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Tuesday 1 April 2014

Design Porn: Katie's Bike


Bike chain ring, £20

I'm not keen on bikes as a rule - accident, subsequent years of dental surgery, annoying - but I am incredibly keen on the jewellery at Katie Wallace's shop Katie's Bike. I've seen her stall at my local farmers market in Oval, south London, for months now, and kept her in the back of my mind for cycling friends' birthdays.

(If you don't live round the corner from me, she also sells at her Etsy store, with free shipping for UK buyers)
Red bike chain pendant, £17
What she does is just lovely: makes jewellery out of bicycle chains. While this might sound a bit Hackney to me, it makes a lot of sense as she explains.
While it's true that I love making jewellery, the real reason for Katie's Bike is to recycle stuff. It just so happens that bike chains make gorgeous jewellery. The sad fact is that once you've worn a chain down and stretched it out, it can't be reused on a bike again. The even sadder fact is that our chains are often made of multiple types of metal, meaning they're difficult to recycle into new metals. To that end my vision is, to keep all used bike bits out of the bin - for the whole world. We will start with chains and London workshops and improve from there.
Isn't that brilliant?

She is also very fond of a pun, as am I, so please enjoy these bespoke examples of great recycling. *explodes* Now, on to some of her work.


I'm a ring nut anyway, but I particularly admire the detail in Katie's rings. It's an elaborate set-up with colour from a silicon adhesive to bond the whole thing together. The work is really lovely, and you can see it in more detail on the listing. They are £20.


The No 2 Stunner necklace is exactly that. I can't get over how different chains look when they're clean and polished and, er, not attached to bikes. This beauty is £47.


And I really love the Delta 5 necklace too. It's £30. Decisions, decisions.


Yep, earrings too. Well played Katie. These are £15.



And let's not forget the boys: these fantastic cufflinks are £20 and come in a rainbow of colour choices. Perfect and unusual presents for anyone - cycling fan or not.

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