From Us to You: The 2023 Made-in-Colorado Gift Guide

The holidays are here with Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday all happening this week. So, we’ve pulled together our made-in-Colorado gift guide, featuring local Denver companies as well as other small businesses based in Colorado — everywhere from Steamboat Springs to Alamosa. 

Most of the companies featured have already started their Black Friday sales, some as much as 30% off! So, start your holiday shopping this weekend and support local Colorado small businesses with our list below.

Gifts for the Homebody

Who doesn’t love a smell-good candle for the holidays? Bring in the scents of the season with Holiday Trio candle set from Old Pine Candle Co. Since, 2015, the women-owned business started hand-pouring soy wax candles in the comfort of their Denver home. Now made in Evergreen, their candles are 100% natural, soy candles that burn for 35+ hours and are boxed in sustainable, eco-friendly packaging.

The Holiday Trio ($55) is a beautifully curated trio of holiday favorites, inspired by snow-dusted pines, classic citrus garland and that cozy, snuggled-in feeling on cold winter nights. Each candle is 6 oz with 35+ hours of burn time. Or shop their other nature-inspired scents – including their Winter Fir candle that is exclusively offered during the holiday season. 

Keystone Inspired is another company consciously crafting elevated home goods. Handcrafted in Denver, each product is always vegan, non-toxic and eco-friendly. Owner and crafter, Britt McGaughan believes there are two things that make a home feel like home: candles and plants. And that’s exactly what you’ll find — well not plants but plant holders her partner handcrafts himself. Plus, a variety of candles and scents to liven up any home.

Need some plants to fill your plant holders? Great go-to spots are Green Lady Gardens and Birdsall & Co.

Gifts for the Fashion Icons

Find comfort in the cold with the luxurious and sustainable clothing brand Krimson Klover. Based in Boulder, Krimson Klover elevates your apres ski wear to an entirely new level from bold baselayers to soft and cozy sweaters and loungewear. Using sustainable wool blends, their low-impact fashion pieces not only look good, but you feel good wearing them. For the ultimate comfort this holiday season, shop the Chalet Cashmere Blend Jogger, made with merino wool and cashmere, and the Jolie Cropped Sweater Vest using a wool/alpaca blend for the ultimate in warmth and softness.

For the person who can make t-shirts and jeans a fashion statement, Jewelry Vagabond, a personal favorite of mine, is your go-to Colorado jewelry brand that is all style and a little bit of sass. Based out of Colorado Springs, Kit Hays is the sole designer, creator and all-around trendsetter behind Jewelry Vagabond. Find statement earrings and necklaces that will have people asking you, “Where did you get those?” You can find her jewelry at local stores in Denver, such as Fern + Skye and Three Arrows Gallery, plus a few in Colorado Springs, and her online Etsy shop.

Of course, what made in Colorado gift guide would be complete without a mention of a classic go-to, Denver’s own, Be A Good Person clothing line. And if you know someone who doesn’t go anywhere without their beanie, in winter or in summer, check out Smeeny Made Wild out of Steamboat Springs.

Gifts for the Colorado Foodie

Based in the small town of Alamosa, Wendi’s Good Things Market is cooking things up in the kitchen with their custom food crates and gift boxes. A former restaurant owner, Wendi knows a thing or two about creating gourmet foods for your kitchen. The Rocky Mountain Gourmet Salsa Gift Box ($59.99) is the perfect sampler of some of her best-selling items. The set includes three salsas and a queso inspired by Colorado and its flavors. 

Or turn up the heat with locally-made hot sauces from Merfs Condiments. Their small-batch, high-quality hot sauces are made with organic ingredients and add just the right amount of flavor to any dish. Choose from 11 different flavors to create your “Make Your Own” 4-pack for the holidays. 

