Shopping & Services

Since I Heart Denver is all about Denver, it follows that entrepreneur Samuel Schimek would also name his Welsh Pembroke Corgi puppy after our fair city. The middle name "Picard" we'll leave to your imagination, though one imagines that Schimek dreams of commanding the U.S.S. Enterprise in some other life. With his short legs, huge pointy ears and big black-ringed eyes, the photogenic Denver Picard Schimek, who even has his own Tumblr, is a charmer, bringing a little joy to your shopping during his in-store visits. Bark twice if you love Denver!

An icon of Colorado's medical marijuana scene, Twirling Hippy Confections owner Jessica LeRoux was baking and selling her special cheesecakes and developing a following years before the medical marijuana industry took hold. But even with the transition to a commercial kitchen, her recipes are still some of the most delicious around. Her seasonal cheesecakes — like pumpkin pie around Halloween and Palisade Peach in August — have become fan favorites, but we love the simplicity of her traditional chocolate-and-caramel turtles, dubbed "Terrapins."

Clothing designer Tina Joliffe and artist Vincent "Cheap" Fasano needed a place where they could combine their eclectic interests under one roof. They found it in Fast Geek Boutique, where Joliffe's cute frocks and Fasano's outsider art are both part of the decor, along with a mélange of accessories and sewing supplies. That alone would seem enough to fill the boutique's close quarters, but there's more: books and zines from Fast Geek Press (including poetry by Vincent's twin brother, Charly), cassette tapes by Analog Empire, artwork by found-object assemblage artist Heretik and local-music recordings from Suburban Home Records. And if that's not enough for you, Fast Geek also now houses 2011 Best of Denver winner eyeLAB, an eyeglass service offering trendy prescription eyewear on a sliding-scale basis. Now, swallow your shrinking pill like a good little Alice and walk in the door.

No matter where you rank psychics on the bullshit scale, local spirit-charmer Lawrence Woodson is good for an afternoon of personal reflection. With a family history in the business and sixteen years of experience on his own, Woodson moves past the crystal-ball shtick and into therapy territory by using his clients' personalities and histories to reinterpret them in the animal kingdom. Incense, deep conversation and lots of shut-eyed imagination all feature in his $45 attempts to match people with their animals. Woodson himself is a coyote, while members of the military, he says, are often chimpanzees. In rare cases, it's possible to have two animal spirits, but don't worry: Woodson doesn't charge extra.

A collaboration of Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy and Rocky Mountain PBS, this website offers video clips that show parents how to introduce songs, rhymes and "fingerplays" that will help stimulate and educate their offspring. There are different levels of pre-reading skills involved, targeting pre-schoolers, toddlers or swaddlers. It's a great way to get your rugrat building a vocabulary for that long journey to graduate school.

FACTORY | made divides and conquers: On one hand, it's a buyer's showcase for mostly local designers and independent manufacturers of furniture, body products, jewelry and accessories, stationery, clothing and just about anything freshly made by hand on the Front Range. On the other, it's a creative lab that provides tools and materials, fabrication space and production resources for sound, video and graphics, as well as networking and instruction opportunities for growing cottage industries. A living, breathing amalgam, FACTORY | made serves as a model of the future, encouraging discourse, creativity and community for people who might previously have worked alone or on the fringe.

Alicia Vargo's quest to help breast-cancer survivors started nine years ago, when a woman scheduled to undergo a double mastectomy walked into Vargo's Lone Tree shop, Pampered Passions Fine Lingerie. The woman was looking for answers. Vargo didn't have any, but she promised herself it would be the last time that she was taken off guard by the topic. In the years that followed, she hired several certified mastectomy fitters and started carrying post-mastectomy bras and prostheses. And she recently took the next step, opening an outpost of her shop at Porter Adventist Hospital that caters to patients undergoing treatment there, providing one-stop shopping — and, more important, answers — for many more women.

I want candy. You want candy. Deep down inside, in a private place, doesn't everyone? If you haven't outgrown the excitement of opening up your Halloween bag after a night of extorting your neighbors for sugary treats, take yourself and your weakness to Sugarlicious in Cherry Creek North, where confections of every kind, from chocolate-covered Gummi bears to Pez, spill over from 250 plastic bins along the wall. It's also the place for the sweetest party favors and hostess gifts, and sisters Jill Landman Alfond (the owner) and Stacey Landman (the manager) are also set up to help customers plan dessert buffets for parties and weddings. The bottom line is that you don't have to be Creekish to stop in for a secret stash of wax candy bottles and Nunu's chocolates. Sugarlicious is for everyone.

Readers' Choice: Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop

CU-Denver MBA candidate Andrea Burns first conceived of the idea for LoyalTee — a fledgling business that creates T-shirts celebrating favorite (and sometimes esoteric) local haunts — as a class project in 2010. Then, with fellow entrepreneur Todd Culter, Burns went on to create a modest line of ten shirts, honoring everything from the Rocky Flats Lounge to the Tivoli building to the old Mile High Stadium, from a clearly (but sweetly) biased point of view. And finally, as a bonus, the tiny company puts its money where its heart is: Not only is the tag on each tee a postcard telling the history of the place it celebrates, but LoyalTee lives up to its name by donating a percentage of each sale to the lauded businesses. They've since added a couple of designs — one with the Colorado State flag — but the quality remains high. LoyalTee has its heart in all the right places. Show your loyalty at www.loyalteeshirts.com.

We could give Mi Pueblo Market a lot of awards — Best Our Lady of Guadalupe Setup in a Grocery Store, Best Use of Reggaetón as Mood Music, Best Life-Sized Cardboard Diorama of Women Making Tortillas — but we've got to hand it to the cakes. From a tiny bakery within the grocery store, fresh and delicious sheet cakes appear in the glass cases daily. Adorned with semi-sweet frosting and lots of flair, Mi Pueblo cakes are made for birthdays, national holidays, religious holidays, soccer matches and sexy-whatever days. Oh, and if you're looking for a cake wearing a Ken doll sitting comfortably in a stream of sugar champagne, this is probably the only place in town to get it.

