Best Handmade Paper 2008 | Kozo Fine Art Materials | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best Handmade Paper

Kozo Fine Art Materials

Patricia Branstead, the master printer, papermaker, book artist and teacher of all paper-related skills under the sun, opened Kozo Fine Art Materials just so those of you who can spend an entire day in a paper shop would have something to do. The swinging poster frames in Kozo display an amazing array of handmade papers, from delicate, translucent white-on-white patterned Japanese Hakusen papers and semi-transparent Thai mulberry sheets to bark-pulp Nepali Lokta papers that come crinkled, tie-dyed, or embedded with leaves and flowers. Branstead offers $10-a-packet scrap assortments if you're having trouble confining yourself to just one pattern; the general art-supply section of the store also offers Charbonnel inks, printing plates, papermaking kits, gifts and much more. Set aside a day — or a week — to leaf through Kozo's stock.
  • 10 E. Ellsworth Ave., Denver, 80209 Map

Best Help for Bringing Up Baby

MommyMixer

For parents with small children, there's nothing as precious as a good babysitter. A commodity rarer than diamonds, they are coveted, fought over tooth and nail and meted out as special favors; if the kids actually like them, they're locked away like a Fort Knox treasure. But if your best gal pals are hoarding theirs and the perfect au pair doesn't conveniently live next door, what's an R&R-deprived parent to do? Log on to MommyMixer and sign up for the next local event, that's what. The national phenomenon, which debuted last year in Denver, is a speed-matching mixer, usually offered at a boutique (with discounted shopping on the side), where moms and dads and potential night-out nannies can meet, greet and strike up a working relationship.

Best Hole-in-the-Wall Boutique

Jil Cappuccio, One of a Kinds, Limited Lines

San Francisco's loss is Denver's gain: When Jil Cappuccio packed up her vintage Singer Featherweight sewing machine to move here, she brought a whole new flavor to the fashion scene. We especially like Jil's easy-going menswear — untucked, swingin' Neal Cassady shirts for guys and tiki prints for little boys (Jil has two boys of her own) — but she clearly understands the needs of the common woman. Her arsenal of real-women's apparel includes loose, boxy, impeccably lined and tailored jackets in fun prints; equally well-stitched, lined market bags; trademark shifts that can be worn jumper style over jeans in the winter and by themselves in the summer; A-line skirts with patch packets; and singular coats like you wouldn't believe, sewn in fake fur, wool houndstooth and other off-the-wall fabrics. She also carries clothes by a shortlist of other local designers (Lele Knitwear's folkloric separates, modern originals by Garden Girl, and sweetly restructured sweaters and blouses by Kirsten Coplans, embellished with huge buttons and contrasting rickrack), all of which fits together in a pretty patchwork in Jil's tiny nook off Colfax.

Best Ladies' Night

Ladies Only Sample Tours
Downtown Littleton

Women flock to downtown Littleton for this recurring event, where a $10 wristband entitles participants to a bagful of free samples, snacks and drinks, coupon books and a chance to check out all that the area's lively retail merchants have to offer. An open house, neighborhood stroll and gentle evening out all rolled up into one big night, the original Sample Tours have been such a success that this May the concept will spread to Littleton's sister historic shopping districts, including Old South Pearl and Gaylord streets, Olde Town Arvada and downtown Golden, for a mass metro-area spree. Choose your poison, ladies.

Best Late-Night Taxi Service

Freedom Cab

What's a responsible, DUI-averting drunkard to do at 2 a.m., when repeat calls to Metro Taxi and Yellow Cab yield nothing but busy signals? Rather than join the drunken masses attempting to hail a cab from the sidewalk, try Freedom Cab. Freedom's understated lavender taxis aren't as fast or as flashy as those that boast the 3s and 7s. But the dispatchers usually answer on the first or second ring, and drivers tend to show up within ten minutes, even on busy Saturday nights. It's the best call at last call.

Best Makeover for a Problem Pooch

Humane Society of Boulder Valley Training and Behavior Center

Every dog trainer this side of Cesar Millan knows that most of the job is about training the owners; even so, some mutts need a lot more whispering than others. The Humane Society of Boulder Valley offers a wide range of programs for different needs, from introductory workshops on "dog learning styles" to courses on puppy socialization and how to acclimate Shep to the arrival of a new baby. Most impressive, though, are the "Grumpy Growler" classes for those struggling with aggressive canines. Run by two instructors, limited to six dogs per session and costing $150 for a six-week course, this is no walk in the park. But it's cheaper than a lawsuit, and graduates swear by the results.

Best Mammogram

Porter Breast Care CenterPorter Adventist Hospital

No one in her right mind would ever describe a routine mammogram as fun, but the folks at Porter Adventist's Breast Care Center do their very best to make it as pleasant — and easy — as possible. From the close-in free parking to the pamper-y dressing room, Porter strikes the perfect balance of workmanlike efficiency and gentle care. The procedure itself takes all of fifteen minutes, administered by skilled technicians using state-of-the-art digital equipment. Porter sends the results to both you and your doctor, and you're off the hook until next year — when you'll get a convenient reminder in the mail.

Best Mommy Grapevine

Highlands Mommies

Think of it as a gossip circle — one that's several hundred strong. Highlands Mommies is far from the only neighborhood association around, but it stands out from the pack due to its size — at last count it included at least 500 northwest Denver mothers, most with pre-kindergarten-age children — and its keen use of the Internet. On their website, members have access to pages upon pages of recommended businesses (date-night venues, schools, day camps, child care, home contractors and health-care options are just a handful of the topics), and if you don't find what you're looking for there, you can fire off an e-mail to the HM mailing list — "Quick! I need to find the best mimosa in the neighborhood, RIGHT NOW!" — and within hours you'll have a friendly suggestion or twelve. If only the gals on Wisteria Lane had such a resource.

Best Neighborhood Florist

Moss Pink

There are flowers and then there are flowers — the sort that transport you to another time and place with their alluring placement or hint of exotic scent. Jil Schlisner of Moss Pink deals in the latter, designing elegant bouquets with an eye for both the unusual and the delicate, which might mean a prickly thorn apple will be juxtaposed with a fragrant rose, or a gentle fall of jasmine peeks from between artichoke-like protea blossoms. Right now, you're as likely as not to walk into Moss Pink and find beautiful golden and pink ranunculus, waxen hyacinths and striped tulips befitting an Old Master still life — but that varies, as Schlisner hand-picks every blossom daily. Walk in and vase the consequences.

Best New Shoe Store

Sous le Lit Shoes and Accessories

Cheap and chic, that's how we like our shoes, and that's how we get them at Sous le Lit, where the latest thing in fine footwear fits every budget. Offering such young, trendy brands as Restricted, Report, Chinese Laundry and Blowfish, as well as classics like Nina, Sous le Lit (which means "under the bed" in French) proffers the style of a California girl, with lots of peep-toed, strappy pumps in bright colors, sling-backs, vegan shoes and dainty skimmers. To finish the look, there are lots of big bags and bling belts, too. Stroll on in — the shoe fits.

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