November Newsletter 2022
Holiday Schedule & Fun Stuff
We hope you had a safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving with family and friends.
In that spirit, we wanted to outline our schedule for December and early January, as well as kick off the holidays with some fun things to do in our great city.
For starters, we have an odd Christmas this year, falling on a Sunday. We will then be working on Friday the 23rd but will be closed on Monday the 26th in line with the national holiday celebration.
Regarding New Year’s Eve, it falls on a Saturday this year, and we will be working on both Friday the 30th, and Monday, January 2nd. Different timing this year for sure with both holidays falling on the weekend.
As far as fun stuff to do in our city and around the Front Range, we have ideas! We love all the lights during the holidays and there are lots of places to see them this season. From the Blossoms of Light festival to the Parade of Lights downtown, Denver has some amazing things to see.
Finally, the arts season is back in full swing, and Ellie Caulkins Opera House is currently showing the Nutcracker, an all-time classic, and A Christmas Carol is also showing at DCPA’s Wolf Theatre.
A comprehensive list of theater, music and dance events can be found at denver.org here, and the folks at Westword added their take on the holiday events in our town here.
We cannot believe how fast this holiday season came up, but we are certainly going to enjoy it!! We wish you the best for a safe and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends.
Thank you, as always, for supporting our small business.
Happy Holidays!!!!!
Colorado Recycling Changes
As a certified green company, we do our best to recycle. We are far from perfect, but we give it our best, as we are sure most of you do as well.
Due to a midterm ballot initiative, Measure 306, things on the recycling front are about to ramp up in Denver.
This new ordinance got us doing a bit of research and what we found wasn’t great in terms of our recycling habits.
From the article on CBS News, “Colorado’s recycling rate is only between 15 to 16% — far below the national average of 32% — and it hasn’t improved over the last five years, according to reports from the Colorado Public Interest Research Group and Eco-Cycle.”
Passing with over 70% of the vote, Denver residents and businesses are now required to recycle and compost.
We were surprised to learn our recycling rate was so low. For all the details on this new ordinance and what is required it can be viewed here.
Finally the state is involved as well, with the passing of the Producer Responsibility for Recycling, which puts more pressure on the packaging and paper industries to help fund a recycling program.
I am sure we can all do better and hopefully these new programs will steer us up from where we currently sit.
Denver’s Decade of Growth
We love to watch our skyline. We also love when we find cool things to share with our readers (that’s you).
Denverite.com created the most interesting set of maps which outlines where our city has gotten taller, and denser over the past 10 years.
The different maps illustrate where we have grown, both in terms of neighborhood density and verticality, depicting the height of much of the building going on as well.
Some of the densification is a logical response to our housing problem. If you cannot spread out, go up, which is why we have seen such an increase in taller buildings.
From the article: “According to a 2021 report from Root Policy Research, Colorado as a whole needs to add about 41,000 homes per year between now and 2030 to keep up with demand but is so far projected to fall short. While we might be a big state, a lot of that burden will fall on the metro.”
As always, lots of big changes in our city. A link to the maps and article can be found here.
Unemployed Colorado
We are as baffled by this as anyone.
As a small business, we are in touch with lots of other businesses and the common theme is that no one can find employees.
Yet here we are with unemployment higher than we are used to.
In February of 2020, just before COVID, we had the nation’s 10th lowest unemployment rate. We are now the nation’s 23rd highest.
Yes, you read that correctly, we have completely flipped our position and our rate is now one full point higher than its low of 2.8% pre-COVID.
For the past 10 years or so, Colorado typically ran about a point below the national average.
KDVR did a nice piece on this and it can be found here.
We don’t know the answer to this problem, but something is amiss when nearly all businesses need workers and unemployment is historically high.
We remain perplexed.
If you are interested in the data behind all of this, the BLS website provides that here.
Color of the Year 2023
Ok, maybe not the COLOR of the year, but how about colors?
As you know it is difficult to get anyone to agree on anything, but when we saw the headline “color of the year” over at Designer Premier we had to investigate.
The hard part is getting a consensus on what that color is. We had no idea that the different paint companies even published these color predictions, so we are learning right along with you on this one.
For example, from Sherwin Williams:
“People have been drawn to nature-inspired and earthy tones the past couple of years, and this is something that will continue into 2023 and beyond,” says Sue Wadden, director of color marketing at Sherwin-Williams.
“We wanted the 2023 Color of the Year to reflect what we’ve been seeing in terms of neutrals warming up. Homeowners opt for warmer whites, beiges, pinks, and browns. Redend Point SW 9081 is an earthy color, and its subtle pink undertones exude a feeling of warmth and exploration—something people want to feel in their homes. It also leans into the macro trends around empathy and care culture. While self-care is vital, care is also about looking out for each other and our communities.”
From the folks at Behr: “As we look to 2023, we understand that comfort will still be a driving force behind design decisions and style statements,” said Erika Woelfel, vice president of Color and Creative Services at Behr Paint Company, in the press release.
Lots of options and kind of a fun thing to ponder.
Meanwhile, if you need help with colors or interior design, please reach out to our friend Marina Dagenais, who can pair you with the right designer for your needs.
Monthly Award Winners
Our monthly award winners for October were Mary Moreno, Guadalupe Caloca, Aurora Dominguez, Josefina Quinonez, and Cecilia Reyes.
In the Team Leader ranks, it was Isela Mendoza and Rosa Chavez.
We are so proud of our winners, and of all the folks that are in and out of your homes each week.
We are also very appreciative to be a part of your lives and your homes. You provide the platform for our teams to perform, and for that we are grateful.
Please join me in congratulating our best performers for the month of October.
Queen Bee Corner
by Angela
Denver has been losing residents to other states for a few years now; reasons include traffic, bad drivers, cost of living, politics, crime, weather, or all the above.
But where to go that satisfies so many diverse tastes? Denver has such a wide array of options for really any lifestyle, especially for those with varied interests.
We may not be in Paris but we have exhibits from the Louvre pass through town as well as authentic French restaurants.
It’s not New York but Broadway shows come here. Not Nashville either, but we have great country acts at Red Rocks and other venues.
Want solitude? Head to the mountains. City vibes? Open a window.
It’s all here. Flamenco, German beer fests, Cinco de Mayo, Gay Pride, Italian and Greek festivals. Opera and sports, The Ritz Bar and dive bars, Cherry Creek and Colfax. Cuisine from every nationality.
My Ode to Paris!
Queen Bee
Happy Holidays!