The Denver Cruisers take care of their own, and they stepped up that credo last year with the introduction of Human Powered Transit Authority, a pop-up, hole-in-the-wall stop where cruisers could hang while perusing through the latest in bicycle baskets, bells and horns. But the temporary shop — conceived of and run by Denver Cruiser and jewelry designer Andrea Li — was primarily a costume shop that tailored its stock to the weekly cruiser ride's changing themes, and when the cruising season was over, it was gone. The good news from Denver Cruiser big wheel Brad Evans is that the store will most likely be back in time for the May launch of this year's season, though with a new name — "House O' Wheels" is being bandied about — and location. And that's likely to be close to the recently transformed Wheel Club 404, at 404 Broadway, which is shaping up as the new Denver Cruisers meeting place. Let the cruising begin.

Sure, it's the most romantic day of the year. A day for butterfly kisses, red roses, heart-shaped chocolates, blah, blah, blah. But even if you don't go in for all that Hallmark crap, it's worth picking February 14 to tie the knot at City Hall. The folks at the Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office do it up big, with prizes (wine! theater tickets! a trip for two on Southwest Airlines!), a gratis wedding photographer and one of the best officiants in the biz: Herbert "Herbie the Love Judge" Galchinsky. They even provide plastic gold rings if you don't have your own, making it easy for everyone to say "I do."

The small, independent designer juggles one of the hardest jobs in the marketplace, simply because she has to wear so many hats: artist, bookkeeper, consultant, production line and chief dreamer are just a few of them. But with the Denver Design Incubator there to show them the ropes, more designers can find solid ground as creative entrepreneurs more quickly in this sink-or-swim world. The DDI offers classes and even walk-in free studio time on Wednesdays at its new northwest Denver facility, but its primary vehicle, the Designer-in-Residence program, is a concentrated course of ongoing mentorship combined with studio time in the nonprofit's own industrial sewing shop.

Logan Liquors has been in the Farber family for 33 years, selling wine, beer and spirits to the good-time residents of Washington Park from behind the counter and from the drive-thru window around back. In fact, the converted gas station is one of the only liquor stores in town with a drive-thru. Recently, owner Stanley Farber's grandson, Justin, added a healthy selection of craft beers, including rare or difficult-to-find bottles, to the little shop's collection. So if you're in a hurry, Logan Liquors can certainly hook you up with some jug wine or a fifth of hooch at the window, but it can also supply you with the latest small-batch brew from Avery, Odell or New Belgium.

Much of what crowds people's inboxes nowadays is junk. Especially e-newsletters, which tend to be pleas for money or schemes to rid you of yours. Most you delete without even opening. But if you're interested in the goings-on at Denver Public Schools, there's one you'll want to click: MyDPS, sent weekly to more than 32,000 e-mail addresses by Superintendent Tom Boasberg. Sure, it's full of happy news about the district's accomplishments, but it doesn't shy away from more controversial subjects, either, such as the heat wave that invaded schools and melted children last fall. Happy, honest news? That's hot.

Alyson Two Eagles and Jeff Childress like to call their shop Ironwood a "things we love store," and that's exactly what it is: a place where you walk in and fall in love. It's perfectly unlike any other place, and resembles nothing so much as a strangely modern museum of Victoriana, with its antique shelves and dark walls artfully cluttered with shadowboxed butterflies, potted succulents, terrariums, raw rocks and crystals, wooden arrows and what seems like a million objects, old and new. A select range of beautiful books, many of them scientific in nature, nest all around them, and art by local artists fills in the walls, shelves and window front: a Ravi Zupa assemblage here, Elena Stonaker's hand-embroidered and beaded creatures there, and a mass of Brittany Gould's cave-like polyhedrons dripping from the ceiling. Though the owners are young, Ironwood has a delicious old soul — one young woman minding the counter told us that it's not unusual for the store's hipster clientele to come back with their parents in tow — and the steampunk vibe of oiled metal and grinding gears amid growing things.

Bullying hurts. And in some cases, it can be deadly. To protect Colorado's gay youth and prevent the growing number of high-profile gay-teen suicides, Denver-based advocacy group One Colorado started the Colorado GSA Network, which helps high schools form their own gay-straight alliances. Research proves that alliances help stand up against harassment and create safer schools for everyone. That's something worth learning about.

Here's what you get out of shopping at the best and biggest farmers' market in the state: picked-just-that-day produce along with breads, milk, cheeses, pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck and prepared food from smoked salmon to chocolate; more varieties of eggplant than you'd known existed; sellers passionate about their products, who may offer cooking or planting tips; a way to help local ranchers and farmers survive; the kind of apple you remember eating as a kid; food that really is locally produced (the rules are very strict); a sense of rootedness and community; and — most important — the best-tasting food you'll find anywhere. Spring may have sprung March 20, but it won't feel official till the market opens on April 7.

Readers' Choice: Cherry Creek Fresh Market

Frank Silva's no hippie, no rancher-come-lately. He was born on a dairy farm and has been in the cattle business all his life. And you can hear the affection in his voice as he describes how smart his cows are and talks about their temperamental quirks. He mixes the feed himself, and also grazes the animals on pasture. At the spotless family-run abbatoir where his Highland cattle are eventually processed, music plays to keep the animals calm. Silva's can provide bone marrow and particular cuts on request, and the meat is so delicious it's on the menu at many of Denver's top restaurants. But you can get it yourself at the Boulder Farmers' Market.

