Meet Your Makers!
By: Waggle Family Magazine
Tags: Holiday Shopping, Artisan, Local Artists, Foodies, Shopping

Local artisans, creators, and passionate entrepreneurs

Written by Jennifer Bridge and Nikki Knez

Featuring: First Bite, Éclipse Apparel, and Bricks Retail

Shopping locally is a huge passion of ours, so that’s why we are so excited to share this special edition of ‘Meet Your Makers’ 2020 gift guide! We love to tell everyone we know about Longmont’s incredible creative community because we genuinely believe that shopping locally makes a real and lasting impact on our economy. We’ve put together a shortlist of hometown heroes producing unique products that make wonderful gifts for everyone on your shopping list — while also making a big difference in our community.

Please join us in keeping our dollars close to home this holiday season and consider purchasing from one of these small businesses…

First Bite, A Bite of Boulder Cookbook $30

For 15 years, First Bite has been shining a spotlight on the Boulder County restaurant scene through its annual restaurant week. Still, when the pandemic struck the core of this industry, producer Jessica Benjamin decided this year’s event needed to look a little different. Cue First Bite’s inaugural cookbook, A Bite of Boulder. This collection of 40+ recipes from Boulder’s favorite restaurants will be the gift that keeps on giving by connecting us to our beloved eateries throughout the year while bringing the comfort of home-cooked meals to our dining tables.

Why should you buy it?

This cookbook is loaded with unique features and chef insights, but the real highlight is in First Bite’s pledge to provide at least 50% of proceeds from the book’s sale to the restaurants featured in it. Incredible recipes + a good cause = a total win-win for the foodie in your life!

Order your copy (or ten!) now at firstbiteboulder.com/cookbook

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Éclipse Apparel, 37.5® Hoodie $70

Éclipse founder Elise Champe is the leader in slow fashion right here in the heart of Longmont. Their clothing line provides foundational wardrobe pieces that are the perfect marriage of style and comfort. We’re big fans of their 37.5® Hoodie, available in men’s and women’s sizes. This versatile piece keeps you cool in warm weather and warm in cool weather — the ultimate year-round clothing item for us Coloradoans!

Why should you buy it?

The quality is worth the price tag. Éclipse is an eco-conscious apparel company that uses only the highest quality materials, provides jobs in our local economy, and manufactures right here in the USA. They also plant a tree with every purchase, so your dollars make an environmental impact in a very positive way.

Order online at eclipseglove.com

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Bricks Flexible Retail, price and product varies

While not a maker herself, Jennifer Ferguson (of Innovate Longmont) is dedicated to bringing Longmont’s creative entrepreneurs together — and it couldn’t have come at a better time. To the consumer, this innovative shopping space functions as a carefully curated marketplace for locally made products — but look a little closer, and you’ll see that the mission is to invest in the economic vitality of Longmont’s business community. This forward-thinking model allows a spectrum of small business owners a spot on Main Street; whether in need of a full wall display or a single shelf, Bricks creates a cost-effective, shared venue for makers, entrepreneurs, and startups alike.

Why should you buy it?

Window shoppers rejoice! Peruse the shelves and lay your eyes — and hands! — on various products from small, locally-owned businesses that you may not have heard of yet — the perfect place to find unique, one-of-a-kind gifts if you love the in-person shopping experience.

Find Bricks at 320 Main Street, Longmont, CO