Products made locally help stuff the stockings

Lucky for us, Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley host a healthy crowd of artisans, entrepreneurs and businesses that provide a wide range of Colorado-grown products suitable for holiday gift giving. The following list of unique gifts — certainly not an all-inclusive list but a sampling of what’s available — may prime your imagination and kick off the season of giving — Colorado style.

Images courtesy of respective companies.

Genuine Woodworking, Fort Collins

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GenuineWoodworking

Aside from the sheer beauty of Genuine Woodworking products is the fact each one is handcrafted from a repurposed skateboard.  This smartphone speaker/amplifier, which lists for $90, is made to order to fit a variety of phones, using skateboards as the foundation wood.  By setting a cell phone into the top of the speaker and playing music through it, the amplified sound can fill a room.  And since it comes with no wires and requires no batteries, it can make a great addition to inside-the-house as well as barbecues and camping trips.

Additional woodworked art includes a camping axe with handle and a folding pocket knife with a locking blade and pocket clip.  Order products at https://www.etsy.com/listing/154639535/smartphone-speakeramplifier-made-from?ref=shop_home_active_2.

The Red Pistachio, Fort Collins

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRedPistachio

The Red Pistachio hand sews baby blankets and pillow covers  in a variety of sizes, colors and designs.  All are machine washable and dryable. Patchwork baby blankets like the one pictured come in three sizes: 30” by 36” ($64.50 plus shipping), 36” by 42” ($86.50 plus shipping) and 36” by 50” ($98.50 plus shipping). 

All of the blankets, made by Cherie Godbey, are backed with a minky dimple dot.  The patchwork blanket pictured here is light-weight with two-layers and no batting.  Godbey makes all products in her smoke-free, pet-free home.  Orders generally ship in seven to 10 business days.  Buy products online at https://www.etsy.com/

Wild Zora, Fort Collins

Shop: https://wildzora.com

Wild Zora treats make excellent stocking stuffers and easy to mail gifts for anyone who values snacks that blend flavor with Paleo-friendly recipes.  This package of all seven flavors is free of gluten, grain, nuts, MSG and chemical additives.  From BBQ with Kale, Tomato, Red Pepper to Mediterranean Lamb with Spinach and Turmeric, the pack sells for $19.95.

In 2013, Wild Zora founders Josh and Zora Tabin started creating their snacks as a way to prevent sugar crashes their kids felt from typical snacks. Having taken the plunge with gluten free and Paleo food, they considered meat and potatoes the best kind of meal.  Dehydrating local grass-fed beef with vegetables from their garden got them hooked.

Wild Zora is now available in 500 stores in the U.S.  You can also purchase products at https://wildzora.com.

Soda Creek Woodworks, Fort Collins

Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SodaCreek

For friends who love to twirl pizza dough into the air, this 15” by 15” walnut pizza peel will get you invited over for at least a few meals.  With a tapered front edge, the peel allows pizzas to easily slide on and off, and the 16-inch long handle adds a touch of getting-down-to-business in the kitchen.

Woodworker Jordan House uses a five-step sanding process to round the edges and smooth out the surface, making sure the only marks that are visible on the wood are the sauce that drips from the pizza it holds.  The peel sells for $89.95.

Additional handcrafted gifts from Soda Creek Woodworks include coasters, engraved and wood burned ping pong paddles, board games and bowls.  Order online at https://www.etsy.com/shop/SodaCreek.

Celestial Seasonings Tea, Boulder

Shop: http://shop.celestialseasonings.com/Holiday-Tea-Variety-12Pack/p/CEL-VPHOL&c=CelestialSeasonings@Holiday

It’s impossible to think of herbal tea without Celestial Seasonings coming to mind.  The Boulder company is, in fact, the original herbal tea company.  Starting in 1969 with Mo Siegel picking herbs in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Celestial Seasonings today serves more than 1.6 billion cups of tea a year.  The number of flavors varies in the hundreds with seasonal specials and includes both caffeinated and non-caffeinated.

For an added punch to a sampler-of-teas gift, treat your friends to a visit to the Celestial Seasonings headquarters in Boulder to indulge in a guided tea tour. During the 45-minute tour, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at how tea is made — from raw ingredients to finished product.  Wrap the visit up with a stop in the Tea Shop and a bite to eat in the Celestial Café. 