For those who love to bake, new this year from Colorado Crafted, are the Colorado Flour Bouquet kits. Collaborating with Dry Storage of Boulder, Colorado Crafted created three different gift boxes that contain a sampler of freshly milled local grains. The Colorado Biscuit Breakfast ($56) consists of freshly milled White Sonora Flour, a jar of Colorado peach jam, and locally roasted coffee by Dark Heart – plus a recipe card with instructions.

And for those who don’t enjoy cooking but love eating good-for-you food, give the gift of locally sourced meal kits from Spade & Spoon. Denver-based Spade & Spoon is the Colorado equivalent of Hello Fresh using locally sourced ingredients. Spade & Spoon’s mission is to make it easy for people to shop, cook, eat and gift locally. Shop rotating seasonal meal kits featuring favorite local farmers markets vendors like Sfoglina, Altius Farms, Not Bad Cooks, Hearth Bakery and Five Freedoms Dairy. 

If you’re looking for a local gift with a giving component, consider Purple Door Coffee in Englewood, which provides job skills training to young people exiting homelessness. Pick up the curated holiday gift box that showcases three bags of coffee, each offering a unique profile that will have any coffee connoisseur wake up and smell the coffee.

Gifts for Those Who Enjoy a Night Cap

Whether you’re giving it as a gift or using it for a holiday party, the Craft Bottled Cocktails from Uncle Tim’s Cocktails are the way to go. Enjoy in single bottles or as a tasting flight, these spirit-forward cocktails are meant to be enjoyed wherever life takes you (just not in the car). Choose from the the Manhattan, Old Fashioned and Negroni series gift sets. Be sure to check them out online or shop them at the Cherry Creek Holiday Market from November 16 to December 24.

Based in Longmont, Dry Land Distillers has partnered with Colorado artisans to curate holiday gift boxes for anyone on your list. The boxes include spirits from Dry Land Distillers (Longmont), artisanal flours from Dry Storage (Boulder), and award-winning chocolate from Bibamba Chocolate (Denver). Choose from four holiday booze kits: Hot Buttered Rum, Old Fashioned, Whiskey & Rye Chocolate Cookies Kit and the Colorado Flour & Whiskey Bouquet.

Gifts for the Beauty Queen or King

Protect and renew that Colorado dry skin with Colorado Aromatics — a farm-to-skin beauty company based in Longmont that focuses on creating natural, highly effective skincare products for your skin. For the ultimate in anti-aging, their best-selling Springtide Gold anti-aging face cream is designed to soften, repair and protect your skin using peptides to promote collagen production in the skin. Formulated by Dr. Cindy Jones who took her knowledge as a biochemist and herbalist, Colorado Aromatics products are created with the same natural herbs grown at their family farm in Longmont.

Take a moment of pause for yourself or gift someone quiet moments for themselves with Merigold — a Denver-based skincare brand focused on self-care, clean beauty and taking a moment of pause. Pick up their ritual kit which includes a handmade, locally crafted ceramic bowl (made by Denver local ceramics artist Andi from Good Hearted Woman), a goat-gair mask application brush and a wooden spoon for mixing your mask. The kit pairs nicely with the Powerded Facial Mask and the Revive and Restore Cleansing Oil. 

Make skincare fun again with Butter & Me — a plant-based beauty company based in Longmont. The AAPI woman-owned business wants to spice up your bath routine with fun bath products that are not only natural and good for you but are fun to use as well. Pick up a chocolate bar-shaped Choco Body Scrub ($18) or a cloud-like Butter Melt Lotion Bar ($20) for yourself and shop the many stocking stuffers for anyone on your list. You can shop online or at the Cherry Creek Holiday Market from November 16 to December 24.

Gifts for the Fitness Fanatic

For those who work hard and play hard, give the gift of recovery with Roll Recovery. With the intention of creating an effective massage tool similar to that of a massage therapist, the Boulder-based company was created by inventor and mechanical engineer Jeremy Nelson and professional athlete Adriana Nelson. 

