If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But if it IS, then call these guys.

I live in a charming 1883 brick and stucco fixer-upper money-pit mortgage in Old Town Fort Collins, Colorado. Don’t get me wrong, I love every crumbling brick in my home and I knew what I was in for when I bought it three years ago. I took woodshop. I own power tools. I’m downright handy, darn it. But I also know when a repair is way out of my league and when I’ve been licked.

I admit I once shook a fist at my house and howled, “C’mon! Is that ALL you got?”after a rotten piece of trim fell and barely missed my head while I was cleaning out the flower beds. Looking back, there were many times when I should have put down my tools and slowly, carefully stepped away from the rotting trim/sink/electrical outlet/gutter/furnace (take your pick) to call a professional.

I grew up in this town, but I never knew who to call for stuff like this, and I didn’t want to throw a dart at the Yellow Pages. I didn’t know who to trust in my home with my home. Let’s face it, there’s a tangible icky factor in this industry, and on more than one occasion it has stopped me from finding the help I needed. Until now.

So my furnace went out on a late Friday afternoon during one of our cold snaps. I was working on some writing projects for HighCraft Builders, so I gave them a call. I talked to one of the owners, my furnace was fixed pronto, and it’s been working like a champ ever since. Fast, friendly, clean, professional in-home service. I didn’t know it still existed!

Fort Collins-based remodeling experts HighCraft Builders offers HighCraft Home Services, a dedicated crew of friendly and reliable craftsmen that provides home repair, maintenance and energy-efficiency help to households across Northern Colorado. HighCraft Home Services dispatches tradesmen in clearly marked vehicles, they offer guaranteed completion dates, provide written estimates, and they warranty their work to ensure homeowner safety, satisfaction and peace of mind.

The HighCraft Services guys are polite, clean and on-time. They make quick work of smaller projects, and they also have the skills and experience to conduct energy assessments and handle interior and exterior remodeling.

From fixing a leaky faucet to handling a major remodel, HighCraft is now the region’s complete source for any home improvement, large or small. These are the good guys; they provide quality work from a local company you trust.

For more information, call 970.472.8100 or visit www.HighCraft.net.

Becky Jensen is a freelance writer, author, and mother of twins living the good life in Old Town Fort Collins, CO. Yeah, she was paid to write a press release for HighCraft Builders, but she’s blogging about them on her own dime. And while she’s on the subject of truth in advertising, she’d like to point out she received no goods or services from the government for this kickin’ FTC disclosure. Federal regulations …are …AWESOME.

Call HighCraft Home Services today at (970) 472-8100.

Forget the drive to Denver! R&R Home makes Fort Collins, CO, a destination for fine furniture.

Tired of making the long drive to Denver to find stylish quality home furnishings? Ready to find unique furniture in Northern Colorado that won’t fall apart as soon as you get it home? R&R Home, a new locally owned furniture and interior design showroom, will open its doors at 632 Mason Street in Fort Collins on Tuesday, December 8 at 10 a.m. Stop by to check out their collection during their grand opening on the 8th, and enjoy refreshments and door prizes, too.

Located along the Mason Street Corridor, R&R Home offers a variety of distinctive home furnishings. Hickory Chair, whose artisans have been designing custom pieces for nearly a century, represents the heart of the store’s collection, which includes sofas, chairs, tables, cabinets, beds, nightstands and chests of drawers.

Colorado native and owner Rod Clough established R&R Home to provide a convenient, comfortable and informative setting for discriminating consumers to find custom-crafted pieces in Northern Colorado. He’s made it his mission to connect NoCo folks to fine furnishings that resonate with our unique lifestyles. Finally!

“A chair, a desk, a sofa, a table – these are intimate objects,” said Clough in a recent press release. “It’s here we sit and think, read and write, listen to stories and share meals. I’ve always felt that furnishings should enliven the joys of being home.”

Clough has been committed to causes and nonprofits in Colorado for years, and several walls of the R&R Home showroom will serve as a revolving gallery of the works of local artists. Very cool.

R&R Home will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. To learn more, visit www.RandRHomeFurnishings.com or call (970) 484-2498.

Logo by Toolbox Creative.

Show Guts By Giving Blood This Halloween

Houska Automotive is hosting its 8th Annual Halloween Blood Drive on Friday, October 30 from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Poudre Valley Hospital’s Garth Englund Blood Center, located at 1025 Pennock Place in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Owners Dennis and Noreen Houska have been donating blood for a long time, and they joined the National Bone Marrow Registry in 1994. Dennis’ bone marrow was a life-saving match for a young California boy with leukemia in 1995, so it’s easy to see why Dennis is so passionate about encouraging others to participate in bone marrow registration.

