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Best Recycled Furniture

Cluttered Corner

The best thing about the Cluttered Corner is that it's just plain fun to go there. As co-owner Patrick Vigil likes to say, "We have everything, from antiques to Pier 1," and that, along with the reasonable prices and the cheery personalities of Vigil and business partner Dorothy Bowie, is the real joy of perusing the shop's ever-changing inventory of sumptuous sofas, bureaus, lamps, art and bric-a-brac. It's all serendipity: You go in never knowing what to expect, and you come out, more often than not, with something you fell in love with at first sight. So maybe you didn't need a beaded lamp shade or a set of green-bowled, red-stemmed champagne glasses, and you weren't planning to leave wearing an Indiana Jones chapeau. What the heck? This stuff all has nine lives, but you only live once.

Best Resource for Parents, Period

Zwaggle

Given the popularity of such Internet resources as Freecycle and Craigslist, it was only a matter of time until someone created something like Zwaggle. It just so happens that the mastermind behind the site is a Denver resident. Here's how it works: When you sign up for Zwaggle, you receive Zwaggle points (known as "Zoints") by offering your kids' gently used items — clothes, cribs, toys, whatever — to other families. You can then use your Zoints to fill up all the space you cleared out in your closet. Does the kid who outgrew his old cleats need a new pair? Find some on Zwaggle; they'll be shipped to you via FedEx, or, if the person donating the item is local, you can arrange a time to meet. You can even donate your Zoints to charity. Now, that's Zantastic!

Best Return Engagement by a Store

Nepali Bazaar

This little imports store has trekked through town more times than a Himalayan sherpa, from lower Highland to the Lincoln-Broadway corridor, up to Estes Park and back to Broadway, where it recently reopened. But a vagabond nature is part of the charm at Nepali Bazaar, where the wares — incense, embroidered wall hangings and printed curtains, Buddhist thangkas, comfy wrap skirts, hand-painted tie-dyed patchwork tees and huge, pretty Indian fabric sling bags — seem to have leapt straight out of a market in Kathmandu, casting a colorful aura over a typical Midwestern day. Namaste!

Best Secret Store off the 16th Street Mall

Santa Fe Cookie Co.

What are all those respectable-looking businesspeople doing heading into a downtown alley? Normally when you sneak off into an alley to make a purchase, you're up to no good. But it's hard to deny the goodness of the cookies you'll find at the Santa Fe Cookie Co., a hole-in-the wall just off the 16th Street Mall. And the deal offered there is unbeatable: three big, fresh cookies for a buck. Get 'em while they're hot!

Best Security System

Freaky's Tattoo and Body Piercing

Most criminals won't act if they think there's a chance that they could be caught or killed. Armed with this knowledge of basic human instinct, Freaky's Tattoo and Body Piercing has developed a cheap and inexpensive security system: a handgun and brass knuckles sitting out on the counter. If you ask whoever's working there who left their piece out, they'll tell you it's for security. And would-be robbers should think twice about trying to grab the gun: There's probably another one under the counter.

Best Shoe Repair

Cobbler's Corner

Favorite shoes are too important to toss away at the first sign of trouble, and the pros at Cobbler's Corner have managed to rebuild plenty of seemingly exhausted footwear. Plus, the prices are reasonable and the repair work is friendly and speedy; in many cases, new heels can be put on while you wait. And although Cobbler's Corner can also be found in Greenwood Village and the Cherry Knolls Shopping Center, we're partial to the one on 17th Street. Downtown used to be full of hardworking small businesses; it's good for the sole to know this one is still around.

Best Souvenir Store off the 16th Street Mall

Rockmount Ranchwear

Yes, we know that Rockmount Ranchwear has been making serious clothes for decades. Cowboys didn't just snap up those Western shirts with the snap buttons invented by founder Jack A. Weil because they wanted to look good (although they did); the shirts were comfortable, too. And for more than fifty years, the wholesale business kept Rockmount hopping. But a half-dozen years ago, this longtime family business decided to let everyone in on the secret, opening their LoDo building to retail trade and remodeling the ground-floor space into the coolest-looking store in town. In the process, Rockmount created Denver's single must-stop shop for souvenirs. Japanese tourists, British rock stars and conventioneers from Omaha alike all flock to Rockmount to pick up a tie or scarf with real Western art, a pair of cowboy boots, a hat, a shirt — or all of them, several times over. But you don't need to be a visitor to like Rockmount; this is how the West was worn.

Best Souvenir Store on the 16th Street Mall

Where the Buffalo Roam

For such a lively pedestrian strip, the 16th Street Mall has a paucity of shopping opportunities. This mile-long stretch is just one bad souvenir store after another, with the black-velvet monotony broken only by a couple of empty storefronts and chain discount operations. Still, you can't return home empty-handed — so your best bet for a quick Colorado gift is Where the Buffalo Roam. This store carries all the usual T-shirts and shot glasses and gilded aspen-leaf keychains, but it also boasts a worthy selection of University of Colorado paraphernalia. And who wouldn't appreciate a bright-orange hat courtesy of the Denver County Jail?

Best Store at Northfield Stapleton

Sephora in J.C. Penney

J.C. Penney might not be the first stop for fashionistas looking for the latest clothing trends, but the new Sephora inside the Northfield J.C. Penney is a great spot to pick up designer cosmetics and fragrances. While the selection is more limited than what you'll find in Sephora's stand-alone stores at FlatIron Crossing and Park Meadows, this location is the only one with a Denver address, and it's just as generous with free samples as the other outlets. Bare Escentuals, Philosophy, Juicy Couture — all can be had in the handy little spot, along with the good quality and affordably priced Sephora brand.

Best Store in Belmar

Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast

The pet project of Japanophiles Janene Hurst and Andrew Novick, Gimme Gimme Pillow Toast is no doubt the region's premier purveyor of kawaii, which is short for "weird Japanese pop-culture cute stuff," and caters to anyone entranced by that punked-out mix-and-mismatch Harajuku/gothic Lolita fashion sense. A hard-to-find cubbyhole on the artsy backside of Lakewood's Belmar Center, GGPT is your go-to source for OH! Mikey mannequin dramas, half-and-half stuffed panda/rabbit dolls, totally tweenish Brace Face T-shirts, Gloomy Bear keychains, manga comics, chocolate-tipped Pocky treats and Hello Panda cream-filled cookies, devil monkey buttons and kung fu-fightin' Bruce Lee candles (among other things). If you want it, come and get it.

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