Made in Colorado.

• Author: Peterson, Eric

1

SQUEAL RUM

J.R and Monika Krause met as co-workers at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, got married, and launched a rum spiced brand in 2013. The recipe eschews sugar and sweeteners in favor of cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom and other spices. "The cinnamon has a little spice, the vanilla adds some creaminess, and the other spices add some peppery notes," J.R says.Then there's the winged pig on the label. The explanation?"We had flying pig tattoos a long time before this company happened,"he says. "It's about making the impossible possible."

$29 for a 750-miltiliter bottle retail. Made by Squeal Rum, Denver/Aurora,

www.squealrum.com.

2

DOHERTY ART UPCYCLED FLOWERS

Sean Doherty started making upcycled flowers from an unusual source in 2012. "I lived in central Denver and people kept throwing trash on my lawn," he says. So Doherty, an art teacher by trade, took the trash and crafted a bouquet of colorful flowers inspired by "the curiosity of children." He's since developed 70 different designs for flowers made from aluminum cans, plastic bottles, and "basically anything and everything under the sun," he says. "I use them as building blocks, like Legos." Doherty has created more than 100 upcycled sculptures around metro Denver, everything from 8-foot dragonflies to robotic cowboys, and calls his flowers "the gateway to everything I do."

Three flowers for $20 to large-scale sculptures for $4,500 or more.

Made by Sean Doherty, Larkspur, www.dohertyart.com.

3

DARR FURNITURE

After studying interior design at the Art Institute of Colorado in 2014, Andrew Darr discovered it "wasn't my calling." He sought a happy medium between interior design and his construction background, and found one. "That turned me on to furniture, because I could incorporate both," he says. In the year and a half since, he's made tables from old pallets, rockers, and custom...