Totally Tubular in the shell of a nut...
In 2006, two years after graduating from UC Davis, and too long living in the town where she grew up, Lauren Robertson needed to go back. She needed to return to a town of recycle cans and dumpster diving; a place of hippies and commuters on bicycles. Since the though of moving again was out, she decided to bring the hippies to southern California.
A love for two wheeled vehicles and a habit of flats lead Lauren to have lots of seemingly dead inner tubes. Her strong fear of throwing things away combined with her father’s art gene forced Lauren to think of something else to do with her new found trash. “I need a new purse” she thought; so she started there. With the help of her old inner tubes, some scrap leather and a shoe repair guy named George, Lauren created the first Totally Tubular purse (which she still uses every day).
Totally Tubular Design, which now creates not only Lauren’s purse but also flat bags, purses of all sizes as well as the “Guy wallet”, is a company dedicated to keeping trash from becoming trash. Created by recycled, reduced and reused people, Totally Tubular wants to create something out of nothing! The thought is that it is way more fun to make art than it is to put something in a trash can!
Totally Tubular’s products are not only unique and very one of a kind, but are also durable. Think Lexan plastic… you can run it over with your car and then drink out of it! Totally Tubular products have that same mentality. Take it in the rain, spill your dinner on it, drive over it with your car (hopefully nothing is in it); it will be just as good as day one! Each inner tube bag and purse is lined with a reused material that ranges from leather to jeans, but shows it’s eco bike flare on the outside with reused inner tubes as well as both road and mountain tires. Take Totally Tubular with you on the road or the dirt with products like the “Ride Pocket” which is perfect for a $5 bill, driver’s license and if you need it insurance card. Your stuff stays looking pretty and you can leave the Ziploc baggie at home (you know you would just throw it away).
Although Totally Tubular has function, it also shows eco fashion in all of its products. They not only work well and hold up to the life of a cyclist, but they also just look cool! Simple designs show off the forward thinking of you the ecologist, but don’t give you the Paris Hilton idea of fashion. With Totally Tubular you’ll look trashy in a recycled way, not as though you should be on the cover of US Weekly!
There is no time like the present to do your part for the earth that we ride on every chance there is. Totally Tubular is a tiny part of the big picture, but every effort counts in Mother Nature’s eyes. So, support Totally Tubular Design and in doing so support a love for cycling and a love for our planet!
If you would like a custom made piece using your tubes or tires, please contact Lauren at totallytubebags@yahoo.com
For more info go to www.totallytubebags.com
