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Business Spotlight: Out of Step Clay

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Out of Step Clay has become a beloved business on the Ridge at 38 corridor. Learn more about their story from owner, Josh Margolis. 

I started Out of Step Clay in April 2022 after 18 years of ceramic education in the San Francisco Bay Area. The goal with Out of Step Clay was to offer a space to build a community bases around creativity in clay. Our teaching model focuses on foundational skill building, allowing the artist to emerge over time. But our real goal as a mission based studio is to activate our community to have a positive impact on our greater Colorado community.

Another way is by choosing a yearly initiative to support. Our first year was making work with 100% of the proceeds going to the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action. And this year we are focused on supporting women’s reproductive rights. 

We offer wheel and handbuilding clay classes for adults 6 days a week, and afterschool kids handbuilding classes Tuesdays – Thursdays. For more information go to www.outofstepclay.com or send your questions to Joshua@outofstepclay.com

 

Business Spotlight: Vantage Salon

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Welcome to Vantage Salon, where our team of hairstylists have come together to create a space of beauty, artistry, sustainability, and community, right on the corner of 44th Ave and Lamar in Wheat Ridge!

Our personalized approach to haircare starts with understanding not just your hair, but you as an individual. We firmly believe that your lifestyle, personality, and unique vision play a vital role in crafting the look that truly reflects who you are. 

“I deeply appreciate the skills and distinctive qualities each team member brings to our salon. We all share a passion for our craft and a commitment to creating customized services that help our guests express what makes them unique.” -Salon owner Lisa Conway

We are also firm believers in minimizing our environmental impact and partnering with brands that share our sustainability values. We even achieved carbon neutrality in 2022! Feel free to ask us about our eco-friendly practices and how we design our services with client and stylist safety and wellness in mind.  

Collectively, we are dedicated to making a positive difference in the lives of those around us. We are proud to be a part of the vibrant Wheat Ridge community and continue to be actively involved in collaborations with other local businesses and causes that uplift our neighborhood and its residents.

If you’re looking for an experience beyond standard hair salon practices, we’d love to welcome you into our space, and we look forward to meeting you!

The Vantage Team,

Lisa, Sydney, Lex, & Heidi

Business Spotlight: OM Therapy Massage

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We are pleased to feature OM Therapy Massage for Localworks August 2023 e-newsletter business spotlight. Read the story from owner and founder, Jen Oderaka.

My husband, John and I started OM Therapy in 2016. We both went to Colorado School of Healing Arts in Lakewood.  I am very passionate about massage and alternative treatments for not only relaxation or injury recovery but for everyday life. The day to day effects of life and family and jobs and whatever we have going on can really drag us down. It is so important to give yourself that extra space to nurture you and what you need. You can’t give to everyone without filling up your own cup now and again.

I specialize in chronic pain relief autoimmune disorders releasing pain from trauma or disease. I help with recovery from surgery or injury with lymphatic drainage massage. Pre-natal and post- natal care as well as infant/ child massage. for I also help release trauma and pain through sound healing and trauma touch therapy. OM Therapy Massage is located on 38th in Wheat Ridge.  We have been at this location for about a year and a half.  We really love being a part of the Wheat Ridge community and having a small business here. I feel very supported by the Wheat Ridge Chamber and the Wheat Ridge Business Association.   

OM Massage Therapy is located at 6656 W. 38th Ave. Wheat Ridge, CO 80033.

You can contact them calling (720) 354-8998 or emailing jennoderakalmt@gmail.com.

2023 Wheat Ridge Mid-Century & Modern Home Tour Drive by Location: Saint James Episcopal Church

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Written by Steve Lord

Architecture as a metaphor: a new “look” at the St James Episcopal Church
The year was 1951 and Wheat Ridge was still displaying her farming roots. The new city would not become incorporated for another 18 years, but already young families were leaving Denver proper for the cleaner, quieter countryside.

In October of that year a group of like-minded Episcopalians began meeting at the Grange Hall on West 38 th Ave and High Court. Within weeks there was talk of forming a new Mission. It was the Episcopal Bishop of Colorado Harold Brown who assigned the name of “St. James”. The new group cobbled their savings together and paid $17,000 to buy the two-acre lot at W 44 th Ave and Brentwood. A white- washed and weathered, six-room prairie home became their first place of worship.

By 1957, the first of two permanent church buildings opened. In 1967, it was joined to a new, roundish sanctuary built in the most modern of the post-war architectural styles. The new building satisfied the specific needs and wants of the burgeoning St James congregation. But, even then, consensus was hard to come by. What was then a unique and affordable design…functions just as well today (70 years later) by providing outstanding acoustics and seating for 350, on a smallish footprint.

More about the architect:

David Williams was a quiet, thoughtful man, born on November 20 th , 1927 in
Rutland Massachusetts. His family moved to Colorado when he and his siblings
were quite young. He attended and graduated from South High School. David was
always drawing; buildings, bridges and landscapes. So, it was no surprise to his
family that he decided to seek a degreed program from the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor. It is there in Michigan, (as a member of the local Episcopal
Church) that David would meet his future wife; Lura Cation. The two became
inseparable. Upon graduation, their courtship continued, though now in
Colorado, where they became members of St John’s Cathedral (1350 N
Washington St. Denver). It is at St John’s the couple would later wed…in June of
1960.

