Stumped about what to buy for the special people on your holiday giving list? Look no further than our own state, where you can find gifts that will bring cheer to all. Of course, these are just a few of the artisans and businesses that will make the season special with Colorado-related items.
Got an outdoor enthusiast on your list? Consider an annual pass to Colorado State Parks, available for $55 online from parks.state.co.us. Good for entry to all 41 parks through the end of 2007. Sorry, discount passes for seniors 64 or over ($27) or for the disabled ($12.50) must be purchased in person at any regional office or state park. Gift certificates in any denomination also are available and can be used toward camping fees and other services.
INFO: 303-866-3437
Send some Colorado Mud to a far-flung friend. It’s a sinfully rich, hot-fudge brownie pudding cake mix, packaged in a festive cloth bag for $8 or in a plain brown wrapper for $7. Timber Peaks Gourmet’s soup mixes now feature dehydrated beans that need no soaking – 30 minutes on the stovetop gives you Ski Bum Chili, Trail Ridge Pea Soup or Rocky Mountain Minestrone. Serve that with Columbine Cornbread Mix, followed by Quaking Aspen Apple Spice Cake and Comin’ Home Instant Cocoa Mix. Gift baskets from the Parker company range from $22 to $44.
TIMBERPEAKSGOURMET.COM OR CALL 800-982-7687
Retired elementary school teacher Kay Wagner has been transforming animals into whimsical baby quilts for 15 years. No baby? No problem. Hang ’em on the wall. Kay designs and collects rare animal quilt patterns, most popular of which is a square displaying elephants, giraffes, pigs and birds riding an ark watched by a fish. Kay’s one-of-a-kind dragons, hippos, lions, cats and dogs sell for $65-$85 and can be personalized for $1/per letter. Custom order from her Hill Street house in Steamboat Springs.
970-879-3182
“Artwear” hats are taking Ski Country by storm. Originals by Sue Gallion also include vests and jackets, studded with appliqué and embellishments, custom-made on Chokecherry Lane, a mountainside 10 miles south of Steamboat Springs. They’re $95 or $110 with ear flaps. Order in your favorite color.
SLGALLION@AOL.COM OR CALL 970-870-0147
Rick’s Rubs are “Colorado-inspired, chef-blended” by Rick Kangas, former executive chef at Beaver Creek’s Grouse Mountain Grill. These days he is slinging hash – elegant house-smoked trout hash – at Chef’s Corner in the post office at Cordillera, just outside Edwards. His repertoire balances love and spice in nine special rubs to dust, shake, sprinkle and dredge on fish, fowl and beef. Order $4.95 pouches, complete with recipes, from Rick’s website.
FOODSTUFF.COM OR 970-926-5636
Explore Colorado’s past and scenic woods with the Historical History Hike Membership Package. For $70, you’ll receive a yearlong membership to the Colorado Historical Society, which allows free entrance to 12 state museums and historic sites, plus a copy of the guidebook “Walking Into Colorado’s Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes,” and two tickets for a spring history hike with the books’ authors. Ben Fogelberg and Steve Grinstead have vignettes of gold mines, homesteads and tragedies in the book. Hikes will be May 5 in Frazer Meadow and June 2 in the burn zone of the Hayman fire.
GO TO COLORADOHISTORY.ORG AND CLICK “JOIN US,” OR CALL THE MEMBERSHIP OFFICE AT 303-866-3677
The monks who live in picturesque Snowmass at St. Benedict’s Monastery can often be found chanting, praying and meditating. They also bake cookies in a small kitchen on the premises and sell them around the world through the Abbey Store. Try White Chocolate Vanilla Latte, Orange Almond Butter, Oatmeal Raisin or Chocolate Chip cookies. A 5-ounce bag is $3.95 ($4.95 for the White Chocolate version).
ABBEYSTORE.COM OR CALL 800-592-5203
The typewriter-key earrings ($37) drew us to Deanna Hood’s work – what woman wouldn’t feel well-dressed with a SHIFT LOCK key dangling from one ear? The Denver artist also makes silverworks, delicate lampwork glass and found-object assemblages with vintage Cracker Jack prizes and wooden bingo tokens. Look for her work at the Arvada Center for the Arts; Willow, an Artisan’s Market in Littleton; and Luma at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
720-283-3330 OR E-MAIL HOODARTWORKS@YAHOO.COM
It began as a few buzzin’ hives and one man’s hobby. Now Honeyville Premium Honeys & Jellies in Durango sells Colorado Wildflower Honey and other products that taste so good, you’ll be calling for a second order before you finish the first. Choose from a variety of flavors of whipped honey; syrups, including Wild Chokecherry; and sauces such as the Honey Smoked BBQ Sauce. One new flavor is Pomegranate Whipped Honey. Other products include bread mixes, Cowboy Coffee, Chocolate Buzz (a to-die-for sauce) and beauty products.