Readers' Choice: Waffle cakes

Winner and still champion: The Horseshoe, already our favorite in 2011, is only getting better as it hits its stride. The brainchild of Amy Yetman, a crafter herself, the market isn't really a pure flea market, per se; rather, its 100 or so booths hawk everything from the antiques you'd expect to adorable handmade children's clothing and accessories, locally designed hipster jewelry, vintage shoes, steampunk earrings and more, and the people-watching is more than awesome. Bottom line, the Horseshoe is also so well run (you can thank Amy and her husband, Doug, for that) that it's a joy to be there; along with wares new and old, this market welcomes food trucks and special attractions (last year, a traveling screen-printing van visited at one market), and Berkeley Park invites across the street, should you need to rest your feet and dogs. This year's spring market is on May 5, with additional dates to follow in July and October. And remember: It's called "Horseshoe" because of the lucky connotations. Come down to Tennyson Street, and see just how lucky you get.

Readers' Choice: Mile High Marketplace

Jury duty is a hassle. But there is one perk to spending the day at Denver District or County Court: free child care. Run by Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers, the Warm Welcome Childcare Center was opened in 1999 after judges noted that courtrooms are no place for children. The center's staff will watch any child ages six weeks to twelve years whose parent has business at the court, whether it be jury duty or a criminal proceeding, with a few exceptions: no sick children, no yelling at the staff and no dropping your kids off and then ditching court to go shopping. While it may be tempting, common sense says it's best not to break the rules while at a courthouse.

Readers' Choice: 16th Street shuttle

Read more: Denver's five best free services

In this era of shy economic recovery, it makes sense for small businesses to advocate for one another, which is why we applaud entrepreneurs Meghan Throckmorton of Rakun boutique and Ellis Ann McClung of Thread Handmade Consignment, who decided to take matters into their own hands to create Denver Independent Boutiques. It's loose, but its goal of creating a buzz by banding together to host communal boutique crawls and other shared events is a worthy one. Throckmorton and McClung are already strong advocates for buying local — their shops almost exclusively carry clothing and jewelry by Denver-area designers, some of them just getting started — and it's such an important point for them that they stipulate that DIBS members carry at least 50 percent local merchandise. Kudos, ladies, for reaching out and grabbing the hands of your colleagues.

With its Alice in Wonderland-like paint scheme inside and jars of organic medicine grown by renowned breeder Chuck Blackton, Verde was one of our favorite visits in 2011. But what made it truly stand out are the cases upon cases of high-end glass pipes from Sheldon Black and Roor, as well as vintage pieces from Jerome Baker Designs. The shop also has a sick assortment of locally made pipes, slides and bubblers to take home along with your eighth of Lemon Skunk. Bonus: You don't need to be a med patient to shop for pipes at Verde.

Illuzion Glass Galleries is home to some of the most extravagant and expensive glass pipes in the world, including a $35,000 alien throne and a $30,000 glass pirate ship. The shop also carries worked tubes and pipes from local and nationally known artists that range from $100 all the way up to several thousand dollars. Illuzion has been working on bringing in-house pipes to the people of Denver through their glass studio in the back of the store. There are also plenty of affordable pieces here, but taking a tour through the shop is worth the visit alone.

It's not uncommon for a herd of motorcycles to be parked outside of Fallen Owl Tattoo, a hard-core, old-school ink joint smack in the middle of a nondescript Lakewood strip mall. Inside, Sublime and Metallica play while owner Adam Rose moves his needle over a customer's bicep. But both Rose and his store have softer sides: Rose, who grew up with an older sister and a single mom, focuses roughly half of his business perspective on how to provide for children in homes like his own. Among other projects, 2011 found the shop partnering with the Flobots' Youth On Record program to design skateboard decks for auction and launched a Christmas special that traded ink for toys. This is one business that gives a hoot.

Miss Kittie Mae, aka hatmaker extraordinaire Susan Dillon, knows her craft well. But she is by no means a crafter. Dillon is an artist through and through, sculpting stunning couture headwear out of a little felt and feathers, like a millinery Rumpelstiltskin spinning straw into gold. Though a good deal of Dillon's business is in creating one-of-a-kind, high-style wedding gear, the rest of her hats would dress up any look for a night on the town. "I just want people to come in and have fun," is her retailing credo, and it's not hard to do so when faced with the prospect of trying on so many millinery confections — cheeky hats and headpieces combining mesh, ribbons, feathers and bows. Kitty Mae also carries several lines of locally designed jewelry, scarves and clothing, but the main dish will always walk out on your head. Dillon's latest foray? Hats for men: smart newsboys and, eventually, fedoras and bowlers.

Either you get Hello Kitty or you don't. But if you do, you should be cartwheeling over rainbows just knowing about the arrival of Lollipop Gift, a Denver Pavilions newbie dedicated almost exclusively, but not quite, to the glorification of Japan's greatest contribution to the "cute" industry. Inside, the Hello Kitty well spilleth over: The morose will have to take in this store slowly, but folks already under the spell will fall willy-nilly all over its shelves of Hello Kitty stationery, candy, toiletries, toothbrush holders, plush, teacups, dolls, lunchboxes, totes and school supplies by Sanrio. There's also room for one of Hello Kitty's chief rivals, San-X's Rilakkuma (or "Relax Bear") and other cute friends of the Pacific Rim, eye-popping J-pop T-shirts, Super Mario merchandise and other pop-culture eye-junk. Word to the wise: Lock up your daughters, now.

Vanessa Barcus's Goldyn is something of a couture pipeline, shipping in designer styles direct from the fashion Valhallas of New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Begun as an online store, Goldyn first hosted occasional pop-up events in Denver before setting down roots as a brick-and-mortar storefront last summer in Highland's LoHi Marketplace at Olinger, much to the glee of local landlocked couture snobs dying to touch a little bit of the real thing. If your heart longs for a piece of Helmut Lang, See by Chloe, Current Elliott, Rebecca Minkoff or other comparable labels, weep no more. Check out Goldyn, and keep an eye open for Goldyn events and trunk shows.

