Make: Soulcrafting

by Courtney O'Rourke

Soulcrafting Owl

Friends- I’ve got big, exciting news to share.

This spring I had the incredible good fortune to connect with Bryan Muir, the founder of Soulcrafting. Through mutual friends and a shared passion for celebrating the creative community we live in, we met one afternoon at The Source to chat makers and shakers, and all things handmade.

That afternoon a part of me was ignited. If you’ve been around here for any length of time, you know and understand my love for handmade, and the people, processes, and dynamics that are the foundation of the incredible creator community here in Colorado. Bryan, more than anyone I’ve ever known, shares and understands this passion and through Soulcrafting has created the exact platform to bring it to life.

Soulcrafting is an online community that brings creators and community together to experience a new craft and build a product together. We’ve assembled an expert creative network of the highest quality: Woodworkers, metalsmiths, jewelers, chefs, bakers, cheese makers, boat builders, bike builders- the list goes on. It has been a joy to bring friends, neighbors, and learners together to experience a new craft. In just the few months our Soulcrafting doors have been open, the response and support from the community has been tremendous. We’re so thankful. We’re building a hands-on learning community that is going to knock your handmade socks off.

In the 34 days I have been working alongside Bryan and our team of creators, I’ve never been happier. The lines between work and play are gone, and I am excited every day to bring you the best from our creator community so we can all explore the world of making. I’m so very grateful.

And the name? Soulcrafting? If there is a better name for any company in the universe, I challenge you to find it.

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Muse: Get High On Mountains

by Courtney O'Rourke

Green Mountain State

Tomorrow I’m leaving on a jet plane for what may be the most intensely emotional and wonderfully cathartic experience of my 42 years.

As many of you know, my mother passed away unexpectedly in the spring of 2007. It was an unimaginable event, and one that keeps me reeling in wonder. My sister, brothers and I have all agreed that it’s time to let her go.

My mother loved New England. It was her home for more than 30 years. She held the rivers, streams, mountains and valleys of Vermont close to her. Growing up, she often wore a t-shirt that read: ‘Get High On Mountains’ with a simple mountain scape drawing beside it. So, that’s what we are going to do. We are going to get high on mountains, and let her go.

We agree it’s what she would have wanted, and for that resolution, I am so very thankful.

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Taste: Cart-Driver

by Courtney O'Rourke

This is Cart-Driver

Add another spoke to Larimer’s taste wheel. A sliver of an eatery nestled behind Work & Class in the container building on Larimer and 25th, Cart-Driver is here, and although it’s tiny in size and menu offerings, it’s huge in flavors, personality and style.

Brought to you by chef Kelly Whitaker, also of Basta in Boulder, Cart-Driver is doing Denver dining wonderfully. The menu is super simple, and what I consider to be near perfect: pizzas, oysters, salad, soft serve ice cream and an ever changing interesting cocktail lineup. You’ll find prosecco on tap, and this week the menu was all about spritzes (my favorite!).

My first real taste experience with wood-fired pizzas was in the 80′s with American Flatbread in Vermont. Coming from Western New York,  I had no concept that a pizza that didn’t drip red sauce, cheese and pepperoni was even an option. Flatbread brought me around to a new world of pizza. Now, there’s Cart-Driver serving up that same deliciousness right here in my neighborhood. I couldn’t be more delighted.

Favorites on the menu are the Cart-Driver Pizza (photographed below) and the Chopped Salad. Follow that up with some soft serve and have a great night.

Cart-Driver Pizza

2500 Larimer, Denver, 303-292-3553 

 

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Muse: 15 Going On 23

As of today, I’ve been Mrs. Courtney Foster O’Rourke for 15 years, 5,475 days, and approximately 131,400 hours. What started out as an ‘outing’ (definitely not a date) to a Bob Dylan show and a conversation of: “we’re not looking for anything serious” is now 23 years in the romancing. I’m not one to offer […]

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Taste: Y’all Scream Ice Cream

Ice cream is coming to RiNo! Ice cream is coming to RiNo! Ice cream is coming to RiNo!  This is what you heard me, and many neighborhood friends screaming when we heard the news that Y’all Scream is coming to town. A collaboration with creative dynamos Rick Griffith and Mike Ossell, Y’all is bringing big […]

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Taste: Babettes Molleaux au Chocolat

A little sweet taste to share with you today. I’ve shared the Babettes Bakery love many times before, but this deserves a special call to attention for its spectacular factor. This Molleaux au Chocolat  is my favorite bakery treat. From the outside, it may look a bit basic, maybe even boring. But once you tear […]

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Make/Taste: Le Jardin Secret and Radishes

This weekend was one for the books. The one that keeps track of all things amazing, tasty and wonderful in life. This weekend’s entry is brought to you by Le Jardin Secret, friends, family, fresh delicious food and the beginning of summer in Denver. So much to be grateful for. Le Jardin Secret is the […]

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Muse: Friends

What does the word friend mean to you? If you really think about it, when you say someone is your friend, what does that actually entail? Someone you’ve known since grade school? Someone you met just recently for the first time who you can’t wait to have happy hour with next week? Someone you’ve been […]

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Taste: Butter

When I was 5 I ate an entire stick of butter from the table while Thanksgiving dinner was being prepared in the kitchen. I remember it in full color, and recall rolling my finger along the golden stick of Land O’ Lakes and then licking it. And licking it again, about a hundred times in […]

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Make: Spring Markets

Hello Spring! I am so happy to see you. Let’s get down to business and share the goods on where we can find the best handmade, handcrafted, artisan goods and products of the season here in Denver. Special bonus! I can almost guarantee you’ll find The Real Dill and their amazing pickles and bloody mary […]

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