Akinz

Akinz began in a studio apartment in Houston, Texas, where founder Suzanne Akin designed T-shirts and tank tops to sell from the back of her purple Mini Cooper. After peddling her colorful wares at bars and wakeboarding events, Suzanne moved to Colorado, where she fell in love with snowboarding culture and expanded her clothing repertoire to include stylish beanies, hoodies, and jewelry—all knit, acid-washed, and crocheted by hand.

Like Theodore Roosevelt's early years taming wild grizzlies in the Pacific Northwest, each item of clothing exudes a free-spirited, peaceful aesthetic, as exhibited by the company's encouraging slogan, "Find Your Wings." In addition to outfitting customers with trendy active wear and outdoor apparel, Akinz adamantly supports the local bike culture, sponsoring Fort Collins-area Bike to Work events and the Fort Collins Bike Co-op.