English Retreads.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: Colorado cool STUFF - Makes bag from vintage rubber - Brief article

Floating down Boulder Creek in 2001, Heather English had an epiphany. Needing a new bag, the hard-core vegetarian decided she'd make one from what she was floating on: a used inner tube.

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"People really seemed to like it," said English, and their compliments led her into the bag business in 2002. After a slow start, English starting taking her wares to trade shows, and sales took off. "Sales have been tripling for the past three years," she said.

Beyond several bags, her five-employee English Retreads makes dog collars, belts, wallets and other accessories from used truck inner tubes she...