An artist whose pottery dream came true after leaving a “real job.”
A pair of gardeners seeking to spread the flowers they loved.
A skiing fanatic with an unusual idea for the best poles.
A high-altitude explorer wishing to preserve his memories, and wishing that for others with a brand fittingly called CO14k.
And yes … a colorful, iconic restaurant’s revival.
They are but some of the stories we came by in crafting this gift guide.
As always, we have Coloradans in mind this holiday season. Creative, thoughtful Coloradans whose creations put a smile on our face and those we hold dear.
Share their love and passion this year:
Nevermore stemless wine glasses by Counter Couture
Wife and husband Kaelin Tillery and Richard Duggan started their business in 2011 and now illustrate and print a variety of clothing and housewares. Every screen-printed image starts as a pen and paper illustration, including the Nevermore wine glasses, which feature four 17-ounce glasses with images of a moth, heart, skull and crow. Each one is screen-printed and cured, meaning the image won’t wash off. If those macabre illustrations don’t do it for you, there are loads of other gifts to choose from, including a fun sasquatch T-shirt, alpaca sweatshirt and gnome pint glasses.
Colorado connection: The husband and wife business founded their business out of their Denver home in 2011. Tillery runs the day to day part and Duggan is the artist.
Price: $48; counter-couture.com/products/nevermore-wine-glass-set
Fettle & Fire handmade ceramics
Windchimes can add a sweet twinkly background noise or visual to any indoor or outdoor space, especially these tinted ceramic discs strung together on a natural deerskin lace cord by Fettle & Fire owner Lindsey Bricker. Courtesy photo
Windchimes can add a sweet twinkly background noise or visual to any indoor or outdoor space, especially these tinted ceramic discs strung together on a natural deerskin lace cord by Fettle & Fire owner Lindsey Bricker. Every batch is fired to 2232 degrees and comes out slightly different than the one before. The artist began blowing glass in high school and college and went on to buy a tiny, used kiln for her fused glass jewelry and ornaments. But it was discovering a talent and passion for pottery that led her to give up her job to become a full-time artist. She opened her studio in 2019.
Colorado connection: Lindsey Bricker studied glassblowing in high school and college before opening her business Fettle & Fire in Longmont.
Price: $21 and up; fettleandfire.com
Brady tarot deck
For those who like a little help divining the future or merely love the images on tarot cards, check out Emi Brady’s set of 78 hand-colored, linocut cards and a full-length guidebook by Rachel Pollack. The artist’s love for nature imagery, especially the fauna and flora of North America, is the star of these cards printed on heavy duty cardstock. The box, book and cards also feature a matte finish and are edged in matte gold. Tarot cards don’t predict the future, Brady says, but help you better understand yourself and that you have the power to change your life.
Colorado connection: Before artist Emi Brady landed in Denver, she studied printmaking at School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
Price: $55; bradytarot.com
Garden in a Box by Plantgem
This gift is almost too pretty to open. Fortunately, your receiver can look at it for a few months until it’s time to plant the 36 different varieties of curated flower seeds either in the garden or as indoor starters. Each tube has plenty of seeds — sometime more than 100 — and can fill a large field. And the seeds won’t go bad for years. Plantgem was started in 2021 by gardeners Willow King and Julie Carson because they couldn’t find the flowers they were seeing their florists use, and they wanted more help, ideas and the ability to shop for flowers from home.
Colorado connection: Co-founders Willow King and Julie Carson, who live in Boulder, aim to find hard to find, but easy to grow plants.
Price: $196; plantgem.com
Pikes Peak metal wall art by Bear Mountain Metal Art
Artist Bobby Singleton loved the mountains and wildlife so much he moved to Colorado after working for three years as a boat captain and started his own business. Now he spends his life creating metal art of mountain ranges in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and others, along with images of bears, moose and more. The 10 inches tall and 48 inches wide Pikes Peak piece is made by hand with aircraft aluminum, then sealed with automotive clear coat, which allows it to be hung indoors or outdoors. Matching hardware is provided so your artwork can be hung quickly and easily.
Colorado connection: Bobby Singleton gave up working on the water for working in the mountains near Fort Collins, where he creates work inspired by the natural landscape.
Price: $155; bearmountainmetalart.com
Wiggy’s sleeping bag
It’s called “the world’s best sleeping bag.” To thank for it is Lamilite, a special product Jerry Wigutow developed in 1968. Just how confident is he in the insulation? Wiggy’s offers a lifetime warranty on all sleeping bags, which have been used over the years by search and rescue crews and polar explorers. Call it the gift of incredible warmth.
Colorado connection: Wiggy’s sleeping bags have been manufactured in Grand Junction since the late 1980s.
Price: $150-$300; wiggys.com
Casa Bonita swag
Casa Bonita apparel at shop.casabonitadenver.com. Courtesy Casa Bonita
The divers are back, along with the infamous grub. Those enchiladas are said to be better than ever. And so is the merch. A Casa Bonita sweatshirt, T-shirt or ball cap is sure to get a laugh out of your friend who has struggled to snag the hot ticket to dine. Casa Bonita glasses, salsas and margarita mixes also sold online.
