride is to pedal up and down Lookout Mountain in Golden. After that, the friend definitely deserves some carbo-loading at the Golden Mill, the Mountain Toad Brewery or Golden City Brewery.

As for off the bike, walking around Sloan Lake to go to Griffin Coffee for a turmeric latte is always good. Although, going up to 29th for SloHi Coffee + Bike is tempting. Then perhaps, a walk back at Sloan Lake in the late afternoon/evening over to The Patio on 17th for some snacks and a drink. There are so many areas that are just fun to walk and take it all in. Some of my favorite areas are on Tennyson St, Santa Fe, the Dairy Block in LoDo, Union Square, Larimer Square, Platte St. with a stop at REI – just to name a few. It’s also fun to show off the different markets. One of my favorites (for this season) is at Piante Pizzeria on S. Broadway that has a Vegan Sunday Brunch Market that offers food trucks, coffee, and a nice variety of vendors! The week would not be complete without adding in a “slow” adventure by going over to Alamo Drafthouse Cinema on Colfax for the most amazing cauliflower wings, drinks and a movie!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It certainly takes a community for so many things! So, I have many Shoutouts. My daughters have been very supportive and have given me great ideas for earrings and what is popular. My mother who is an artist and always gives me great advice for different products to use. Annabelle Shin, owner of Preserve Frozen Love Bites, has been just wonderful offering suggestions, making introductions and has provided me great camaraderie. Of course, the biggest shoutout goes to my customers, people who take the time to learn about Cycle Up Jewelry Plus, fellow entrepreneurs, vendors and organizers of the different pop-up market! Thank you to all!

Website: cycleupjewelryplus.com

Instagram: @cycleupjewelryplus

Facebook: Cycle Up Jewelry Plus