David practiced his drawing skills at a drafting table in the second bedroom of
their first apartment. Later…in the basement of their first central Denver home.
Families that attended St John’s Episcopal, knew that David was a licensed
architect. He joined the American Institute of Architects and earned “just enough”
from a series of small jobs…until one day, when he got his big break! It was 1963,
and the building committee of a newly-formed congregation (in the suburb of
Wheat Ridge), approached David with the idea of drawing up some plans for a new church building. It was to be erected on a two-acre piece of land they had
purchased back in 1952, and it would be called; St. James Episcopal Church.
One of the original members of the new Church, a man named Stephen Driftmier,
would later comment (in a 2001 interview) that he remembered David as being a
fine architect, easy to work with and on-hand (with the Contractor) every step of
the way…during construction from October 1966 until its completion in March
1967.

While David would go onto designing several residences throughout metro
Denver; St James would be his only iconic project. He and Lura remained at St
John’s and raised a family of three children. David developed Multiple Sclerosis
later in life and died in October 1999 at the age of 71. His Denver Post obituary is
available online. CLICK HERE if you would like to read the scope of the St James
project in David’s own words.

This story was compiled and written in May 2023 by Steve Lord; a member at
St James and admirer of Mid-Century architecture.

Business Spotlight: Cosmos Dog Bakery

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Cosmo’s has been serving the Denver metro area since 1995. Since then, Cosmo’s has grown in both the bakery as well as a pet supplies store that caters to the quality and health of dogs and cats diets. 

The original goes that  Cosmo the cat shared his home with very likable dogs, but the chasing thing, and the slobbers on his head, were enough to make anyone see stars. To say the least, it was just a bit annoying for poor Cosmo. It was time to find a distraction for his dog pals. So, Cosmo persuaded his human companion, Laurin, to try making delicious, healthy treats as “decoys” for the dogs. IT WORKED!!!! Cosmos’s Dog Biscuit Bakery was founded in 1995 in a small shop in Denver – much to the delight of fellow felines and the canine community. Almost 30 years of making cats and dogs happy treat by treat.

Cosmo’s is owned and operated by a warm and spirited animal lover, along with a team of equally kind-hearted employees, all exhibiting the joy that our animals bring to us. We will always greet you and your furry pals with a smile and a treat. Cosmo’s Dog Biscuit Bakery is the first and possibly only dog biscuit bakery to have been founded by a CAT! To this day, Cosmo is with us in mind and spirit.We are known as the Birthday Hub of Colorado with our expansive line of birthday treats. Our personalized dog cakes are both creative and tasty!

Come in to check out our bakery in action while shopping for any essentials for dogs, cats, and now chickens!

Localworks Building Up Business Micro Funding Loan Program

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Localworks is here to support your business in Wheat Ridge, specifically your growth and longevity in our community. We are thrilled to announce a new program that will continue to allow us to do this in new ways, a micro funding program within our Building Up Business Loan (BUBL). Not familiar with our BUBL program? No problem, here’s a quick synopsis. BUBL provides access to a no/low interest loan for brick and mortar improvements for Wheat Ridge business owners for up to $50,000 for a five year loan term. We know this is beneficial for many business owners in our community, but we have been working internally with leadership to understand MORE ways this program could evolve to support business owners growth in different ways. This is how the BUBL Micro Funding Program was born. The BUBL Micro Funding program offers a $5,000-$10,000 loan with no interest (if signed for a 12-month term) to allow you to get funds for things that simply would not be approved for a loan through a traditional lender. We’ve sat down with many small business owners in this innovation process to learn about what they need to succeed. Learn more below about some examples of what this loan can fund for you and your business. 

The BUBL Micro Funding loan allows you to do improvements to your business that may not be physically visible in your space but allow small business owners greater success in a near term. Examples include:

  • Hire a strategic planning consultant to help with any of your business strategies.
  • Hire a marketing professional so spruce up, start or create your website or social media channels.
  • Work with Manufacturer’s Edge (a highly recommended company) that can help you identify operational inefficiencies. 

The best part about this loan program is that these are not your only options, you can submit a project proposal for our loan committee to review! Localworks has designed this new BUBL micro funding program to best serve YOU as a business in the Wheat Ridge community. To access our application and learn more, please click here.

Business Spotlight: SoulFULL Conception

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I have always been fascinated by the power of food and how it affects the body. Food is a language communicating with cells and DNA shaping our health and well-being. When we consume healthy, whole foods, our bodies know exactly what to do.

However, when we consume unhealthy, toxic food, the lines of communication become unclear, creating confusion, inflammation, and a cascade of symptoms, including fertility struggles.

My own experience in reclaiming my health has given me the knowledge and purpose to guide others in finding their power to take control of their health and embrace the incredible potential that lies within them.

I started my practice by working with people dealing with GI dysfunction and autoimmune conditions. I am a health detective – I dig deep to uncover the underlying cause of my client’s health issues and guide them to learn how to listen to their bodies to make sustainable changes to reach their health goals.

Over time I realized that so many of my female clients were looking for relief because they wanted to start or grow their family.

This led me to create SoulFull Conception: PurposeFull Living for a Healthy Body, a Healthy Pregnancy, and a Health Baby. The focus is preconception planning, providing women and their spouses with the tools and knowledge to achieve optimal health before attempting to conceive.

SoulFull Conception is a comprehensive guide to natural fertility, offering individualized recommendations and expert guidance from me and a host of experts. Amazingly, 5 or more lifestyle changes can reduce infertility risk by 80%! The program prepares couples with a plan of action to ensure the health of the couple and their future baby.

Optimizing health today has the potential to positively influence the health of seven generations to come. Miracles can unfold when the power of food and lifestyle are embraced. We each possess the power to create a healthier and brighter future for ourselves and generations to come.

Food is life – Taste Life!

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