Margarita mix is among Casa Bonita merchandise at shop.casabonitadenver.com. Courtesy Casa Bonita
Colorado connection: A Denver area institution since the 1970s, the colorful restaurant was a focus of “South Park,” the Colorado-based cartoon. Following Casa Bonita’s closure in 2020, the show’s creators came to the rescue with their purchase.
Price: Apparel $30-$50; shop.casabonitadenver.com
Book of Pikes Peak paintings
Cover of Pikes Peak America’s Mountain: 100 Oil Paintings by Jack Denton.” Photo courtesy Grace Point Publishing
Some folks say they could stare at Pikes Peak all day. Those folks who should have this book on their coffee table, “Pikes Peak America’s Mountain: 100 Oil Paintings by Jack Denton.” The artist spent years capturing the storied mountain from its many angles, amid all seasons and elements. The pages make us fall in love all over again with the peak that inspired the song “America the Beautiful.”
Colorado connection: Jack Denton settled in Colorado Springs in 2012, finding a perfect subject for his canvas.
Price: $55; gracepointpublishing.com
Denver PubPass
Denver PubPass. Photo courtesy PubPass
We all know someone around Denver who loves beer. That someone will thank you the whole year for this little book, which serves as a passport to 25 drinkeries around the city, the vast majority of them breweries. Valid all through 2024, the PubPass grants a free pint at each, inspiring discovery or a return to familiar stops.
Colorado connection: PubPass lists 15 partner cities on its website. Of course Denver is one, home every year to the craft beer industry’s biggest celebration, the Great American Beer Festival.
Price: $25; getpubpass.com
Grass Sticks
Grass Sticks. Chris Morgan
We don’t think bamboo when we’re rushing down our favorite, powder-packed ski slopes. But maybe we should. Grass Sticks — bamboo is a grass, you know — claims the lightest, strongest, most durable poles your favorite ski bum never knew existed. It’s not just performance that makes the company proud; compared with carbon fiber and aluminum, bamboo is said to be more environmentally-friendly.
Colorado connection: Former engineer and skiing fanatic Andrew Beckler started Grass Sticks out of a garage in Steamboat Springs, where the company continues to make the poles.
Price: Customizable poles starting at $110; grasssticks.com
Puzzlers Club Membership
Get the puzzle-addict in your life a gift they can use over and over again. The Colorado Springs Odds & Ends Emporium offers a puzzlers club subscription that allows the user to rent as many puzzles as they can solve. With a membership, you can rent one puzzle at a time with a 30 day check-out period. But as soon as you complete that puzzle, come in and swap it for another — there’s no limit. You can also receive a $2 store credit for each puzzle donated to the swap-club.
Colorado connection: The Odds & Ends Emporium is based in Ivywild School, a former elementary school that now houses restaurants and bars in Colorado Springs. The store sells a variety of items made from Colorado-based artisans.
Price: $30 yearly membership; oddsandendsemporium.com/pages/jigsaw-puzzle-subscription
ColoradoSol Wooden Sunglasses
The “Helen Hunt” sunglasses by ColoradoSol. These sustainable shades are handmade in Colorado Springs using wood and UV 400 polarized lenses.
These sustainable shades are handmade using high-quality wood and UV 400 polarized lenses. The sunglasses are made from a variety of woods, including zebra wood, oak, ebony, bamboo and walnut. The pairs are also durable, with all glasses being double hinged.
The side of “The Incline” sunglasses by ColoradoSol. These sustainable shades are handmade in Colorado Springs using wood and UV 400 polarized lenses.
Colorado connection: Woman and veteran owned, these glasses are crafted in Colorado Springs, and each style is named after a local icon, like “The Elvira” or “The Tesla”.
Price: $130 & up; coloradosol.com
Tourmaline Jewelry
The “Raining Moonstone” earrings by Celestial Crystal Jewelry. With pieces handmade in Colorado Springs, Celestial Crystal Jewelry sells jewelry made with different gemstones.
Celestial Crystal Jewelry sells handmade pieces of jewelry made with tourmaline. The gemstone tourmaline comes in a wide range of colors, from green to pinks and colors in-between. The shop also takes custom orders to make your gift extra special.
Colorado Connection: After moving from Massachusetts to Colorado in 2018, artist Bianca started crafting jewelry as a hobby, which soon turned into a passion. Using crystals and brass, she now creates these pieces out of Colorado Springs. Sold in-store at Eclectic Co. in Colorado Springs and Haus Collective in Denver.
Price: $18-$68; celestialcrystaljewelry.com
Adventure Journal from CO14k
The adventure journal by CO14K can be used to document your adventures around the Centennial State.
Keep track and reflect on your adventures with this journal, which includes enough entries for a full season of outings. A great gift for the hiker in your life, the journal helps you keep track of stats like trailhead, mileage, wildlife and vegetation notes, weather forecasts and preparation. There’s also plenty of room with each entry to write about and paste pictures of the hike.