We awarded the Boulder Common Threads the Best Boulder DIY Boutique of 2009 on the laurels of its unique combination of secondhand chic boutique and community-conscious sewing studio, and then called it the "boutique of the future." But although Denver's new annex, on South Pearl Street, is much smaller and comes with only the boutique element intact, it still follows that prediction, seamlessly hanging both chic new clothing and upscale secondhand from its racks, with a dollop of recycled-green pride. Other differences? The Denver store is curated with a more citified working-girl clientele in mind than in Boulder, featuring still-chic, better-brand consignment items on its carefully ministered racks. We dare you to come in and not leave with some little treasure tucked under your arm.

The Buffalo Exchange, part of a chain of upscale resale shops, isn't new or even unique to Denver, but since it's moved into its airy new Broadway location, we've had a chance to revisit its charms, which are many. With its brick walls, open-air roll-up windows on the side and round racks stashed with still-chic, pre-loved, everyday treasures, it's cheerful in a way that feeds the fire to find something perfect as well as affordable. Which you will. If you know the place, you know the prices aren't Goodwill cheap (there's one of those just down the street, if you prefer under ten bucks), but given the quality and original value of many of these garments, it's still a deal. Keeping that in mind, when you're looking for a wardrobe brightener and you need one quick, nearly everything's a pick at the Buffalo Exchange.

Walk into Thread, and you'll see why it won the Denver Best of Local Business Award given for successful marketing across the nation by the U.S. Commerce Association: Owner Ellis Ann McClung has put together an ever-changing mix of fetching hand-knit ear hats and fingerless gloves, feather earrings, stained-glass jewelry, savvy handbags in bright prints, droll handmade dolls, knitted panda dolls, skirts in fabulous fabrics and more, by depending on a healthy roster of consignment artists to keep the shop stocked. And to further good, the combined boutique and craft store also carries hand-sewn items — from aprons to computer bags — made by women participating in the Denver African Community Center's "We Made This" life-skills program for refugees. Another in this year's large crop of indie boutiques encouraging commerce on a person-to-person, local level, Thread truly hangs its heart in its hole-in-the-wall endeavors.

Fabric Bliss rose up out of one of those corporate drone-gone-indie stories: One day, database administrator Aurora Sisneros decided to jump ship and open Fabric Bliss, a cozy, crafty place where you can choose the perfect yarn or fabric for your next project, pick up a pattern, buy a beautiful hand-sewn tote, take a class or just take advantage of the sewing studio's equipment. It's all in the mix at Fabric Bliss — a supply shop, boutique, classroom and workshop — and at your fingertips, along with all the thimbles and notions you could possibly need or want. Classes go from basic (Intro to Sewing) to whimsical (ultra-cute knitted Amigurumi animals) to practical (Pajama Pants), and at $7 an hour, sewing-studio time, which includes use of all studio machines and tools, is a deal. And Sisneros is happy to personalize by offering private lessons and private craft parties. Check it out: Fabric Bliss is just so sew!

Cherry Creek Shopping Center, which opened a little over twenty years ago, is, was and will always be the quintessential Colorado mall. It sways with the trends, but still boasts strong anchors (in spite of the ones — Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue — that slipped away), and it's ever-elegant and up-to-the-minute. One of the mall's strongest attractions remains the play area, which teems with children for hours on end, and its mix of stores is a beautiful balancing act that blends The Limited and Neiman Marcus, the Apple Store and Brookstone, all while fleshing things out with smaller trendy boutiques like Juicy Couture and Free People, and niche chains like Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. In a word: perfect. When you want to waste an afternoon with a shopping bag and a loaded wallet, this is the place to do it.

Readers' Choice: Cherry Creek Shopping Center

Anna Newell Jones, a queen of thrift who counsels people on how to get out of debt and stay out, might just be the most brilliant fashionista in town. The evidence? Bringing the East Coast concept of the clothing swap to Denver, with help from gallery owner, local fashion maven and Handbags.com social-media princess Tran Wills. The And Then She Saved Clothing Swap is now a two-time success. Here's how it works: You bring ten high-quality garments or accessories — the kind of used clothing you might lay on someone close to you — hang it on a rack, pay a small fee to participate, and then let the swapping begin. Ideally, you, along with everyone else, will end up with ten items new to your wardrobe. Anything that's left over is donated to charity. Not only is swapping hella fun, but it's an easy way to brighten up a stale closet. This trend is just getting started, with more to come!

Don't go into Hazel & Dewey looking for the ordinary: Clean, sparse and, oh, maybe a little bit precious, the independent kitchen shop sports a Scandinavian aura, though it's not specifically Scandinavian in scope. Billing itself as a "modern mercantile," the foodie-forward boutique carries everything from Helvetica-character cookie cutters and Moroccan glassware to elegant Japanese wooden dishes and stylish La Théière cast-iron tea kettles in cool green shades; these wares, hand-picked by owner Jenna Miles according to her own discerning taste, are served like cake on round tabletops and tidy shelves. It's the perfect place to buy a memorable hostess gift or a be-good-to-yourself secret splurge. (While not bargain-priced, most of the merchandise costs less than $100.) Coming up this spring? Fresh-cut flowers, sold out of the shop's wood-paneled walk-in cooler. Broadway will be blooming!

The staff at Cherry Creek's LEGO Minifigures Collector kiosk — located not-so-serendipitously close to the shopping center's famed play area — doesn't need to hustle to lure fast-walking shoppers; the shoppers come to them. The kiosk sells a wide variety of minifigs, those tiny, intricate LEGO figures, and models currently specializing in Star Wars and Harry Potter — who knew there could be so many different Hagrids? — many of which have been discontinued, are hard to find or aren't available separately. The prices will set you back a ways, but collectors young and old who love their bricks will be used to that.