The Houskas also recognize the serious need for blood donations in the Fort Collins and Loveland area. Dennis says in a recent press release, “Every year the Garth Englund Blood center collects just enough blood and plasma to barely meet demand. Only 3.5 percent of eligible people donate blood, so as a community I know we can do more.”

So if you’re looking for a way to give back to your community, then please consider giving blood on October 30. Costumes are encouraged but not necessary. Give blood and get a T-shirt. Sign up for the International Bone Marrow Registry and receive a free oil change from Houska.

Interested participants should:
1. eat something prior to giving blood
2. be at least 18 years old, 17 with parent of guardian permission
3. weigh at least 110 pounds
4. call 482-0156 to schedule your donation appointment

For more information and to schedule your blood draw time, contact Houska Automotive at (970) 482-0156 or visit them online at www.HouskaAutomotive.com.

Logo by Toolbox Creative

It’s so nice, Houska’s hosting it twice.

Logo by Toolbox Creative

Houska Automotive is hosting an encore presentation of its FREE Women’s Car Care Clinic on Saturday, October 17^th from 9 to 11am at their shop in Fort Collins (899 Riverside Avenue).

 Their September class was so successful they were asked to present again in October. I went to this clinic earlier in the year, and I was amazed at how much I DIDN’T know about my car. October is National Car Care Month, so spend an informative morning with some really nice people at Houska Automotive. And the free coffee, breakfast treats and goody bags don’t hurt.

 If you’re a female driver who owns a car, or if you want to keep your sister or driving-age daughter safe on the road, then please give the friendly folks at Houska a call today.

For more information and to RSVP to the clinic, contact Houska Automotive at (970) 482-0156 or visit them online at www.HouskaAutomotive.com.

Beet Street Presents “Homegrown Fort Collins”

Logo by Toolbox Creative

Beet Street is throwing one heck of an event September 25th through October 4th in downtown Fort Collins. The ten-day Homegrown Fort Collins harvest celebration is basically a fun way to try new foods, learn from top chefs, and discover where and how we can all buy local.

From iron chef cook-offs to VIP-guided tours of local farmers markets, Homegrown Fort Collins is designed to inspire the chef in everyone by showing how easy it is to use fresh, local ingredients in everyday cooking.

When we buy local we make our community stronger. And the fare is fresh and delicious to boot. So visit www.beetstreet.org for the Homegrown Fort Collins event calendar, come join the harvest fun, and truly put your money where your mouth is.

Women Take the Wheel at Houska Car Care Clinic

The good people at Houska Automotive are hosting a FREE Women’s Car Care Clinic on Saturday, September 26^th from 9 to 11am at their shop in Fort Collins, Colorado (899 Riverside Avenue).

As part of a New Year’s resolution to take better care of my car, I went to this clinic in January 2009, and I feel it was one of the best investments I’ve ever made in my vehicle.

Did you know that if you pull up to a gas station and you see the tanker unloading fuel you should go find another station? I learned that when the gas goes into the storage tanks, it stirs up all kinds of sediment. If you’re the next person to fill up, chances are you’re pumping gas and sediment into your car. That sediment is nasty to your fuel pump, and replacing your fuel pump isn’t a cheap repair.

That’s just one little tidbit from the clinic. I learned great safety information, maintenance tips, and the importance of establishing a good professional relationship with my mechanic. The free coffee and breakfast treats were a bonus, and I appreciated the fact that the mechanics patiently answered all of my questions … without being patronizing. If you’re a female driver who owns a car, I highly recommend the 2-hour class (the time flies).

For more information and to RSVP to the clinic, contact Houska Automotive at (970) 482-0156 or visit them online at www.HouskaAutomotive.com.

Logo by Toolbox Creative

Builders Help Dreams Come True

The fine folks at HighCraft Builders and Alpine Lumber are throwing one heck of a tailgate party before the Colorado State University homecoming football game on October 10th. A $25 ticket will get you a BBQ lunch and admission to the game where our beloved Rammies will take on the Utah Utes.

Proceeds from the event benefit Adoption Dreams Come True, a private nonprofit adoption agency dedicated to making happy, healthy and lifelong families across Colorado through the positive process of adoption.

