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Best New Bookstore

City Stacks Books and Coffee

Launching a bricks-and-mortar bookstore in the Age of Amazon requires an abiding faith in the idea that price isn't everything — that serious readers care about community, selection and ambience, too. Father-son team Kevin and Ben Gillies have crafted City Stacks around a collection of intelligent fiction and nonfiction, with an emphasis on urban living and design. They've also stocked their espresso bar with high-quality products from local suppliers, including Cake Crumbs scones, Corvus Coffee and some killer hot chocolate from Ritual Chocolate. With so much good stuff on their side, it's easy to read global, buy local.

Best Old Bookstore

West Side Books

Lois Harvey is captain of a beautifully chaotic ship at West Side Books, where piles of books and magazines stretch from floor to ceiling. Don't see what you're looking for? Harvey will look through her stacks of paper treasures for you — because chances are good she has a first or second edition somewhere in this modest literary haven. If the desired book is nowhere to be found, Harvey will happily order it for you and then kindly contact you the old-fashioned way — via telephone — once it arrives. Whether you're stopping in to pick up a specific title or just wandering in on a lazy Sunday to browse, both the inventory and the environment at West Side Books are worth a lengthy visit.

Best Workspace for Teens

ideaLAB

An impressive array of equipment and software awaits innovators of all ages on the fourth floor of the Denver Public Library's Central branch — as well as workshops to help you figure out how to use it all to make your own videos, games, music, crafts and more. You can Photoshop and sew, record and edit, even make use of a 3-D printer to turn designs into reality. The lab is open to different age groups at different times — and you don't even need a library card to participate.

Best Craftsman for Craft Beer

Steve Fast

Steve Fast is about to become a brewhouse-hold name. You can spot Fast's work not only in the Barrel Room at Denver Beer Co., but also in the tap room of the recently opened Ratio Beer Works. For both locations, Fast hand-carved most of the tables, chairs and other small wood items, such as the magnetic check-holders. His unique and original carvings are perfect for the city's burgeoning craft-brewery scene and the spirit of artistic collaboration engendered there. Also a creator of handmade clocks, children's furniture and cabinetry, Fast has talents that extend far beyond the brewhouse — but as long as people need places to sit while enjoying a lovingly crafted IPA, his skill and attention to detail will keep brewers knocking at his door.

Best Place to Learn Your Craft

The Craftsman & Apprentice

It's becoming a do-it-yourself world — and that's not a bad thing. Especially not for stonemason Jonathan Fessler and educator/artist Delanie Holton-Fessler, a couple who are banking on DIY as a livelihood. Together they opened the Craftsman & Apprentice, a 700-square-foot workshop-for-hire in City Park West, where they offer workshops and camps for all ages; they also invite people to book their own craft parties here, taking advantage of the shop's well-stocked library of tools. There's a retail component to the space, too, where the owners showcase a select array of roughhewn, handmade work by local craftspeople. Craftsman & Apprentice is open by appointment, workshop or chance, and if they happen to be around, Fessler and Holton-Fessler love chatting with the curious.

  • 1325 E. 22nd Ave., Denver, 80207 Map

Best Mini-Apprenticeships

Soulcrafting

Want to learn how to craft a quality skateboard or master every detail of preparing a gourmet meal? Soulcrafting is the brainchild of entrepreneur Bryan Muir, whose DIY switchboard aims to connect people hankering after new skills with those who can teach them. Through this one-stop marketplace, you can hook up online with bicycle builders, home-brewing geniuses, motorcycle mechanics, gardening professionals and just about any other expert you can think of; they set their own prices for specific experiences. Can't find what you're looking for on Soulcrafting's extensive web page? Muir also offers a concierge service that can help you track it down. From there, it's strictly DIY.

Best New Flea Market

Denver Flea

In one fell swoop, Blake Adams made the flea market more man-friendly — in a unisex, fun way — with the Denver Flea (denverflea.com), which pops up in different locations and collaborations to suit the season while mashing up its merchandise with free craft beers at the door (to all who RSVP in advance) and good eats to cure the mid-shopping munchies. This is no garage-sale flea market, either: Quality vintage items and handmade crafts by local artisans are what's on sale, and those snacks come from a fleet of the city's better food trucks. And the fun doesn't stop there: Along with its vendor booths, the Denver Flea has built-in activities for all ages. This is definitely a market catch.

Best New Flea Market

Denver Flea

In one fell swoop, Blake Adams made the flea market more man-friendly — in a unisex, fun way — with the Denver Flea, which pops up in different locations and collaborations to suit the season while mashing up its merchandise with free craft beers at the door (to all who RSVP in advance) and good eats to cure the mid-shopping munchies. This is no garage-sale flea market, either: Quality vintage items and handmade crafts by local artisans are what's on sale, and those snacks come from a fleet of the city's better food trucks. And the fun doesn't stop there: Along with its vendor booths, the Denver Flea has built-in activities for all ages. This is definitely a market catch.

Best Foodie Fair

TheBigWonderful

Josh Sampson had a big idea: to create a portable eating experience on the level of the Brooklyn Flea food market he'd frequented before moving to Colorado. And TheBigWonderful — an outdoor, sustainable foodie marketplace with its own craft-beer garden and fun and games to entertain the whole family — more than lives up to its name. The market, with its locally sourced vendors, food trucks, live music and more, will return for another season of weekly Saturday outings on May 2, and Sampson has launched a couple of sister events: the Denargo Farm & Truck food-truck park and the Friday Night Bazaar, both at 3530 Brighton Boulevard. Will his wonders never cease?

Best Farmers' Market

Denver Urban Homesteading

Juliet Wittman

While bigger, seasonal farmers' markets crop up from May through October to take advantage of Colorado's harvest, Denver Urban Homesteading is still the place to go for year-round local meats, dairy, baked goods and other farm-fresh products. It's open every Thursday, Friday and Saturday (unlike the weekly parking-lot markets), and since it's indoors, customers don't have to worry about sprinting for their cars with every thunderstorm that blows through. Choose from excellent cuts of beef and pork from Callicrate Beef, fresh produce from Wise Acre Farms, pasture-raised chicken and duck eggs, and honey from regional beekeepers. Visitors can also purchase cow and goat shares for raw milk and pick up their weekly allotments here. The market also offers classes on urban beekeeping, backyard chicken- and goat-raising, composting and small-plot gardening, and even brings in chicks and baby goats that are cute enough to inspire you to start your very own urban farm.

Readers' choice: Boulder County

Best Of Denver®

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