Made in Colorado 2017: Top designed goods

These local manufacturers are concocting beautiful, resourceful, intricately built products.

Gigi Sukin //March 6, 2017//

Made in Colorado 2017: Top designed goods

These local manufacturers are concocting beautiful, resourceful, intricately built products.

Gigi Sukin //March 6, 2017//

Design is dramatically shifting the way we live, work, dress, eat and experience the world around us. These Colorado companies exemplify the progressive mindset in product design across a multitude of sectors.

PHUNKSHUN WEAR

Born in the heart of the Rocky Mountains in 2011, Phunkshun Wear products are hand-sewn in Denver using materials manufactured in the U.S. The signature facemask protects against the harshness of winter, but the brand has since expanded to neck tubes, scarves, bandanas, base layers and even fish masks to keep bugs and sun off anglers’ faces with moisture-wicking material. The accessories are all designed with recycled fiber content, certifiably green and produce zero waste, earning the company a bronze level fellowship from Colorado's Environmental Leadership Program.

FINALISTS

RAW URTH
One of the fastest-growing businesses in Northern Colorado, Raw Urth was started in a garage, striving to bring the latest and greatest designs to the interior design world with cutting edge, handcrafted steel, pewter, zinc, stainless steel and polished nickel. The company has homed in on a product line of range hoods and outdoor fire features and hopes to create a non-custom line that can be sold more broadly at a lower price point.

HOUSEFISH

Designing and manufacturing a line of environmentally friendly, modern furniture in Denver since 2008, Housefish specializes in modular storage using a combination of traditional craft methods and digital manufacturing, including CNC machining and 3D printing. Everything is designed to ship and assemble easily. Structurally strong, the company added chairs, stools, tables, custom one-offs and lighting to its core storage line. Local businesses that tout Housefish wares include Avanti, Novo Coffee and Sushi-Rama, among others, and the products are sold in dozens of local retail shops.