The adventure journal by CO14K can be used to document your adventures around the Centennial State.
Colorado connection: Founder Daron Short was inspired after completing his first ascent of Colorado’s 14ers back in 2014. Looking for a way to celebrate the experience, he created CO14K in hopes of helping others share their love of Colorado’s natural beauty.
Price: $14; co14k.com/product/adventure-journal
Everwood COS Propagation Stations
The bee hanging propagation station by Everwood COS. The wooden plant displays are laser-cut with unique designs and different shapes.
A great gift for the plant lover in your life, the propagation station by Everwood COS is a wooden plant display laser-cut with unique designs and different shapes. Each station comes with a glass vial to get started propagating.
Colorado connection: Colorado Springs-based artist Evelyn creates these unique pieces inspired by her love for plants and critters in Colorado.
Price: $22+; etsy.com/shop/EverwoodCOS
Blue Butterflies Taxidermy
At Novis Mortem Collective, they happily and creatively call themselves an “oddities gallery, a curiosity gallery.” Beautiful blue butterflies are the creations of owner and curator Beatrice “Bea” Solo as part of her entomological fine art with a focus on insect taxidermy. They also have insect jewelry and Christmas ornaments with butterfly wings. And the gallery has a famous fan after star Alice Cooper, his wife Sheryl, his tour manager and guitarist recently shopped there before a local concert.
Colorado connection: It’s all local. The artist and staff are in Colorado Springs, teach classes here and the art, specimens and taxidermy are created here.
Price: $50-$70, 22 E. Bijou St., novismortemcollective.com
Manitou Penny Arcade art
For artist Jon Francis, it’s nostalgia, memories of his early years as a Colorado Springs boy. It’s remembering spending teen years in every part of the Manitou Penny Arcade and sharing them now with his own children and those who collect his art. Things like the bubble gum machine, the horse race competitions, vintage pinball games and SkeeBall. That nostalgia is there, too, in his art of familiar and often disappearing neon signs like his downtown Michelle’s sign. “I love neon signs. It’s about connecting with people, through nostalgia,” he says.
Colorado connection: The artist was born at Penrose Hospital, is an elementary teacher and paints in his garage studio. His work can be found at Kreuser Gallery, G44 and the small works at Bosky Studio, among others.
Price range: “Dubble Bubble” oil on canvas, $1,000, 8X10 pieces $200, vintage Michelle’s neon sign art 60X36, $4,800. jonfrancis.art
BB Becker engraved sterling silver jewelry
Since 2001 this has been a special family business. Denver artist BB Becker creates jewelry with original designs and wife Jo hand writes gentle, inspirational and heart-touching literary quotes to be engraved on the sterling silver. They agree on the chosen phrases. Handcrafted jewelry is personal for mothers, daughters, granddaughters, other family members, someone special and friends and in categories from birthdays, anniversaries and graduation to inspiration, encouragement, celebration and love.
Prices: See all the jewelry at bbbecker.com and BB and Jo have a special holiday gift discount for readers: bb25 for a 25% discount, 303-777-5644.
Gather Ingredients
What cooking enthusiast doesn’t crave the freshest spices and herbs? Head right to Gather Food Studio & Spice Shop where David Cook, a chef and co-owner, grounds spices to assure having the best of the best. Not only is there an array of individual spices and herbs but he is the mastermind of several popular blends. The best-selling blend is his OCC Chicken Rub named for Old Colorado City. There’s an OCC Steak Rub too.
Colorado connection: Not only do the owners grind spices at their store they make a point of stocking and using Colorado made ingredients and products.
Price: $6 per 1.5-ounce package; gatherfoodstudio.com
On Tap Kitchen
Give beer lovers some suds buds. We’re talking the quintessential soul mate to brews: pretzels. On Tap Kitchen has you covered with its prestigious Good Food Award-winning bite-size treats. Classic German-style soft pretzel is made super crunchy, more flavorful and cut into chunks for easy snacking. They complement craft beer and spirits, soups, and salads. Great snack for hikes. The Original Salted Pretzels have morphed into more options including: salt and malt vinegar, honey mustard, salt and black pepper, sour cream and onion, sriracha, and cinnamon and sugar.
Colorado connection: The Lafayette-bakery uses the best local ingredients in the pretzels including sunflower oil and organic flours grown and processed in Colorado.
Price: From $3.50 per 3.5-ounce package; ontapkitchen.com
Solar Roast Coffee
Ingenious brothers Mike and David Harktop in 2004 built a solar coffee roaster using an old satellite dish, 100 plastic mirrors and a broccoli strainer. They named it Helios I for the Greek god of sun. The boys successfully roasted a pound of coffee beans. In 2007 they moved their operation to Colorado. Fast forward through several generations of the Helios and the brothers have grown their business to roast hundreds of pounds of coffee. Solar Roast Coffee was recently certified by the USDA as 100% organic.
Colorado connections: The roasting equipment is fueled by Colorado’s abundant sunshine in Pueblo.
Price: From $16 per pound; solarroast.com