Flat, punctured bicycle tires are pretty common in the bike-crazed world of Whistler. But while most people see a useless piece of junk when they look at a beyond-repair inner tube, Jo Monteith and her sisters see the makings of funky earrings and other jewelry.

Used inner tubes, discarded metals, broken guitar strings, vinyl records, even leather from an old couch — Monteith and her two sisters are busy saving materials from an eternity in a landfill and instead creating handmade accessories that make both a fashion and environmental statement.

“We’re trying to be as conscious as possible. It’s important to us,” said Monteith, who has lived in Whistler full-time for about three years.

She and her sisters, Deborah Monteith and Linda Orr, started creating recycled jewelry late last year. While Jo Monteith works out of her home studio in Whistler, Deborah and Linda live at least part time in Ontario.

Jo said she initially acquired some inner tubes and started brainstorming how she could use them. She began cutting them up, and the initial line of Twisted by Choice inner tube earrings was born.

A ladies’ night that included 20-somethings and older friends and colleagues showed Jo there was an interest in her creations. It wasn’t long before Twisted by Choice secured its first retail location — the sisters’ bike-part jewelry is currently on sale at Garbanzo Bike and Bean bike shop in the heart of Whistler Village.

Since then, the sisters have acquired a range of non-biodegradable cast-off materials and new designs and creations are taking shape all the time. It’s been a busy six months or so, and it appears the burgeoning business is poised for even more growth.

“We’re just really getting rolling,” Jo said.

Deborah uses a hammer technique to make “refined” bracelets out of copper wire and other discarded metals, while old records become funky, hand-painted arm cuffs. Jo said with changing techniques and limited supplies of used materials, almost every piece is unique.

Most of the Twisted by Choice raw materials come from the Sea to Sky region. Jo said current designs feature 80 to 100 per cent recycled materials, with the goal to use exclusively cast-off components in the future.

“Rather than going to the landfill, we’ll put them to good use,” she said. “If we can wear (the materials) and use them, it’s great.”

People have often admired the Twisted by Choice creations when Jo has worn them, but they never seem to guess what they’re made of, she said. Even after people touch the inner-tube earrings, for example, they can’t figure out the material.

Jo said she likes to bring samples of the raw items to shows and shops to help provide perspective to the Twisted by Choice products. The sisters want to use the new business to educate and help raise awareness about all the products that are thrown in the garbage each day.

“We do not want to be just another jewelry business,” Jo wrote in an email to The Question.

In addition to Garbanzo Bike and Bean, people can find Twisted by Choice recycled jewelry creations in the Britannia Mine Museum, Starfire Studio in Horseshoe Bay and coming soon to the House of RTS in Squamish. Jo said she’s looking for another shop or gallery in Whistler to carry some or all Twisted by Choice lines.

Stay tuned to twistedbychoice.etsy.com for future online shopping opportunities. In the meantime, contact Jo at (604) 962-5877 or jomonteith@hotmail.com for more info.