Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Shopping in Colorado Springs

I found these "notes" I'd written two years ago, in April, 2011, which I want to remember.  So I know this is waaaaaaay out of order, but I want to be able to access it (now that I've reread it I'm ready to head back to Colorado)!  I'll look for photos later.  This is solely for my own memory and no one reads this blog but me, so I guess it doesn't really matter....

Boy, we’ve been to some really cool places in Colorado…both in Pueblo and in Colorado Springs.  I don’t want to forget the people or the places, so I’m going to make a few quick notes.

                Pueblo, CO, first thing Wed. morning (April. 20th) we went to Colorado Fiber Arts.  This was a #5 shop.  The owner was in Mexico, vacationing for the week, but Wynne (Winnie), who works and teaches there, was superb AND superbly helpful.  First she showed me the short, short Addi’s that people who don’t like to knit on four needles are using to knit socks. (People like me).  She has recreated a pattern and gave it to me.  She also gave me a copy of the scarf/shawl pattern that they had a gorgeous grey shawl made as a sample.  Wynne lives in Canon City but stays with her 91-year-old mother three times a week and works at the shop.
                Wynne also told us about a great bakery downtown (I had a yummy “sticky orange roll”), a stamp store in Pueblo that would be fun, and a couple of fiber arts stores in Colorado Springs that were too good to miss.  She was just lovely, and so was the shop.  I could have spent a lot more time looking around, and will hopefully be back another time to do so.
                Next stop was Colorado Stampin’ & Scrappin’ where I was greeted by Margaret, the store’s owner.  She is an incredibly knowledgeable stamper who showed me all sorts of tricks to get me restarted with stamping and embossing.  She was wonderful…and funny.  She had a difficult time walking and used a small shopping cart (which contained her purse and portable store telephone) to aid her.
I purchased a new VersaMark stamp pad, 6 stamping powders (metallic gold, metallic “super russet”; three DUO colors:  blue-green, green-yellow, and red-blue; and one called “interference violet”, which can be used on its own or added atop another to change its tone a bit), Stamp N Bond adhesive powder, a rubber stamp that was a lady’s face, a cylinder of three foils, and a heavy formica table pad on which to stamp.  I came away with some instructions and a lot of ideas.

                We then hit 25N for a quick ride to Colorado Springs.  We went to Van Briggle Pottery, where they have been making fine pottery since the end of the 19th century.  I bought a beautiful vase with a lovely gold-brown glaze that includes a greenish and a mauve hue.  Really lovely.  It’ll look great with my Mata Ortiz, Navajo, and Hawaiin pots on my sideboard. 
                After checking into the LaQuinta, we drove over to a lovely area on Colorado Avenue which was blossoming with all sorts of lovely flowering trees.  Although it was overcast, the sun tried to peep through the clouds throughout the afternoon.  We did finish our time here with sprinkles falling, but it was not a problem at all (except that Fran got cold). 
                Bon Ton Café:  homemade vegetable soup and salad for Fran, hash browns and club sandwich for me.  Quite satisfying.
                The first gallery we went into, right across the street, was very cool, and the gal working there knew her artists quite well.  Funky birdhouses by a Scottsdale artist were there, I’d seen them in Bohemia in Tucson.  There were also gorgeously painted and reasonably priced pine furniture from Texas….I would love a piece for my house.  $300 would purchase a gorgeous end table with door.  All the people that work on each piece sign the back of it.  This collection also included tables and chests.
                Just down the street was Arati Artists Gallery, Inc.  This was a coop of local artists, and the woman “on duty,” was a wire worker and beader.  Darn but we didn’t get her name.  (Arati is east Indian meaning “send a little light (or beauty) into the world.)  Incredibly reasonable prices – I got a horsehair vase by Dan Masimer for $6 and two cool little pots by Darlene Wells for $3 and $4!  What deals…and they’re beautiful.  There were also silk paintings by a woman who has macular degeneration.  She actually forms the pieces of silk into a sculpture like a flower or sunburst, adds dyes, and frames them.  A couple had the leftover piece of silk draped from the corner of the canvas.
                Needleworks by Holly Berry and Holly Berry House Originals was our next stop, at 2409 West Colorado.  OOOOOEEEEEE.  The left half of the store was yarns and patterns and samples and needles….the right half was baby and boutique-y gifts, and out back….well, here were Kathryn Read’s rubber stamp designs. Englas, one of the rubber stamp artists who work here, gave us a demonstration and really got our creative juices going.  I ended up buying two large rubber stamps and some transparent art glitter that can go on any color and keep that color.  She showed us how to emboss with gold, paint inside the lines with Twinkling H2O’s by Luminarte (which they were sold out of!), and create beautiful works of art.  Fran really loved it, and it looks like she might be enticed into trying it out!  So cool! 
                As I was leaving the yarn part of the store, I noticed a big container of Tamari Balls.  There is an instructor that gives classes on the first Friday or Saturday of the month.  I’d love to come on up during the summer for a class, and gave them my email address so I can keep informed about both the stamping and yarn classes.
                Across the street was Kathleen McFadden’s Range Gallery.  What a cool lady!  She’s a photographer (who gives lessons) and her studio shows her wonderful, natural photos….weathered trees, ancient school bus, donkey’s full-face….images from the central coast of California(where she used to live) and in black and white.  She has a series of oak trees mounted on cotton rag paper with UV protection for $325.  They’re long and would look great over my couch – and she can ship anywhere.  She was the one who told us that living in Colorado Springs is great, reasonably priced, and extremely dog-friendly.  There’s even a sticker that businesses put on their doors so that people know they can bring their own dogs in without a problem.
                Fran’s niece, Terri, joined us then, and we continued wandering down Colorado Avenue to Pyramide Boutique.  Batik fashions and jewelry, made by cottage industry companies, were featured.  Fran found a dress for a family wedding this summer.  Terri found a Bright green cotton shirt.  And I found a black scarf with white swirls and a necklace that almost matches my favorite silver bracelet.  We spend about an hour trying on clothes and yakking with the owner.  Such fun!

                By the time we left the boutique it was drizzling and it was also time to eat.  We walked over to Pizzeria Rustica, where we ate Neapolitan pizza with homemade goat cheese, grilled mushrooms, zucchini, and sundried tomatoes.  What an excellent afternoon!

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