Holiday shopping can be daunting in an age where thoughtful gift-giving and shared experiences are often favored over materialism. In other words, we want to demonstrate that we care, and yet, a Ninja blender doesn’t exactly evoke warm fuzzies.
Handmade gifts can bridge the gap, says Victoria Endsley, owner of Bear & Bee Makers’ Studio & Boutique in Estes Park and Boulder.
“When you put that little extra bit of love and attention into a gift, it shows how much you care about that person,” she says.
Creating something special not only shows effort, but it also provides a creative outlet for the maker. Having a starting point, including materials and a teacher, allows you to hone your skills or develop new ones, Endsley says.
Sally Otto, one of the five owners of Makers Mercantile & Studio, teaches a student how to make a macrame kitchen towel hanger. Photo by Wild Mountains Photography.
Creative Crafts
Maker studios offer a smorgasbord of craft choices, from home decor to accessories, to suit a variety of tastes and themes. In addition to selling one-of-a-kind gifts made by member artists, Bear & Bee offers art kits for wood embroidery because, as Endsley notes, “You can only have so many throw pillows and tea towels.”
The studio also has kits for leather-making, drawing, painting, stained glass (with precut glass) and wooden charcuterie boards you can burn a design into. The shippable kits include links to follow an online tutorial.
These and other crafts can also be done in-house, either at the Estes Park location or through private workshops and classes in Boulder. The Estes Park studio hosts free monthly projects, ladies’ nights and special gift pricing for date night pottery classes. Santa cookie trays and ornament-making are favorite family-friendly events (they include a hot chocolate bar), and for adults, craft-and-sip classes pair creativity with festive alcoholic beverages. Reservations for in-person events are essential as supplies are prepared in-house. Prices range from $12-120.
Makers Mercantile & Studio opened in downtown Greeley in June 2023 to give artists space to create while its five owners handle the business details, says co-owner Jessica Marshall. More than 100 artists currently rent booth space and showcase a wide range of mediums, including photography, painting, furniture rebuilding, culinary arts, jewelry making, resin work, 3D printing, wearable fiber arts and more.
Artists also offer opportunities for the public to paint watercolor holiday cards and tags, customize wooden signs, build miniature bookshelves, make earrings and even craft a metal Christmas tree collar for desk-sized trees. On Tuesday, Nov. 26, you can drop your kids off for Santa Camp, where they will create and wrap a gift with St. Nick himself. On Saturday, Dec. 7, Santa will return for a cookie decorating class.
Because artists lead the classes, Marshall says their passion for the skills they teach creates a more intimate experience.
“The holiday season is the perfect time to attend workshops and classes to learn how to make your own handmade gifts,” she says. “Unlike buying gifts from a big-box store, when we make items by hand, thought goes into every single aspect of the item, design and extra touches, resulting in a completely personalized gift.”
Board & Brush Creative Studio, Fort Collins.
Drink and DIY
Paint-and-sip studios offer instructions, materials and inspiration in a workshop-like setting with wine or other boozy drinks to get the creative juices flowing. Many offer holiday-themed painting classes, making the final product a great gift for friends and family who love to decorate.
For years, Chelsey Phillips took classes like these at Studio Vino at The Promenade Shops at Centerra. After learning that the 13-year-old business was for sale, she and her husband, Quaid, purchased it on July 1.
Anyone can be an artist in her classes since the instructors walk participants through the process, she says. But what sets her studio apart is that the art is customizable.
“You can change the colors, switch out songbirds for an alien if you prefer it or modify the content in other ways,” she says, adding that she’s not an artist by trade but has picked up on techniques from different instructors over the years.
The studio also has drop-in craft projects to work on at your own pace, including wood burning, glass painting on wine bottles and barware, macrame, string art, vase painting and more. Date nights are popular, as are ladies’ nights and a new monthly singles event, which provides time to mingle.
Wine, beer, seltzer and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase at the studio, and they offer free drinks with some events. Adult classes range from $29-39, and registration is recommended, though walk-ins are also accepted.
At Board & Brush Creative Studio in Fort Collins, you can exercise your DIY gifting skills by painting a wooden sign with a loved one in mind. Board & Brush hosts three-hour, instructor-led, pick-your-project workshops ($73) where, in addition to wooden signs, you can choose from clocks, coat racks, trays and customizable doormats.
This month, one of the workshops will feature grapevine wreaths with fresh greenery, ribbons and a small, paintable sign, says co-owner Aimee Rump. Mini workshops ($40) allow you to create smaller pieces, like jewelry hangers, centerpiece pedestals and key/leash hooks to keep yourself or others organized. At-home kits are smaller, pre-stained and include paint, brushes and stencils for $20.
Pre-registration is required for Board & Brush workshops that have alcoholic beverages available for purchase, but they also offer monthly make-and-take walk-in events. These include family-friendly Friday nights and Saturday mornings, which feature seasonal crafts and gift projects such as DIY ornaments.
The concepts, which use paint, brushes and stencils, are very user-friendly, Rump says, so no artistic ability, creativity or prior experience is required.
“The holiday season is our busiest, and Friday nights in November and December sell out. Our Christmas pajama party, with complimentary hot cocoa and cookies, is very popular,” she says.
Bear & Bee pottery.
Gifts for the senses
If you’d rather skip the painting and focus on sipping, Blendings Winery in northwest Fort Collins offers a tasty, educational experience. Sample five wines produced from grapes grown onsite while nibbling on charcuterie and learning from Blendings’ winemaker, then create your own personalized bottle from those wine varieties. The cost on weeknights is $50, and tickets are $75 Friday through Sunday. The customized bottles make great gifts for wine lovers, as does the blending experience.
For at-home mixologists, Bear & Bee has a monthly cocktail club box with prices starting at $62. The boxes focus on one spirit a month, with recipe cards, how-to videos and guides for mixing and garnishing beautiful beverages. One box makes 12 cocktails (three recipes make four drinks each) and includes syrups, bitters and other ingredients to craft the perfect cocktail for your holiday guests. Enhanced deluxe packages add bar tools, glassware and accessories. Alcohol is not included.
If you know what scents your friends and family love, you can also put your mixing skills to use at Burn Candle Bar in Old Town Fort Collins. The DIY candle business allows you to choose from more than 40 clean-burning fragrance oils and combine them with natural soy wax and a unique vessel to create a one-of-a-kind, hand-poured candle ($25-50, depending on the vessel). Around the corner, you can blend your loved one a luxurious perfume at EsScentuals using their essential oils and specialty fragrances.
A stylish hat is another great gift idea for those who enjoy one-of-a-kind goods—and keeping up with the latest trends. Loveland resident Pam Skoglund and her daughter, Cherish Magill, started Southern Belle Hat Co. last year to bring customizable wide-brimmed hats to craft shows, private parties and other events across Northern Colorado.
For $100, Magill starts with a quality hat made from faux suede or straw and adorns it with unlimited accessories you select, like strings of beads, faux flowers, feathers and playing cards. Multiple styles and colors are available, from flat-brimmed and pencil-curl ranchers to the Yellowstone (a cowboy style with a curled brim). Their hats come in varying crown styles, including the boater, sweetheart and arrowhead.
Magill can also hand-burn designs into the faux suede hats with a soldering iron for an extra $50.
“That involves taking an idea, like a quote, your family’s birth flowers, a favorite animal or design, and I freehand it onto the hat,” says Magill, who notes that while she’s always doodled, branding hats was an undiscovered talent. “We bring our hats and accessories people can select from, and I build your hat right in front of you.”
