Many weeks ago, my two young sons asked to be part of Humanitou. They often have seen me working on Humanitou conversations at our table, transcribing, editing, preparing photos, publishing. They wanted me to interview them. So I did. In this experiment, I got to test my abilities as an Read more…
It’s quiet at the house Shanti Toll shares with his wife, Coreen. The array of a few dozen masks that came from around the world hang prominently within immediate view of the front and back doors. They are silent but full of stories. The landscape framed by large windows at Read more…
KJ Becker pours freshly made coffee and we sit down in her home art studio with a view of Manitou Springs. She begins to make art, painting whatever she feels in each moment on vintage Austrian and German vinyl records. “I use a lot of textures and I kind of Read more…
Hannah Rockey’s stage presence is clear, even as we sit in the print shop of her father, artist Charles Rockey (“Rockey”), on Canon Ave. in Manitou Springs. It’s the clarity and strength of her voice, the punctuations and emphases. Rockey sits in on the conversation, listening to his daughter’s stories Read more…
Those who follow Humanitou on Instagram and/or Facebook know I was in Vietnam recently. It was the first international vacation my wife, Becca, and I have taken, and without our kids, in 10 years. Things have changed for us about the experience of travel but not the reasons for it. Read more…
Nineteen chickens gather around Steve Oliveri in anticipation. He pours dry food onto the ground from a white, five-gallon bucket. The work of the moment is done. Steve, 29, is a caretaker of Flying Pig Farm in Manitou Springs, along with Elsa Kendall, Barak Ben-Amots and Alex Hare. Together, they Read more…
Returning readers of Humanitou will recognize some currents that run through the conversations. The line I use to describe the site’s purpose is: “Stories of Humanness + Creativity.” In the heart of that tagline is passion, the warm-blooded energy that compels any one of us — all of us — Read more…
Boiohaemum is back. My blue-and-white 1975 Volkswagen Type II … that is, a bus, van, camper, kombi, transporter … whatever you, personally, call these versatile icons. He has risen from the darkness of a storage shed. With him, the stories. Boio and I once shared a summer roaming up, down Read more…
Layla Redding starts water to boil on the stove while we sit in her living room, awash with natural light. Art from her friends hangs on each wall. A bookcase next to the door includes books of yoga and nutrition, and a Cyndi Lauper memoir. While we talk, we sip Read more…
Peggy Dlugos takes me to a back corner of her home, to a just-right cozy and tidy work space. A pair of full-sized windows on both walls let in light, awareness of nature, and views of Garden of the Gods. “This is where I am most of the time, during Read more…
Jeremy Tackett leads biodynamic agriculture at Smokebrush Farm in Manitou Springs. He speaks to the history and philosophy of biodynamics, and his spiritual connections to it, with depth and eloquence, with passion. As Jeremy, 34, walks Smokebrush Farm, the earth that supports and lifts up two adjoining SunWellness properties — Read more…
Jeremy Tackett’s intellect runs deep and is rooted in the science and spirituality of his work guiding biodynamic agriculture at Smokebrush Farm in Manitou Springs. He can and will talk at length about biodynamics and, probably, on many things that stoke his passion for life. Ask questions and you’ll get Read more…
When I asked Rockey, several months ago, about a sharing a series of his insights on life, art and Manitou Springs, he liked the idea. He is a man of messages, with love at the center, and giving. “I don’t mind sharing,” Rockey said. “In fact, that’s one of my Read more…
Kat Tudor is the guiding light behind SunWellness — SunWater Spa, SunMountain Center, Smokebrush Foundation — in Manitou Springs. Her history with the healing arts (“all the arts”) is more or less life long, and has run deeply throughout the Colorado Springs area since 1973. Kat moved to Colorado Springs Read more…
Courtney Henslee wears her heart boldly. She hangs it on her Brazen Bee logo and the names of her handmade products, à la Eff Off Face Wash. It shines through her warm smile and curls colored red. A self-described introvert, Courtney, 40, knows what matters to her and is willing Read more…
Lu LaVallie and Luke Cissell are in their LuStyle Local Goods shop on an off day, tending to odds and ends. Their baby boy, Arrow, sleeps in his carrier seat nearby. The occasional local raps on the window and pokes his head in. Their “little house of Ruxton” is Manitou Read more…
Sophie Cowman sits quietly behind a table in her quiet shop along quiet Lovers Lane. On the days Sophie opens a window while she works, she can hear Fountain Creek in its perpetual run beneath her seat, beneath the shop’s bricks and floor boards. Sophie has been carving wood in Read more…
Kat Tudor often is described as the visionary behind SunWellness (SunWater Spa, SunMountain Center, Smokebrush Foundation). But the vision runs so much longer and deeper than these relatively new SunWellness expressions of her vision in Manitou Springs. Having moved to the Colorado Springs area in 1973 to attend Colorado College, Read more…
Nicole Nicoletta sits on her front porch in the late-morning sunshine, sipping from a cup of hot tea. The view in front of her is wide, and wide open. Red Mountain is dead-center, Iron Mountain to its left. The Miramont Castle rises from its downhill seat a stone’s throw across Read more…
The mountains and waters of Manitou Springs make an impression on visitors, whether stopping in for an afternoon or a lifetime. For many of us, they play daily feel-good roles as we field life’s ups and downs of health and wealth, family and fortunes. Such is the case for Ken Read more…