Shopping in Lone Tree

When he was in college, Brian Hart didn't own any furniture, but he lined his walls with framed art. He'd always loved art, so moving into the framing industry—a service geared toward showcasing everything from great masterpieces to sentimental items—was a natural step. After graduation, he spent six months working at local framing stores for free, studying the business and framing Vermeer's The Concert on the sly.

With help from his mom, Brian opened Frame de Art over 20 years ago. Though technology has changed—with industry innovations including the advent of computerized mat-cutting and visualization software—the store still takes pride in meticulous attention to detail, winning it a spot on ABC 7's A-list in 2008 and 2009. An inventory of over 1,000 moldings encompasses diverse styles from modern metal pieces to rustic wood or bamboo frames. The staff helps customers give their works museum-quality looks and protection, finding the acid-free frame that best compliments each piece of fine art, photographs, sports memorabilia, or 3-D mementos.

At the tender age of 6, Mark Cafiero received his first camera. Though it was broken and filled with cartoons his father had drawn of Mark and his sisters, that camera sparked an early interest in photography. Since then, that spark has erupted into a full-fledged passion, leading Mark to become a professional photographer who has snapped photos for hundreds of clients, including celebrities and professional athletes. To share his spark with others, Mark founded Chimpsy, an resource that helps photographers of all experience levels calibrate their skills with casual in-person and online classes.

Available in more than 30 cities across the nation, Chimpsy's two-hour crash course features a hands-on shooting session and campfire-style presentation on topics ranging from camera anatomy to photo composition. For home study, online classes help photographers—beginners and aspiring pros alike—get more from their pictures through two-hour video tutorials that cover photo-editing software, shooting tips and techniques, and steps on how to build a photography business. From the comfort of their bedrooms, students can watch these professional photographer-led tutorials live or replay previously recorded sessions. Along with instructional classes, Chimpsy offers shutterbugs a place to submit photos for contests with monthly prizes or for feedback from peers, pros, and sentient picture frames.

Owner and head guide Theo Anest caught the adventure bug early, starting work as a guide in Vail Valley while still in high school. The day after he graduated from Colorado State University, he opened Colorado Skies Outfitters, and has since guided more than 1,000 individuals on fly-fishing trips and outdoor excursions throughout the Centennial State. Theo’s abundance of experience and watery wisdom has earned him numerous accolades, the most recent being a gold-medal finish in the 2011 Teva Mountain Games fishing category and designation as the first human to ever successfully hibernate. Together, he and a team of eight other professional guides lead all-inclusive guided float and wade trips through Colorado's public waters, teaching their clients how to catch more fish along the way. They also lead fly-tying classes and fly-fishing schools, and welcome all students and clients to return and use their store and website as a resource for learning and staying current on new techniques.

The owners of the Ace Hardware locations in Lakewood and Arvada stock locals' workbenches with a wide variety goods and tools that assist with home, garden, and automotive improvements. More than 50,000 items greet DIYers in such departments as electrical, cleaning supplies, and outdoor patio. While customers peruse the array of handy offerings, each store's clerks stand ready to offer hardware recommendations, help with design ideas, and field questions about turning a deck into a petting zoo.

Vines interlaced with flower stems snake upward from the base of a glass vase to wrap around the red and purple spirals of carnation blooms. Customers can choose from fresh cut flowers or one of the striking arrangements available that vary according to the season. Each of Lydia’s arrangements manages to capture and condense the beauty of the natural world, from her Vera Wang–inspired rose bouquets to her wild and woodsy collection of cattails, asters, and bushy-bearded garden gnomes. She further personalizes floral arrangements with inflatables picked from her garden of 500 balloon varieties, as well as stuffed animals, chocolates, and greeting cards.

In true family style, brothers Nick and Kirby Kuklenski own and operate two “sister” Ace Hardware stores in Colorado Springs, keeping local homes beautiful with name-brand products and services. Lawns grow thick and colorful with Scotts fertilizers, plants, and seeds from the shops’ lawn departments, whereas computerized color matching in the paint aisles keeps outsides as vibrantly hued as flowers in a garden or a house fly strolling across an artist’s palette. Collections of DeWalt and Craftsman hand and power tools help homeowners assemble Webster grills, with staffers standing at the ready to build any piece bought at the store. Even autos can get in on Ace Hardware’s helpful services: keys are cut onsite, with Sidewinder keys including built-in chips that interact with car computers to ensure proper starts without feeding vehicles buckets of floppy disks.