Stuart Alden, who, along with his wife, Nicky, runs the local screen-printing studio Ink Lounge, got it into his head that men are crafty, too. After working one too many girly craft fairs, he found himself asking, what about the guys? There are plenty of men hand-crafting products with man appeal, he reasoned, so why isn't either male constituency — the makers or the buyers — represented at a typical holiday market? Last December's Holiday Mancraft was the upshot of that lightbulb moment, featuring merchandise for men from an all-male pride of artists at a reception flowing with beer and — concession to the ladies? — cupcakes. Are you listening, Stuart Alden? Please bring back Mancraft! Do it for the guys!

SoBo, which incorrectly begins at First Avenue and Broadway and works its way south to Alameda, has been a work in progress. But a few crowning touches — a slow influx of new and trendy restaurants, a stabilized lineup of boutiques and the recent instigation of the Tigalo block of shared quarters for Buffalo Exchange and Fancy Tiger — have made all the difference between its designation as a street with a few shops one sees while rushing by and that of a real shopping destination. People are stopping more than they did before, and they're going to do that more and more. The charm is already there, and the variety is plentiful. If the Broadway stretch can address its cons in the future — narrow sidewalks, fierce traffic and parking nightmares — with a project like the one just finishing up on Tennyson Street, there's no telling how high this district can fly.

Readers' Choice: South Pearl Street

For years, Boulderites have eyed Denver enviously, wishing they had an equivalent to the big city's cheese shops. Then, last summer, Coral and Will Frischkorn opened Cured a few blocks off the Pearl Street Mall. Coral and Will are young, newly married and in love not just with each other, but with all things cheese. Convinced that the United States now produces some of the best cheeses in the world, they travel, sample, experiment and select the very best of what they taste. In addition to cheese, their store carries a selection of cured meats, honeys, chocolates, vinegars, salts, olive oils and any other foodstuff that piques the Frischkorns' palates, as well as baguettes that take you right back to Paris, whether you've been there or not. That would be more than enough to satisfy most Boulderites, but the well-stocked wine store in the back pushes Cured over the top.

The Sugar Plum, housed in the nooks and crannies of the Parkside Mansion, a charming old house-for-hire, is as sweet as its namesake and filled with beautiful things at every turn. Half the fun is wending one's way up the stairs or out back and into the carriage house in search of jewels and shoe ornaments, and clothes handmade from vintage fabrics, and china bluebird salt shakers in every room. Organized by craft-market veterans Alissa Bush of Twirl Girl, Jennifer Carabetta of Dizzie Izzie and Mandy Yocom of Fern and Sprout, Sugar Plum not only boasts a well-curated mixture of vendors, but it's loaded with atmosphere and the lovely buzz of deals being made and beautiful things being considered, coveted and bought. And, you know, there's just something old-fashioned and sweet about that. Here's hoping the Sugar Plums dance on!

Tucked in the back room of Yellow Feather Coffee is a tiny record store run by Molly Zackary. Some people might remember Zackary for her long-running distro bearing the same moniker, or from running into her at punk and hardcore shows in years past at Double Entendre, Monkey Mania and elsewhere. Her friendly and gracious demeanor and sheer knowledge of the niche she's cultivating with her inventory is impressive. Growler is also one of the few stores in Denver to carry metal and hardcore vinyl. The record player in the corner is available to sample most, if not all, of what's in stock, and the small-press books and zines are always pleasantly surprising.

When Amelia Deleon couldn't find jewelry to fit her petite frame, she decided to make it herself. The craftswoman restrung some old pieces and made them new again, and Stranded Jewelry was born. After several successful private trunk shows, Deleon's friends urged her to take the one-of-a-kind vintage bead and stone creations public. Partnering with local businesses and hosting events at the (now) Gildar Gallery, Stranded has found its way onto the wrists of teenagers, moms, grandmothers and everyone between. Costume, minimal or formal, Deleon creates affordable bracelets, necklaces and earrings for all styles of women.

We've always admired the way the Pavilions management has been willing to stick its neck out by offering space to such indie enterprises as Cali & Mo, which launched its first store there five or so years ago. That practice, paired with a strong commitment to a core group of appealing national retailers, from the Gap to Forever 21, has kept the large holes left by the departing Virgin and Nike stores from bringing the whole place down. And in the last year or two, the Pavilions seems to be solidifying, rocking it on the strength of its Forever 21 superstore and the entry of H&M (which just added a new in-store Marni shoe shop) into the game. The Pavilions knows its place. It's not overwhelmingly large, and it has something for everyone, including a movie theater, a book store and a bowling alley. The mall also plays host to the annual Downtown Denver Arts Festival over Memorial Day weekend, as well as a number of offbeat events, such as last fall's Project Runway-style Cut 'n Sew: Yves Saint Laurent Challenge for local designers. Lastly, we simply love that the Denver Pavilions is downtown, adding its urban flavor to the 16th Street Mall experience.

Readers' Choice: Pearl Street Mall, Boulder

We heart the I Heart Denver Store, for several reasons. Reason one: It supports the community in the most basic of "buy local" ways, by featuring only Colorado-made merchandise. In turn, this is not your average "local" merchandise; items range from hand-screen-printed T-shirts or stationery to original works of art and locally designed furniture and clothing. Reason two: It supports local artists, not only by providing a showcase, but by giving them a bigger cut of the profit. Reason three: It might just be the friendliest store in town, coming and going, with bend-over-backwards customer service and a savvy understanding of its clientele. Plus, owner Samuel Schimek, an artist/designer himself who cut his retailing teeth with I Heart Denver's city-sponsored predecessor, YesPleaseMore, really gets his role as a totally 21st-century retailer. For a while, he even provided space for the Denver Design Incubator program, which recently moved to bigger digs. I Heart Denver rocks the joint, making downtown Denver a better place to shop.

