Colorado coolstuff

TIM’S CUSTOM POKER TABLES
Aircraft mechanic and pilot Tim Hebert found himself behind a desk too often, but still “liked using his hands,“ so he made a poker table a couple of years ago and sold it right away. He’s since made 20 more custom tables, offering a selection of cloth, wood, base and other features.
He also likes to offer advice to people building their own tables and even gives away free plans on his website. “I just enjoy the heck out of it,“ says Hebert, who plays poker with the same group of friends every Saturday night. “Seven-card draw is my favorite game.“ $449 and up.
Made by Tim Hebert, Tim’s Custom Poker Tables, Longmont, www.timscustompokertables.com.

‘DENVER’S BEST DIVE BARS’ BOOK
When he’s not teaching writing at the University of Colorado-Denver, Drew Bixby spends a fair amount of his time on a barstool. Bixby can chalk at least some of his tippling time up to research: He writes a drinking column for Denver’s alt-weekly Westword and recently published a book detailing the city’s best dive bars.
Included bars are rated one to five beer bottles for their dive-iness and range from such renowned dives as El Chapultepec and the Rocky Flats Lounge to lesser-known holes like Len and Bill’s Lounge and Old Curtis Street Bar. Bixby says his personal favorite is the Squire Lounge on East Colfax “for its free shuffleboard, the Bionic Beaver, fierce-yet-fun bartenders and cheap-as-hell drinks.“ $12.95 retail.
Written by Drew Bixby, Denver, published by Gamble Guides (IG Publishing), Brooklyn, N.Y., www.igpub.com. Available at numerous bookstores in Colorado, including The Tattered Cover.

BETINAWORKS JEWELRY
Beth Wood started making jewelry for “me, my mom and my friends” as a teenager, but it took her almost 20 years to start selling it. She did a show at a friend’s house in 2007, and it was a big success: 100 people turned out to buy her earrings, bracelets and other accessories made largely from wine corks and old buttons.
She’s since staged a second show and sold through a few Denver boutiques and an online storefront. Wood also makes “glove bunny” stuffed animals and jewelry from other “re-purposed” objects. “I do a lot of things of nuts and bolts, and occasionally a regular bead here or there, too.“ $5 to $25 retail.
Made by Betinaworks, Denver, betinaworks.etsy.com. Available at the Fancy Tiger Boutique (1 S. Broadway in Denver).

AVALANCHE CHEESE
As her husband worked on a master’s degree in Edinburgh, Houston restaurateur Wendy Mitchell learned the art of cheese-making on weeklong trips to Scottish farms and creameries. In 2007, Mitchell settled with her family in Aspen and decided to go into the cheese business.
“I thought I would just buy my milk,“ Mitchell says. However, it simply wasn’t available, so she invested in a goat farm and dairy near Paonia. (“Goats are much smaller than cows,“ she says of the decision.) Now she makes a chevre, an aged blue cheese, and a hand-bandaged cheddar, among other varieties.
“It’s like making wine,“ Mitchell says. “It’s faster, but you have to be patient.“ About $15 to $20 per pound retail.
Made by Avalanche Cheese Co., Basalt/Paonia, (970) 927-6850, www.avalanchecheese.com. A list of shops and restaurants is on the website.

Denver-based writer Eric Peterson is the author of Frommer's Colorado, Frommer's Montana & Wyoming, Frommer's Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks and the Ramble series of guidebooks, featuring first-person travelogues covering everything from atomic landmarks in New Mexico to celebrity gone wrong in Hollywood. Peterson has also recently written about backpacking in Yosemite, cross-country skiing in Yellowstone and downhill skiing in Colorado for such publications as Denver's Westword and The New York Daily News.

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