Press
9 News - January 24, 2012 - David Liechty, founder of Grace skis talks about the Art of Winter
9 News - January 25, 2012 - Enjoying the Art of Winter
Ski Magazine - January, 2012 - Something Awesome Comes This Way
Skiing Magazine - February, 2012 - Finding the Art in Snow Sports
Westword - February 2, 2012 - Something Independent's Art of Winter closes this weekend
Skiing Business - October 10, 2011 - Flylow Gear Wins Colorado Snowsports Entreprenueur Award
"Longtime friends and Colorado natives Dan Abrams and Greg Steen partnered to create Flylow, which manufactures freeride apparel for the modern skier. In being selected, Flylow demonstrated how their commitment to innovation, high-performance, functionality and consumer engagement around the Flylow brand has led to early success. Also factoring into the judge’s selection was Flylow’s ability to leverage the Colorado brand in furthering their growth."
Denver Post - October 5, 2011 - The inaugural Snowsports Entrepreneur Award goes too...
"Probably Colorado’s most famous entrepreneur, Hickenlooper pioneered his Wynkoop Brewing Co. in the late 1980s in the then abandoned corner of Denver that became LoDo. While the introduction of Coors Field to the barren landscape certainly helped, Hickenlooper – who paid a mere $1 a square foot for rent back then – gathered all the businesses fighting for life in LoDo in a cooperative marketing and promotional effort.
“Great entrepreneurial successes,” Hickenlooper said, “they are always those businesses that come together to not only create a cool product but a community.”
The governor hailed innovation as the spark that will unite and grow Colorado. And the state’s rowdy collection of like-minded snowlovers working together to elevate their core qualities can feed that spark, Hickenlooper said.
“Nothing would make me happier than having Colorado known as the single greatest place on earth for entrepreneurialism,” he said, closing his casual speech with a quote from Jim Rohn: “If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.”"
Westword - October 5, 2011 - Flylow Gear wins first annual Something Independent Snowsport Entrepreneur Award
"Flylow, a Denver-based gear company specializing in skiing outerwear and accessories, won the first-annual Something Independent Snowsport Entrepreneur Award last night, presented at the Sypder Showroom at Battery 621. The $1,500 award comes with a marketing package to help take the winning entrepreneur to the next level, and was established to recognize Colorado's "adventurous risk-takers who are putting it all on the line in pursuit of a dream."
"It feels amazing to have this recognition," Flylow co-founder Greg Steen told Westword, after the award was presented. "We're a couple of ski bums who make the best gear we can possibly make and we're trying to make jobs here while making great ski gear that meets our own needs. Colorado's a great market for us and a great place to have a business. It's awesome.""
SNEWS - September 22, 2011 - Big response for first Colorado snowsports entrepreneur award
“Lifestyle and business are no more connected anywhere in the U.S. than they are in Colorado,” Chuck Sullivan, co-founder of Something Independent told SNEWS. “The chance to participate in the industry and culture of snowsports represents a lot of the allure that brings people to Colorado, and once they are here a lot of those people end up starting businesses for themselves.”
Sullivan said that Something Independent, which is an initiative to promote the industry and culture of snowsports in Colorado, launched the competition as a way to recognize emerging brands that could become fixtures in the state. Applicants were required to submit a 60-90 second video for entry. The winning entrepreneur will receive a cash award of $1,500, a marketing and communications package from Sprocket Communications and media recognition from ColoradoBiz Magazine.
The judging panel for the award -- which will be announced on Oct. 4, 2011 at Battery 621 in Denver, the home of Spyder Active Sports' Denver showroom and the headquarters of Icelantic -- includes Icelantic ski global brand manager Annelise Loevlie; Alexander Price, economic development policy advisor for Governor John Hickenlooper; and state Sen. Jean White, among others.
In terms of the original call for entries, Sullivan said the response has been fantastic. “I would have been pleased if we had received ten, with this being the first year and us just getting the word out,” Sullivan said. “But we received 24 applications, and they came from all across the state -- from Aspen to Boulder to Pagosa Springs. We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the diversity and size of the businesses, and excited by the response.”