Think Theragun, but much less expensive, the ROLL Recovery R1 Percussion Massager is only $129. The tool uses the force of percussive therapy to improve blood circulation, increase flexibility and accelerate recovery. Plus, its compact size and quiet motor make it easy to travel with and I personally love the champagne gold color so it doesn’t feel so utilitarian.

Give the gift of good vibes with DNA Vibe red light therapy. Founded and manufactured in Centennial, DNA Vibe is the only wearable light therapy made in the USA. The Jazz Band combines proprietary red, near-infrared and magnetic signals, plus their technology adds micro-vibration for exceptional relief compared to other forms of red light therapy. The flexible band works wherever you feel pain: ankles, knees, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck and back. 

Gifts That Inspire

Watercolors never looked so cool with artwork by Lexis Krieg at Lexisworks. Based out of Englewood, Krieg creates watercolors and colorful expressions unlike anything you’ve ever seen using bright colors to create cheerful prints. She sells her art prints as well as DIY watercolor kits for those who aspire to be an artist or just want a fun activity while drinking their wine. 

Drawing upon the organic and synthetic pieces of our world, Noelle Phares — a Lakewood-based artist, showcases her talents in dream-like landscape paintings. Combining her background in environmental science, her work combines landscape elements with geometric features to create a colorful world that highlights the presence of humanity in mother nature.

Colorado is a beautiful state to photograph, which is probably why you’ll find a handful of gifted landscape photographers. We all knew and loved John Fielder, you can now get his 2024 calendars. Lars Leber out of Salida, is another Colorado photographer who captures Colorado’s beautiful scenery, along with Darren White Photography out of Littleton who sells many beautiful prints of starry landscapes of eastern Colorado. Jae Jarratt from Colorado Springs is another photographer who captures stunning images of Colorado’s mountain landscapes. 

To leave you feeling truly inspired, pick up a copy of “Lungs Like Elephants,” a collection of poems about the journey of growth in life’s truest sense by one of 303’s very own: April Dawn. The music desk writer doubles as a talented poet who shares her own life experiences through the gift of poetry. Or for a dose of daily inspiration to start your day off right, gift yourself or someone you love with the Soulful Mentions journal. This is not your typical journal, filled with 300 pages, each with a carefully crafted journal prompt to help inspire intentional thinking and self-reflection in all areas of your life. A new company in Colorado, Soulful Mentions aims to create a soulful community that guides you through life with a focus on the soulful art of being YOU.

Unique Gifts 

For all the puzzle lovers out there (we know you exist), shop the artfully designed puzzles from Goodfit  Based in Denver, Goodfit was inspired by the wish to find “cool looking” puzzles — ones that you can hang on your wall as a piece of art. The premium puzzles are artfully designed by hand-selected emerging artists (some Denver-based) using recycled cardboard and finished with linen textures. They look and feel so amazing and trust us, you’ll want to hang your puzzled artwork for all to see! You can shop their latest designs online or at the Cherry Creek Holiday Market from November 16 to December 24.

We all know and love her for her hilarious ways to say I love you and reminding us not to be a dick, and if you don’t you should, Your Gal Kiwi (formerly Craft Boner) captures what everyone is really thinking with fun and sassy greeting cards, plus stickers and almost anything you can print on. Hurry and shop now, as her online shop will be closed from December 1, 2023, to January 1, 2024. You can also find her humor at several retail locations in Denver and her online shop. If anything follow her on Instagram for a few giggles and shit-talking greeting cards. 

For the outdoorsy type, Adventurist Backpack Co. is one of the latest outdoor brands to hit Colorado. The simple, yet rugged design makes it easy to carry from your city commute to weekend walks in the mountains. But what makes them truly unique is their philanthropic mission of every backpack sold, they provide 25 meals to families in need across the U.S. (through their partnership with the non-profit Feeding America). Plus, with a lifetime guarantee, buying one of their packs is something you can feel good about. 

*all images by Mountain Light Photography unless otherwise specified.