Jenifer Sherman-Ruppe is a lifelong maker with a tenacious energy and a heart for community. She has been calling Humboldt home since 1994 and has a true passion for helping business and environment thrive. As a Humboldt State University graduate and former art teacher, education and creativity has been constant in her life. A major theme in her artwork is finding ways to reawaken the conversation of how to transform waste into valuable resource. From large mosaic murals to plastic wearable art, Jenifer’s creations challenge and inspire the ways we think about recycled material. When not tinkering with her wearable art making process or partnering with eco-friendly non-profits, you can find her enjoying nature, whether on a kayaking adventure with her husband KC or biking with her girlfriends Karan and Diane on beautiful coastal trails.

About PUR

Plastic Uniquely Recycled PUR offers empowering ways for our community to elevate plastic out of the the waste stream. Lifelong maker and owner Jenifer Sherman-Ruppe was inspired to find creative ways to reuse plastic to minimize and reverse environmental harm.

How does plastic turn into wearable art?

Jenifer collects everything from prescription bottles to Play-doh containers (anything that is #5 plastic) to create an array of colors for her beautiful wearable art. That plastic is carefully shredded in a machine shredder, designed by the non-profit Precious Plastics, which tears up the plastic into small plastic chips. Chips are then sorted by color. Then it is creatively re-molded and intentionally shaped into various designs, and hand-crafted into wearable art. PUR designs currently include buttons, key chains, necklaces, earrings, and more