Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Spire.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The vision for ReGEARED started while riding my mountain bike. I loved hitting the trails after work to clear my head. At the time I was working as a Design Director for a high-end furniture company. Every Thursday the shop would fill the dumpster with the weekly scraps… I had a hard time seeing that beautiful wood get tossed so I loaded up a few discarded pieces. The wood tumbled around in the bed of my truck for a few days with an old bicycle chain and rear bike cassette I had saved from the trash can at my local bike shop.
So, back to the trail – I took noticed of how nature will always take back over manmade objects… how the abandoned house was covered inside and out greenery and vines, the way trees grow around objects in their way, old chains buried deep within the trees trunk. All amazing sights. I took inspiration. That night I decided to make a picture frame, I milled the wood down to size and routed out grooves to inlay the bicycle chain within the wood grain. The contrast of the wood and chain looked amazing and this look was created 100% using reclaimed materials.
The ideas just spun from there. From bike clocks to wall art to furniture and cycling awards. Eight years later I am proud of where we are. We are a solid team of 3 full time creators and a handful of skilled contractors. We recycle with 28 bicycle shops, to date we have reclaimed over 7 tons (that’s 7 elephants!) of bicycle metal into our products!
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
No, it’s more like a mountain road where 4×4, a shovel and an extra can of gas is required.
The road really does get rough in entrepreneurship, I finally realized I CANNOT do everything myself and should not do everything myself. The marketing, the making, the finances, the sourcing, the selling…. all of it. I think finding that crew that works together to make the dream work represents the 4×4 in an off road vehicle. It gives you that drive and extra muscle to overcome tasks you cannot do alone.
Then there are those days you just get stuck… you have to grab that shovel and dig your way out. This is the girt it takes, when a project goes wrong at the last minute and it requires an all-nighter to make things right.
The road is long, success is not over night, and you are going to need that extra can of gas to get you to the next milestone. This is hustle, it takes a lot to bootstrap a business.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the ReGEARED story. Tell us more about the business.
ReGEARED specializes in cycling awards, art and gifts. The company is built around reclaimed materials, we take discarded objects and give them new life. Helping to minimizing the environmental impact is what I am most proud of.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t know how I feel about luck. I do know am fortunate to have been born in the US and pursue the American Dream.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.re-geared.com
- Phone: 2142120688
- Email: rachel@re-geared.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/regeared/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReGEARED/
- Twitter: regeared
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