Gifts under $50 on East Colfax

If you haven't yet familiarized yourself with the locally owned shops on E. Colfax, you're truly missing out. The BlueBird District (between York & Colorado) is home to the bookselling pillar The Tattered Cover (after it moved from Cherry Creek North), Twist & Shout Records (featuring tons of vinyl, CD's and DVD's), and one-of-a-kind Denver specialties like The Shoppe and Plastic Chapel. Here are a few things I found while shopping in the BlueBird District on East Colfax: 

From Tattered Cover I purchased a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle of Escher's House of Stairs ($17), The Intellectual Devotional ($24) and a nifty cardboard book about horses for my 6 year old niece ($15). They also have The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb for just $25! Tattered Cover does free gift wrapping and can ship your gift anywhere. 

One of my favorite trips has been to the vinyl section of Twist and Shout, located next to Tattered in the Lowenstein CulturePlex. I found a double record set of The Decemberist's The Crane's Wife for $16 and a special edition Leonard Cohen for around $20. They have tons of used titles and, most amazing....lots of music from local artists. You can listen to the music before you buy it at listening stations around the store, and find collectible music memorabilia like metal signs of classic albums. You will *definitely* find something for the music lovers and audiophiles in your life. 

Don't miss a trip to The Shoppe, which serves cupcakes and cereal all the time. The Shoppe has special holiday pies (including pumpkin, apple and chocolate cream) for just $15. Yum!

Down the street is Plastic Chapel, which has a large (and odd) assortment of vinyl and plush collectible toys. I am so not cool enough to know about the items in this store, but they are cute and affordable, with items ranging from a couple of bucks up to $100 or more for original art.

And speaking of original art, check out the art on the walls of Hooked on Colfax, a coffee shop on Colfax & Steele. They have new shows every month, and you can find high quality original art from local artists, starting at around $40.

This stretch of Colfax is also home to numerous metaphysical stores. Herbs and Arts has a great selection of candles, books, jewelry and herbs, and their staff is a great resource for finding the perfect item. Pick up snarky stickers with something to say for just $3, and colorful unscented candles that won't drip wax for just $1 each. Spiritways has pretty sculptures for under $50 and a nice selection of stones and minerals ranging from $1 to $5 each.

You can download a .pdf of our East Colfax Local Flavor Guide for help find the locals in the neighborhood. Enjoy exploring the locally owned retailers on East Colfax!