Readers' Choice: Farmers' markets

Find yourself with stuff that's too good for the trash but not fit for charitable donation? RAFT (Resource Area For Teaching) will take it! The recycling/reuse center takes almost anything — packing materials, office supplies, cloth, even those pesky CD jewel cases that haven't had a home or purpose for a while now. The nonprofit, which provides creative teaching ideas, a shared space and workshops for Colorado educators, repurposes the materials and sells them to teachers at little or no cost in the form of teaching tools; last year, RAFT diverted 17,500 cubic feet of waste from landfills in Colorado. Now, those are standards we can learn from.

When Denver's political and educational leaders teamed up to create a campus several decades ago for three institutions of higher learning just south of downtown, they also set about obliterating a long-established, mostly Hispanic working-class neighborhood. The move has stirred strong feelings over the years, but it also prompted a scholarship program to allow people who lived in the historic Auraria community between 1955 and 1973 (and their children and grandchildren) to attend the University of Colorado Denver, the Community College of Denver and Metropolitan State College of Denver — and start making some history of their own.

Operation ReScrap caters to Front Range crafters, encouraging them to "de-stash" their overflowing supply boxes by sharing with others of the same ilk. To that end, ReScrap periodically hosts one-day Stash Bash events — kind of a crafters' garage sale — where you can either rent a table to sell or consign your overflow for a fee (the next one is at Zappy Dots Boutique, Operation ReScrap's Longmont craft store/home base, on April 28); this summer, a more comprehensive Operation ReScrap event is planned. Both concepts offer an opportunity to pull those dusty bins full of ribbons, fabric, yarn, buttons and needles out from under the bed, get organized by deciding what you really need and what's just there filling space, then get rid of the discards. In this, the age of rescrapping, recycling, upcycling and repurposing, it's an idea whose time has come.

Readers' Choice: Waste Management

Cherry Creek North may seem like one of the city's most frivolous shopping districts, but sensible efforts at being green abide here, too. Every hand-picked item in Revampt has been repurposed into something useful and even fun, from old fencing and barn wood transformed into sturdy furniture to purses made out of tires and jewelry crafted from bits of machinery. Savvy patrons know that home decor doesn't have to consume fresh resources; sometimes what's truly stylish is also what's truly smart.

The best thing to come out of the massive pine-beetle attack on Colorado's forests is the swarm of start-up companies devising practical uses for the dead trees. Industrial designers Robyn Meier and Mark Veljkovich have one of the most attractive product lines, one that comprises elegant benches, mirrors, tables, chairs, stools and lamps, many with distinctive laser-cut designs. The pair has even devised beetle-kill pine jewelry. Who knew that dead wood could add so much life to the party?

It's been a while since Denver had a local outlet for radical and revolutionary expression, much less one with couches and free tea. In conjunction with the equally savvy P&L Printing Press, the Infoshop added its name to the collective of organizations centered at the 27 Social Centre in March and has already launched a series of weighty plans. Along with hundreds of zines, books, DVDs and other social-political resources, the Infoshop opens its doors to concerts, local artists and regular literary discussions. In a world of "beardy white guys" postulating on anarchism, store manager Zoe Williams hopes the store will broach political discussion through a greater diversity of genders, races and outlets. Separated by content, the store's resources include even children's material for the young political activist.

When it opened last spring, a door away from the Meadowlark, MegaFauna announced itself to be "a soapbox for those who have grown weary of the corporate brand." And to its credit, the crew of local cheerleaders behind the RiNo boutique have stuck to their guns by showcasing Denver designers, artists and screen-printers. Dreamed up (with help from the Meadowlark's Loy Merck, who owns the building) by Rob Bell and John McCaskill of DeRailed Ink, a small T-shirt studio, the store is casual in vibe and in particular specializes in reasonably priced hand-run posters and clothing (including DeRailed Ink's in-house screened Broncos tees). Also represented are unique Denver designers — clothing by Havea Lolo and beautiful repurposed furniture and lamp shades by Jeanne Connolly's Vintage Renewal — plus jewelry and JammyPack speaker bags. Given its location, MegaFauna strives to be something like a general store of old, only one that sells something slightly different from bulk flour and yards of calico. Instead, it provides essential art and design for a new generation of urban dwellers.

To keep a vintage store in Denver these days, you almost can't be uniquely vintage. It's a mix-and-match age on the street, where hip fashion adventurers like to blend locally designed pieces with secondhand gold to create a complete look. And to its credit, New Culture, a side trip of the local New Culture men's magazine, caters to both men and women, vending upscale designer looks for both genders. Whether you're looking for a smart, retro Calvin Klein sport coat or some to-die-for, up-to-the-minute denim, it's a great place to go and play dress-up while you decide whether you can afford the coolest togs. And not to worry: The prices go in all directions here, so you're sure to find something saucy within range.

If you've ever been to a roller derby match, you've probably wondered where the girls found all that stuff they wear: the skull-adorned knee socks and ruffled panties and tutus and booty shorts emblazoned with "Sk8 or Die." In Denver, where derby thrives with two competitive teams and a healthy following, the athletes now have the luxury of their own roller derby boutique, Derbyville, which opened about a year ago along Broadway's antique row, thanks to enterprising Rocky Mountain Rollergirl Amy Harrold, aka Pretty But Ruthless. But you sure as heck won't be shopping for antiques at Derbyville, which in addition to the aforementioned items also sells everything a roller girl could possibly need, from the skates and pads on up, as well as bout tickets and fan memorabilia.

Rakun is possibly the sweetest little boutique to open its doors here in the last year: Housed in a tiny old cottage, the shop is run solely by entrepreneur/mother Meghan Throckmorton, and its cute sign and raccoon logo affords a bit of precious eye candy for the cars rushing by. Inside, you'll find little dresses and fun jewelry from emerging designers, all priced to appeal to a student clientele from the nearby Auraria campus, artists from the gallery district and, by whimsy, local models seeking inexpensive high-fashion looks. You might also find Throckmorton's toddler wandering in and out of this easygoing, homey house, and of course there's Throckmorton herself, young and eager to please, ready to help you find something that's perfectly you. In the summer, she opens up the back yard for First Friday open houses, and it's not unusual to find sale items waving in the breeze on a clothesline when weather permits; though the space is small, prepare to spend more than a minute soaking in the friendly ambience.

