What’s in a name?

The name Prairie West Design is based on geography and philosophy. We are in Denver. Denver is on the western end of the Great Plains, where the plains abut the Rocky Mountains. We’re not Rocky Mountain, but we can see them. We’re on city land that once was prairie. Some of the original-original inhabitants of the area are still around. There are large and small Prairie Dog colonies nearby, some in open space, and some to the perhaps disappointment of property owners in yards and empty lots. There is a herd of bison within 3 miles from our facility.

The word Prairie evokes a sense of home-spun simplicity along with an era of products that promised generations of satisfactory use. We like the concept of simplicity and durability. It’s not flashy. It’s not loud.

The word West evokes the Old West, a land of nature and opportunity. It is settled by tough, scrappy individuals, from the First People to the latest wave of just-arrived immigrants.

Nature here is usually benevolent, but occasionally tries to kill you, from tornados to hail storms, from extreme heat to extreme cold, from immobilizing snow to drought and fire. The region in part forms the character of people here. Having lived on the East Coast, on the West Coast, in the Southwest, and in the Midwest, I wouldn’t ask to be anywhere else.

The word Design is what we love. Design is creation, the ultimate expression of human intellect. It is the creation of tangible things from art to products that we use. In the realm of tangible things, design can never be separated from process. Design cannot be realized if it cannot be be produced. There is a huge amount of satisfaction gained from each part or machine that we make.

Prairie+West+Design

Spin-Off Business

Our largest current spin-off business is a jewelry making and marketing company, Waystone LLC. Waystone uses stones collected by customers and makes those stones into necklaces, earrings, or rings. The customer’s stones often are stones that have special meaning; either picked up at a special events, significant locations, have special meaning, or just are pretty. Special events are things like engagements, weddings, graduations, births, and passings. Significant locations are places like grandparent’s house or ranch, the family farm, a notable vacation, or the place a person’s ancestors came from. The jewelry can even can made from cement or brick from a building. Some of the stones have special meaning. One stone was given to the owner by a friend during a traumatic period in their life, to keep them grounded. Another stone was carried by the owner’s father for years until he passed away. Some stones are just pretty stones that were collected and put in a junk drawer.

The jewelry fits our philosophy. It is attractive and durable, but not flashy. It requires fine craftwork to produce. It has meaning.

Please check it out at: www.mywaystone.com