HONEYVILLECOLORADO.COM OR CALL 800-676-7690
Northwest Colorado’s high-country sheep produce some of the nation’s cleanest and coziest wool for Routt County Woolens collectible blankets, apparel and accessories. This year’s Limited Edition blankets are denim blue with harvest red, aspen leaf yellow, natural white and sky blue stripes available in throws ($195), queen ($295) and king ($305) sizes. Collectors Club pillows ($75) feature squares with designs from Limited Editions since 1997.
ROUTTCOUNTYWOOLENS.COM OR 970-871-6363
Hemp Essentials blend unrefined, age-defying hemp seed oil with pure, therapeutic plant fragrances to promote physical and emotional healing and well- being, according to Heather Howell, the certified clinical aromatherapist who mixes their magic. Their “All Over Healing Serum” is said to rejuvenate skin, revitalize hair and diminish wrinkles and is available in aromatherapy blends promoting romance, harmony, energy, serenity, intuition, purpose and gentle calm. Take your pick at $8.50.
HEMPESSENTIALS.COM, 866-697-4367
Using native, nature and religious themes, Ray and Lauri Martino of Lone Llama Ranch in Boone create metal sculptures for indoor and outdoor display. The curlicued Huerfano cross has a glazed-over patina ($30), while the rough-hewn verdigris crosses are made from antique railroad spikes ($35). At their home on Lauri’s great-grandparents’ homestead east of Pueblo, Ray does the ironwork and Lauri the finishing. Find their work at outlets around the state, including Trembling Aspen Gallery in Buena Vista, Prairie Flower Gifts in La Veta and Red Canyon Art Co. in Lyons.
LONELLAMARANCH.COM OR CALL 719-947-3741
Two former geologists decided to make the functional fun by embellishing shiny stainless and glass home goods with wire, bright-colored beads and smooth river rocks. The result? Just Another Original in Ken Caryl with chic and cute pet dishes, kitchenware, serving pieces and bar goods. Nifty stocking stuffers: Shot glasses for $13, hors d’oeuvre servers for $10 and church key bottle openers for $6.
JUSTANOTHERORIGINAL.COM, 303-933-7636
Paradise Tapestry Bags of Northglenn offers the Euro Bag ($34) is a traveler’s dream, with a “security strap” that allows you to keep a firm hand on your bag in crowds. A veteran of 30 years of cutting and sewing, Larry Morris turns out a line of sturdy, good-looking and functional bags, ranging in size from the cleverly designed fanny pack that turns into a shoulder bag ($29) to totes and briefcases ($26-39). Flaps are tapestry cloth, bodies are black backpack nylon with taped seams, heavy-duty hardware and lots of pockets.
PARADISE TAPESTRY BAGS 303-351-8613, TAPESTRYBAGSONLINE.COM
If you’ve got something to hang up, I’ve got something to hang it on,” says Cathy Hiatt of Rack-It! in Sheridan. She creates metal racks with artful designs in a variety of forms and finishes. Purple dragonflies dart above jewelry hooks, happy dogs decorate leash racks, and kids’ racks feature trains and animals. A large rack with three-dimensional, multicolored aspen leaf ($48) may be just the thing for someone’s ski house or country cabin – or it might remind your kids to hang up their jackets.
303-733-4992, RACK-IT.BIZ.
If you hit the boat-, car-, craft- and home-show circuits, you’ve probably been lured to the nut roaster booth by the scent of cinnamon, and went away with a paper cone of warm pecans, almonds or cashews. Beverly Heath modified a traditional German spiced nut recipe for Rocky Mountain Nut Roasters of Estes Park. She ships anywhere in the United States in festive packaging, from $10 for a 12-ounce cone to $32 for a 1-gallon extravaganza. She offers chocolate-covered almonds, hot and spicy almonds, and sugar-free nuts, too.
RMNUTS.COM OR 970-231-9843.
Share humor and health with an exhaustion survival kit. Tired Old Ass Pack contains bath salts, lotion and after-shave energizing mist. Blue Moon Essentials, which blends the refreshing eucalyptus and lemony scent at its Magic Factory in Steamboat Springs, has sold a half million jars of the popular soothing minerals since 1998. It is the perfect gift for dads, grand dads or anyone seeking to remedy stress with laughter.
LITTLEMOONESSENTIALS, 888-273-0683
What in the world is a tayberry? The foundation of one of Patty and Curt Sorenson’s unusual preserves made at Patty’s Pantry in Brighton. At $6.50 for a fabric-covered jar, these tasty preserves and condiments highlight unusual flavors, including plum butter, wild chokecherry preserves, cilantro mustard and jalapeño mango pepper jelly. With no added sugar, the fruit spreads really bring on the tastes of wild blackberry, boysenberry, loganberry- cherry, raspberry and tayberry, a hybrid cross between wild raspberry and blackberry.
PATTYSPANTRY.COM OR CALL 303-659-3883
Elegant handspun, hand-woven and hand-dyed wearable art from the Monger Ranch east of Hayden is custom made to fit your figure, mood and pocketbook. Lauretta Davidson has been turning sheep into yummy-soft $150-plus designer suits, tops and drapes with crocheted borders for 30 years, once outfitting a bride and all her bridesmaids. She shows at craft fairs throughout the west and welcomes calls at home.
970-276-4291