We loved the Bookery Nook's neighborly charm from the day Shannon and Gary Piserchio opened the little bookstore. But sometimes love isn't enough: Last year, under the onslaught of a major street overhaul that tore up pavement up and down the business stretch for months, the Piserchios found their baby foundering and even considered shutting the doors for good. But with a little luck and serendipity, they opened an in-store ice-cream parlor instead, serving Liks Ice Cream in a partnership that brought customers back to the Bookery Nook and ice cream to a street where it had formerly been absent. It's a story with a happy ending.

Mavis the feline fits right in with this premier collection of sleek mid-century furniture and accessories, spread across three East Colfax Avenue showrooms. In fact, she's often lounging near the window display, demonstrating that style and comfort need not be mutually exclusive. Since the opening of a fish-and-chips place next door, Mavis seems a bit distracted, but she's still a reliable guide to furnishings that are fun, cool, mod and relaxing.

As if Marie Gibbons weren't already busy enough in her Berkeley clay studio, planning and giving workshops, promoting her work and making ceramic artworks uniquely her own, this dynamo always seems to be in mid-morph, creating change at every turn. Example A: her wide, wonderful, south-facing window. Like everything else in her studio, the window seethes with ideas boiling over into more ideas to create an ever-changing pastiche of what's going on in the artist's head. Just in the past few months, she's decorated the opening with variations on a theme, using book and magazine pages rolled into cylinders, which, when stacked, create a honeycomb effect. But sometimes she turned the cylinders into hanging paper lamps, and when she wanted to advertise a finger-puppet workshop, she posed some finished ones among the paper bundles. Gibbons just proves that talent knows no boundaries: Whatever she touches turns to gold.

Charlotte Elich, the powerhouse muse behind 5 Green Boxes, seems to have been born putting things together in a pleasing way, and her sensibilities are in full swing when she tackles her window displays each season. Elich is a genius of dreamy whimsy, blowing up vintage clip art into mystical creatures "riding" a rusted bicycle and long-dead Victorian ladies who grasp big red hearts at Valentine's Day. At Christmastime, a herd of deer might be found traveling through, and at Halloween, tutu-clad muertas might dance a clacking jig. Plus, her affinity for turning unlikely objects — pink rubber gloves, perhaps — into something funny and engaging is masterful. No matter what she comes up with, the purpose of drawing people inside always seems to be served.

Debuting this month, Denver Public Library's ambitious Creating Communities project is nothing less than the creation of a vast virtual storehouse of info on Denver's neighborhoods and quirks, consisting of thousand of digitized photographs, assessor records, city directories, maps and more — all readily accessible to folks interested in uncovering the history of their block or their town. One section, myDENVER, invites participants to upload their own photos, reminiscences and research inquiries.

It feels as if friends and colleagues Jil Cappuccio and Kirsten Coplans, both talented seamstress/upcyclers, have been working toward opening SEWN together for a long time; the two have been recognized in the local retail fashion scene as a team for some time, sharing craft-show booths and pop-up boutiques to sell their wares. And once they discovered how well their particular lines go together, they merchandised them as mix-and-match partners, easily accessorized with one of Jil's whimsical tapestry bags or their shared passion: an array of vintage Frye or cowboy boots. Since then, they've worked pieces by other designers into the mix. But this kismet goes even further than that when you consider the neighborhood shift that allowed Cappuccio and Coplans to hang the SEWN shingle over their door at 18 South Broadway, former home of Fancy Tiger Clothing, which moved up the street. As a result, SEWN, which opened at the end of January, not only ups the overall vibe of the street, but also brings a new level of cozy comfort by offering clothing that's original and trendy without being the least bit pretentious or body-conscious. Welcome to the neighborhood.

Readers' Choice: Fancy Tiger

Almost a decade after the first Marczyk Fine Foods opened in Uptown, the same crew opened a second store last summer at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Fairfax Street, in a circa 1925 building that had once been a Safeway, then a hardware store. The stunning renovation has already won awards: The structure was stripped to reveal its arching wooden ceiling and seems bigger than the original store, although it's actually a bit smaller. Like the first Marczyk, it features a small liquor store — the 875-square-foot Fairfax Wine and Spirits, which has the original oak floors — but the rest of the space is devoted to a full deli with market-prepared meals, fresh meat and seafood counters, and sparkling displays of fresh produce and specialty items. Just as impressive as the interior, though, is how the store has revitalized this stretch of Colfax. Outdoor seating by the parking lot encourages shoppers to sit and enjoy their purchases — as well as all the sights of Denver's colorful main street.

Readers' Choice: Tattered Cover

We're all for shopping local, but there is and long has been a demand among city-dwellers for stylish and affordable garments of the sort sold by the Swedish-owned department store H&M, which was, after all, the Holy Grail for thousands of Denver fashionistas before the retailer opened last year in the downtown mall. So let's celebrate that, too. H&M brings a certain savoir faire to our civic image and keeps folks with little cash looking like a million bucks to the rest of the world.

Readers' Choice: H&M

Though technically not on Pearl Street proper, Sweetbird Studio is right around the corner, and we're glad it is: Dedicated to the "wearable shrines of intention" created by Boulder jewelry artist Nancy Anderson, the shop is home to one-of-a-kind retro-cowgirl pieces she crafts from found objects, stones and sterling silver. They have to be seen to be believed, and lucky for us, Anderson has a retail shop. That's worth turning the corner for!

