Colorado Made Gifts, Handmade in Manitou Springs

Colorado made gifts

Made in Colorado is a phrase that gets printed on a lot of things that were made somewhere else. Everything on this page was built by hand in a shop in Manitou Springs, from skis and snowboards that were retired on Colorado mountains, by people who live here.

There are two kinds of buyer on this page and they want slightly different things. One is shopping for somebody who moved away and misses it. The other is shopping for somebody who has never left and would like the wall to say so. Both are looking for provenance rather than a theme, and provenance is the one thing that cannot be copied by a print shop.

So the pieces here are the ones that name a specific place: the Colorado flag, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, the Manitou Incline and its 2,768 steps, and the mountain and moose murals that read as Colorado without spelling it out.

Shop Colorado made gifts

Where it is actually made

Manitou Springs, at the foot of Pikes Peak, which is about as literal as a Colorado provenance gets. The skis and snowboards come in retired from Colorado resorts and from people cleaning out garages across the Front Range. The frames are solid wood, the murals are painted by hand in exterior oils, and the whole thing happens in one building rather than being assembled from parts made elsewhere.

That matters more than it sounds like it should. A gift that is genuinely from a place carries the place with it, and a gift that merely mentions a place does not.

The Colorado pieces people ask for by name

The Colorado flag is the most requested single design, and it works on almost everything: a party ski, a snowboard coffee table, a bench, wall art. Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak sell to Colorado Springs and to everyone who has visited it. The Manitou Incline pieces are for a particular kind of person, and that person knows exactly how many steps it is.

If the mountain that matters is not on this page, that is fine. Say which one and we will paint it. Custom mountain ranges, resort profiles and specific runs are routine work here rather than a special request.

Shipping a Colorado gift out of Colorado

Most of these go somewhere else, which is rather the point. Small wall art and gifts ship parcel nationwide to the lower 48. Benches and chairs ship freight. Local delivery covers Colorado Springs, Denver, Breckenridge, Vail, Aspen and most of the state, and local pickup in Manitou Springs is always an option if you want to see it before it goes.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Colorado made gift?

Something that could only have been made here. A piece of wall art built from a ski that was retired on a Colorado mountain, painted with the Colorado flag or a range somebody can name from the shape of it. The test is whether a print shop in another state could have produced the same object. If it could, it is a souvenir. If it could not, it is a gift.

Is this really made in Colorado?

Yes. Every piece is built and painted in Manitou Springs, at the foot of Pikes Peak, by our own people. Nothing is imported and finished here, and nothing is drop shipped. If you are local you are welcome to pick it up and see the shop.

What are unique Colorado gifts for someone who moved away?

The specific ones. A general mountain scene is nice. The actual range they looked at every morning, or the resort where they learned, is the one that gets a phone call. Tell us the place and we will paint it, and if the piece is going to a small apartment rather than a cabin, the wall art and coat hooks travel better than the furniture does.

Can you paint a specific Colorado mountain or resort?

Yes. Custom ranges, resort profiles, individual runs, town names and dates are normal work rather than a special order. Send a photograph if you have one and we will tell you honestly how close we can get before you commit.

Do you ship outside Colorado?

Yes, nationwide to the lower 48. Wall art and smaller gifts go parcel, chairs and benches go freight. Most of what leaves this shop leaves the state, which is what you would expect from a gift about a place.

How long does it take?

Two to four weeks for made to order pieces and a few business days for anything marked ready to ship. If it is for a specific date, call 303.775.7273 and we will confirm before you buy rather than after.

Looking for the wider gift list? See Gift Items and Ski Gifts for Him and Her. For wall pieces specifically see Wall Art. Or call 303.775.7273 and tell us the place that matters.