Come out and cheer on the Rams and support a worthy cause. Homecoming time is a great reminder to be thankful for our own families and for this wonderful, caring Northern Colorado community where we live. I’ll be at HighCraft’s party proudly decked out in green and gold. I hope you can join me:
HIGHCRAFT BUILDERS BENEFIT TAILGATE PARTY
Saturday, October 10, 1 p.m.
Ram Town at Hughes Stadium
2011 Overland Trail, Fort Collins, CO
$25 includes BBQ lunch and admission to game
(CSU vs. Utah)
www.HighCraft.net or call (970) 472-8100 for details and to RSVP

Reuse, Renew, ReShirt

My last few blogs have been about Toolbox Creative, a graphic design and marketing studio located in Fort Collins, Colorado. True, I do some contract writing for Toolbox, so I might be a little biased. But working closely with Toolbox gives me the opportunity to see first-hand all the cool stuff this company does to strengthen our community.

Owners Dawn Putney and Tom Campbell provide gallery space to local artists, they volunteer on many boards and committees, they mentor graphic design students from UNC and CSU, they provide internships … the list goes on. 

They also helped establish Art Lab Fort Collins (www.ArtLabFortCollins.com), an experimental cooperative art space that fills empty downtown commercial storefronts with art, music, smiling faces and good energy. Art Lab is open and free to all fine artists, hobbyists, innovators, creatives, musicians and performers who have something to share with the community.

Dawn and Tom also co-founded Refresh NoCo (www.RefreshNoCo.com), a professional networking group dedicated to promoting best practices and to building creativity in the Northern Colorado design and marketing industry. 

If you’re in the Fort Collins area be sure to check out the following events to learn more about Art Lab and Refresh NoCo:

TOOLBOX ReSHIRT PARTY
Art Lab Fort Collins
140 W. Mountain Ave., Fort Collins, CO
8/21/09, 6pm to 9pm
8/22/09, noon to 6pm
FREE to the public
Bring an old T-shirt to re-screen into a cool, wearable piece of art … on the spot!

REFRESH NOCO: Designer Drinks Networking Mixer
4th Thursday of every month
8/27, 9/24, 10/22, 2009
4pm to 7pm
Coopersmith’s Pub and Brewing, Poolside
No. 5 Old Town Square, Fort Collins, CO

Check out these events and see what folks are doing to keep creativity alive and well in downtown Fort Collins, Colorado.

Toolbox Creative Employs the Full Monte

Monte Mitchell recently joined Toolbox Creative as the firm’s newest designer. Fresh out of University of Northern Colorado’s design program, this kid has the Midas touch. He’s knocking out killer design for Toolbox clients like Bohemian Nights, DW Design Group, Bas Bleu Theatre Company and Laramie-based Coffey Engineering & Surveying.

This is the second new-hire announcement for Toolbox in as many weeks, showing that business is booming at the Fort Collins, Colorado-based studio. Keep up the great work, Toolbox, and congratulations to Monte.

Venus Aligns With Toolbox Creative

Business is booming at Fort Collins, Colorado-based graphic design and marketing agency Toolbox Creative. Husband and wife owners Tom Campbell and Dawn Putney feel fortunate to be adding more staff during a time when so many Northern Colorado companies are cutting back and laying off employees.

They recently hired marketing industry veteran Michelle Venus as a full-time business development goddess. Venus has extensive advertising, marketing and production experience representing international brands including Sony, Met Life, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Sprint and TJ Maxx.

“I’ve had my eye on Toolbox Creative for years,” said Venus. “They produce award-winning, rock star graphic design, and their guerrilla marketing tactics and promotional campaigns are strategic and successful.”

The addition of Venus is great news for current and prospective Toobox clients, as well as the Northern Colorado arts community. Bringing her on board will free up more time for Putney and Campbell to build local brands and to dive even deeper into some of the cool, creative local initiatives they helped establish like Art Lab, ReFresh Noco and Ignite Fort Collins. All three efforts serve to brand Northern Colorado as a major hub of creative talent, and they each strengthen, unite and celebrate the regional marketing industry.

Award-winning Toolbox Creative is a full service marketing agency with a knack for pairing strong, hand-crafted graphic design with thoughtful, clever copy. Keeping it fresh and delicious since 2002, Toolbox is where ideas, strategy, writing and design get down and get funky to the groove of the client’s brand promise. For more information about Toolbox Creative, call (970) 493-5755, visit them online at www.toolboxcreative.com, or stop by their studio at Cherry Street Lofts in Fort Collins, Colorado, for fresh-baked cookies and tall tales.