ColoradoBiz TV - May 4, 2011 - Why Colorado?
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Tourism Director Al White discuss why Colorado is a lucrative place for new businesses.
ColoradoBiz Magazine - May 1, 2011 - Trendsetters
"For our inaugural ColoradoBiz Trendsetters, we wanted to examine people whose work in the business world didn't stop at business, people whose passion for their industries and communities transcended bottom-line success. Beyond that, we wanted to focus on people whose stories of entrepreneurial success or philanthropic endeavors have not appeared in our pages. - Mike Cote, ColoradoBiz editor"
Denver Business Journal - February 4, 2011 - Colorado name growing in snowsports field
"Gov. John Hickenlooper pushed the branding of Colorado as a center of entrepreneurship during his gubernatorial campaign, with the goal of attracting new companies to the state.
That’s already happening in the state’s snowsports industry, if the strength of the state’s brand at the 2011 SnowSports Industries of America Snow Show is any indication. The show ended Jan. 30 at the Colorado Convention Center."
Denver Post - February 6, 2011 - Colorado a hotbed for innovative snowsport gear
"At a recent forum hosted by Something Independent, an evolving initiative to foster the development of Colorado's independent-minded snowsport businesses, Gov. John Hickenlooper said he wanted the name "Colorado" to instantly conjure a vibrant sense of creativity and innovation.
The newly minted governor said Colorado should be more than just a place where creative ideas are born, but a place where those ideas can "blossom into great products."
9 News - January 30, 2011 - The Art of Winter at Larimer Square
"Beneath the canopy of bright holiday lights that hover over Larimer Square in downtown Denver you will find an eclectic array of artwork plastered on every lamp post lining the street.
Look closer and you will see the die-bond aluminum cast reproductions are actually a preview of each masterpiece that can be found on display inside a gallery space in the Larimer Walkway."
Metromix Denver - January 29, 2011 - Fun at the snow show, bro
"The largest snowsports trade show in the US is setting up shop in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center through Jan. 29th, and while the show isn't open to the public, Metromix has your all accsss pass to public events, galleries, and the after parties!"
The Denver Egotist - January 27, 2011 - The Economics of Soul: Cutting to the Core of Colorado’s Entrepreneurial Spirit
"Colorado has long been a hotbed for entrepreneurs who blur the lines between work and play. From snow sports, to craft brewing, to music making, Colorado attracts a certain breed of creative, passion-driven innovators. Hear from these entrepreneurs on the role Colorado has played in their success and what impact today’s entrepreneurs will have on the Colorado economies, communities and culture."
Skinet.com - January 26, 2011 - Skiing, Art, and SIA
"This week, during the Snowsports Industries America tradeshow in Denver, they’ve set up an outdoor art installation, “The Art of Winter,” in downtown Larimer Square. Boutique ski brands like Icelantic, Ski Logik, Moment, and 4FRNT, will be showing off their topsheet art, and local artists have created pieces made from recycled skis and snowboards, donated by the SIA. They’re also hosing a business forum called the Economics of Soul that will take on how small, local companies can thrive in the snow sports world."
The Denver Egotist - January 19, 2011 - The Art Of Winter
"Something Independent, an initiative promoting the industry and culture of snowsports in Colorado, presents The Art of Winter – an an indoor/outdoor art installation debuting this January in Denver's Larimer Square and featuring ski and snowboard art and design from boutique manufacturers, as well as original works on recycled skis and snowboards by Colorado artists."
Elevation Outdoors - September 8, 2010 - Colorado Homegrown
"Put together by a group called Something Independent (somethingindependent.com), the event was designed as a celebration of Colorado’s ability to support companies who have made the decision to support local economies while building gear made for the mountains out our backdoors. This event was just the start. “Something Independent will kick-off its 2011 event schedule with the return of the SI Lounge and a Business Forum during the SIA Snow Show in January. And look for the SI Rendezvous to return to Salida and Monarch Mountain in late March. If you weren’t there last year, you better start lobbying soon for your invite. There’s only so much room on the snowcats,” Something Independent’s Chuck Sullivan told us."