To find a store that sells Celestial Seasonings teas, check out http://shop.celestialseasonings.com/.  Online purchases are also available on the site.  Boxes range from $3.39 for one to $35.88 for a 12-pack

Icebox Knitting Mill, Longmont

Shop: https://dohmusa.com/product/mo-zag/

Icebox Knitting started out in 1993 in Boulder and is now headquartered in Longmont where its team creates a variety of handcrafted products.  In addition to a wide variety of hats, Icebox Knitting Mill also makes neckware, gloves and scarves.

The pictured hat, Mo-Zag, is crafted from fine Italian Merino wool, with a PolarTec headband fleece liner and mohair accent.  It sells for $32 and comes in charcoal with green and brown with tan color. 

To shop and purchase products, take a look at https://dohmusa.com/shop/ to see the collection of hats and accessories. 

Chocolove, Boulder

Shop: https://www.chocolove.com/gift-box/chocolove-6-bar-solid-taster-gift-box.html

and, https://www.chocolove.com/holiday.html

Who doesn’t love chocolate? This chocolate factory is nestled in Boulder and starts with premium Belgian chocolate.   Each bar contains all-natural ingredients and is packaged to look like a love letter with a romantic poem inside.  Each wrapper also contains information on the cocoa content for those serious chocoholics who look for the health benefits of antioxidants in dark chocolate.

Chocolove bars come in more than 30 distinct flavors that range from a sweet and creamy milk chocolate with 33 percent cocoa content up to an extreme dark with 88 percent cocoa content.

Timothy Moley, founder, owner and chocolatier at Chocolove, reportedly has been consuming two chocolate bars a day for more than 20 years, about the same amount of time he has run his business.

To find a store, check out https://www.chocolove.com/stores/ or buy online.  The solid taster gift box six pack featured here sells for $17, and the holiday gift box sells for $20.

Greeley Hat Works, Greeley

Shop: http://greeleyhatworks.com/about.cfm

Greeley Hat Works started out as The Shining Parlor in 1909.  The current owner, Trent Johnson, continues to uphold the company’s legacy that was built by his predecessors.  He has made hats for celebrities, including President George W. Bush in 2002.  Additional customers who received custom-made hats include then mayor of New York, Rudy Giuliani, and country singer Red Steagall. 

The Outback hat shown here is crushable, water repellent wool felt with a three inch brim and a leather hat band with a feather.  It sells for $21.99.  Additional products include clothing and accessories.  For a list of retailers, see http://greeleyhatworks.com/retailers.cfm.

Colorado Aromatics Cultivated Skin Care, Longmont

Shop: http://coloradoaromatics.com/product/face-care/colorado-facial/

Colorado Aromatics Cultivated Skin Care is a scientifically crafted skin care line formulated

with herbs grown on the company’s Longmont farm. The natural ingredients are biodegradable

and rich in nutrients and antioxidants.  Products include face care, body care, bath and shower products and soaps and all are produced and sold in the company’s Longmont location.

The pictured Colorado Facial package here contains Meadow Mist Oat Cleanser with jojoba beads for mild exfoliation, Starbright Mask for hydration, exfoliation and to reduce hyperpigmentation, Lavender Hydrating Mist for toning and Springtide Gold AntiAging Face Cream (with peptides).  It sells for $63.95.

Founder and CEO Cindy Jones, is a biochemist and an herb farmer with extensive experience in physiology, toxicology, microbiology, cancer research and cosmetic science.  Order products online at http://coloradoaromatics.com/shop/.

Bee Squared Apiaries, Berthoud

Shop: https://bethsbees.com/specialty-honey/whiskey-barrel-aged-honey-12-oz-squeeze

Chemical-free, raw, unfiltered honey from Bee Squared Apiaries comes from three Northern Colorado counties and includes Colorado Alfalfa/Wildflower, Clover, California Orange Blossom and Wisconsin Cranberry. The honey pictured here sells for $15.

The company also makes hand-rolled beeswax candles that burn with a clean white flame.  The smokeless, dripless candles are made from unscented beeswax.

Bee Squared soaps combine moisturizing and lathering with herbs and essential oils.  Their generous size makes them last longer than most other soap bars.

Bee Squared’s Beth Conrey explains in her TED Talk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06qhKdX0nKo) how ecosystem biodiversity and worldwide food production are connected, which are both anchored by a healthy bee population.

Buy products online at https://bethsbees.com/.

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