Meet Jenell Holt of Retro Your Ride in Central Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jenell Holt.

Jenell, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2003, I finished college, moved to Phoenix, and worked in commercial interior design for an architecture firm for several years.  As a career, it was a good fit for me, but the hours were really long and the work was very stressful at times.  Fast forward to 2015… and I’ve transitioned to being a full-time stay-at-home parent to a baby and a preschooler.  In order to maintain my sanity, I would spend any free time I had available working on home improvement projects and whatever random creative efforts sparked my interest.

While I’ve really never had the desire to own my own business, I had always thought it would be fun to have an Etsy store where I could sell items that I made. But Etsy has become a very saturated marketplace for handmade goods, so you have to be able to sell something unique or find another way to effectively elevate your product.  And in 2015, I lucked out and found my ‘something unique’.  I had made a set of handlebar streamers for my 3-year old’s new scooter, just using some ribbon from my stash of craft supplies. They turned out great, so I searched Etsy to see if anyone was selling bike streamers – and to my surprise, no one was.  After more online research, I was further convinced that there were very limited options available anywhere.  And so with great excitement, I started Retro Your Ride to make and sell bike streamers.

I bought an old, rusty tricycle and a vintage cruiser bike and spray painted them white for product photography. After seeing a photo of some vintage bike streamers online, I also quickly changed the means of attachment to a minimal metal clip. I figured out the sales tax, shipping, business registration and licensing, etc. (so painfully boring), and created a logo, branding, and simple packaging (super fun!). I know just enough Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to get by, and I also really enjoy doing that kind of work. My initial offering was limited, and the photos were not spectacular, but it was a fun experiment; a DIY project started with minimal investment and no long-term goals.

And then, it just grew from there. Over the last four years, I’ve created a ton of different color combinations to get to the 22 sets that I currently sell. I’m now on the third version of my own retail website (though most of my sales are still through Etsy). My photography and photo-editing skills have improved, and I’ve commissioned an amazing photographer-friend to take lifestyle product photos for me, too. I reworked my product packaging last year, and now it’s awesome. And I’ve found some efficiencies (though not nearly enough) in the production of the bike streamers.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The sleep deprivation is very real. Truthfully, I had already developed a habit of trading sleep for more me-time, and this business only exacerbates that issue. My kids are both in school now, which helps a lot, but there is still a lot of time when they’re not. I am fortunate that my husband is very supportive and will pick up the slack when I’m super busy.

One challenge to small-scale production is that you are typically limited to using off-the-shelf materials, due to the minimum quantity requirements set by suppliers. You can’t just get whatever you want, so I spend a lot of time doing research to find what I need and figure out how to make it work for me.

I also struggle with posting and engaging on social media on a regular basis. I know it’s important, but anything that that feels like self-promotion or advertising feels icky to me. Even with a trove of great photos to share, I have a lot of difficulties writing the captions. And I think I just haven’t found my ‘voice’ yet. I hope to someday be able to pay someone else to do this work for me.

It’s been so fun to watch this business grow, and I’d really love to expand Retro Your Ride. But I’m at my limit for how many sets of streamers I can produce myself, so I haven’t done any work to promote the business or get in with larger retail outlets. I’m not really sure where to go from here, and that is a constant frustration.

Retro Your Ride – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I started Retro Your Ride to make and sell bike streamers. They are handmade by me, and I believe that the quality of materials and craftsmanship is unsurpassed by any others currently on the market. My shop features 22 different sets of bike streamers to choose from, available in two standard lengths: one for adult bikes, and one for kids’ bikes, trikes, and scooters. One benefit to buying handmade is that I can accommodate individual requests for customers at no additional cost. These often include custom lengths, color adjustments, etc. I also have an option for completely custom bike streamers, wherein I work closely with the customer to create a set uniquely tailored to their needs. I’ve helped supply people with bike streamers that match some amazing, restored vintage bikes, comic book character and sports team colors, and for parents who just want their daughter’s hand-me-down boy’s bike to look more girly, and I love that I am able to do that for my customers.

All sets of streamers are sewn on a vintage Kenmore sewing machine that belonged to my grandmother. Not only is it a super dependable, hardworking machine, but it is also the same one that she used to teach my mom and her sisters how to sew. Needless to say, this sewing machine has a lot of sentimental and functional value to me.

Most of my sales are to individuals, but I also sell wholesale to a few different locally-owned stores in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, and Dubai. I’ve also sold bike streamers in bulk to organizers for special events, like for Cyclovia in Tucson last month. But the biggest project by far — last summer, I was contacted by a creative agency in Brooklyn that wanted to order several hundred sets of custom streamers for an HBO promotional event. At first, I graciously declined because I just don’t have those production capabilities and their timeframe was very tight. When they asked again, I reconsidered and we worked out a schedule to deliver 100-200 sets every week for a month. The opportunity was just too good to pass up! So, I ordered the ribbon in pre-cut lengths, hired a couple of people to assist with assembling the streamers, begged some friends to help me with packaging them, and I worked nonstop for half of the summer. It was incredibly stressful, but also such a great learning experience and I am really glad I did it.

Tell us about your childhood, what were you like growing up?
I’ve always loved making things – sewing, drawing, painting, crafts, etc. I grew up in Prescott, and then my family moved to a very small town in Kansas when I was 16. As an adult, I enjoy living (and working from home) in a diverse neighborhood of 1950’s-era homes in Midtown Phoenix. My parents were always very supportive of my varied interests. My mom taught me machine-sewing in the fifth grade, and my dad pushed me to start taking art classes in high school. I was decent at drawing, but I’m definitely more of a maker and enjoy hands-on problem solving and the creative process. I am the oldest of four children, so what I may lack in organization, I make up for in being very responsible and dependable. I’m also a perfectionist and very detail-oriented, which means I could probably work much faster if I cared less than I do, but I take a lot of pride in everything I make, so I refuse to take shortcuts and risk potentially disappointing a customer.

Pricing:

• Child Bike Streamers $12
• Adult Bike Streamers $14
• Custom Bike Streamers $18-$20

Contact Info:

• Website: https://retroyourride.com/
• Email: info@retroyourride.com
• Instagram: @retroyourride
• Facebook: @retroyourride

Image Credit:
Juniper Photo Co.

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