Readers' Choice: Peppercorn

The banding together of hip resale giant Buffalo Exchange and the Fancy Tiger empire of clothing and craft stores on this half-block of Broadway, complete with a small parking lot, is a perfect example of new urban merchandising. It gives people a reason to stop, shop and — just maybe — continue down the street to see what else is there. Dubbing it Tigalo, a whimsical name that combines Tiger with Buffalo, gives it even more curb appeal. These three stores, after all, were made for each other; together they create a kind of funky multiplex that brands the rest of the neighborhood. And by moving its two shops next door to each other in a larger space, Fancy Tiger also made way for the new boutique SEWN to join the Broadway lineup. All that moving around is creating a stronger retail district, and we think Tigalo is its strongest link.

Readers' Choice: Arvada Marketplace

Forget Proust's madeleine. For many of us, a search for things past is a quest for a candy-soaked childhood, and Rocket Fizz has all those elusive treats, from Zagnut bars to giant wax lips to those fake cigarette packs of gum that set you on the road to hell. The impressive chain opened a spacious store in Writer's Square earlier this year, and independent operator Patrick Evans has the place well-stocked with vintage signs, rare sweets, exotic sodas, taffies and suckers, and an astonishing array of Japanese strangeness. Bacon soda, anyone?

Home renovation materials, large appliances and furniture aren't cheap, but Habitat for Humanity's metro Denver thrift store lets customers pick and pull everything from lumber to light fixtures at huge discounts. Since 1979, store profits have made it possible for all donations to fund Habitat's homeownership program for low-income families. Donations of cash, materials or appliances to the store are tax-deductible, and there's even a deconstruction team that will travel to homes or businesses to take salvage items at no charge. The store itself is a treasure trove of inexpensive building materials, home improvement and decor items, tools, vintage and newer washers, dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers and the occasional convection oven. Inventory changes every day, and the staff is always willing to help load or unload the heavy stuff.

Readers' Choice: ARC

This fresh Cherry Creek North storefront is all about going green: A forward-thinking lost-and-found of furniture and other items crafted from reclaimed materials of all kinds, the project of owners Daniel Louis and Keir Myers opened last spring, and it'll make you rethink everything you ever thought you knew about home decor and design. The pair has found uses for just about anything under the sun: marble countertop remnants, tin ceiling tiles, compressed wood scraps, old window frames, barn wood, wine barrels and fence pickets — you name it, they've used it well. And that's just the furniture. On a smaller scale, you'll also find handbags fashioned from vintage car upholstery, coasters cut from vinyl records and chairs hammered out of old street signs; they also offer patio furniture made from construction-site scraps. In the 21st century, what's old is new.

In case you haven't noticed, wallpaper is making a comeback, and that truth wasn't lost on wallpaper aficionados Ashley Allen and Carrie Dailey, who were blogging about the home-design tool long before they opened Covered. They also discovered that the kinds of modern wall coverings they preferred — clean, easy, natural prints and updated retro looks — weren't easy to find in Denver showrooms. Much like the fabrics carried at stores like Fancy Tiger, the artful new-look wallpaper designs come more often than not from independent sources. Obviously, the two saw a niche, and Covered was designed to fill it. Which it does, beautifully and with a nod to folks willing to do their own work in order to produce a fresh new look. The small shop's walls, lined with a mixture of vintage and contemporary patterns, are guaranteed to get ideas flowing, and catalogues are provided to help DIYers in their searches; Allen and Dailey are there primarily to give and take as folks dream, and they hope you'll drop in and stay a while. For now, Covered is open only on weekends or by appointment.

Want to know if your kid's school is top-notch or bottom-rung but don't speak the lingo required to sift through weighty reports? ColoradoSchoolGrades.com takes that data and translates it into easy-to-read snapshots that rank schools on a scale of A to F. Started by a coalition of education advocacy groups, the website is clean and simple. A-plus.

When it comes to marijuana radio in Denver, the team at iCannabis has the market covered. Current shows include The Marijuana Report with Vincent Palazzotto; Sex Pot Radio with Jenny Kush and Hemptress December; and Thunderdome Radio with Scott Greene, for you Occupiers. With shows ranging from two stoners talking issues to attorneys giving legal advice, iCannabis Radio is a valuable resource for Colorado patients...if you can remember to tune in, that is.

Shopping for wine can be unbelievably intimidating. Do points matter? And exactly how the hell are you supposed to decipher dozens of bottles whose labels are in French? (No, we can't remember our eighth-grade conjugation, either.) Mondo Vino removes all the fear from the process by delivering a user-friendly experience that'll make you feel as comfortable as if you were browsing for books or scouring record crates in search of your favorite beats. Practically everyone we know has a Mondo story, and heaps praise upon the store's crazy-good selection and near-fanatical dedication to customer service. In search of a special sparkler to present to the host of Saturday night's dinner party? Mondo has a bottle for that. Thirsty for something cheap and uncomplicated to pound after a tough day at work? Mondo has a bottle for that, too. The staff is full of wine wizards who routinely reel off as many (or as few, if you're just not into it that day) obscure facts as you can absorb about practically every product in the store. Mondo delivers, it offers free tastings and, oh, yeah — it's about to launch a series of wine tours, crisscrossing wine regions from the Western Slope to Europe.

Readers' Choice: Mondo Vino

You know the term "small but mighty"? That might as well be the slogan for this Uptown shrine to wines that are both excellent and represent excellent value. Tucked into a tiny spot behind the original Marczyk Fine Foods, Marczyk Fine Wines manages to sling some seriously sexy juice, with a major focus on indie producers (Chile's Oveja Negra and Oregon pinot maker Rascal) and indigenous varieties (Italy's cortese, Spain's txakolina). And you don't need to worry about dropping major coin on an obscure offering; with price points that routinely ring up under $15, you can afford to gamble on having your mind blown by something unknown. Never mind that slogan we just suggested; owner Pete Marczyk, who possesses a stellar palate and also has a way with words, has already come up with the perfect one: "the best wines you've never heard of."