Krystal O'Mara turns bicycle parts into imaginative lighting fixtures

Her new business, called ReMain EcoDesign, was featured in the August issue of Entrepreneur magazine because of its unique niche in the home furnishings marketplace.

She uses rims, spokes, hubs — essentially the entire bicycle — to make hourglass coffee tables, imaginative lighting fixtures and chairs without backs.

“Not much goes to waste,” she said.

“I get some stuff here and there from bicycle shops, but then I knew a gentleman in Amarillo, and all he did was fix up bikes. He just had a lot of bike rims in storage. So I didn’t even have to really take apart that much when it came to the bike itself.”

She added, “I also have some old vintage bikes, and we’ll see where they go. Either I will get them fixed up and sell them or give them away — or, they will actually be used for the furnishings.”

O’Mara began her work in February 2010 by building a table for a silent auction at a bike race held to support cancer research.

Prior to that, she had a job in hotel sales in Lubbock. Now, she works in a barn on her grandfather’s farm southeast of Lorenzo.

Her products range widely in price. A simple light fixture sells for $15, but custom, large-scale lighting equipment is priced at $1,500.

“The tables generally range from about $175 to $450,” she said.

Contemplating her bicycle-parts furniture, she said, “I would say it is artistic, but it is very important to see that everything is functional. So, that kind of puts me more in the category of being a designer than an artist because functionality is very important.”

She has some one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture.

“I have one — it’s a coffee table — and the top of it is made out of cut-up bike treads. It kind of creates a tribal design.”

O’Mara wastes almost nothing — some of her tables consist of an elm tree trunk with a top set on nails as though balanced precariously.

Most of her bicycle parts are welded into place, but lighting fixtures are assisted by an epoxy material until she learns the art of brazing.

O’Mara, who has a 4-year-old son, said she had a purpose in giving up her sales career to begin a business.