Meet Lon McGowan, Founder of Alpine Modern

We sat down with Lon McGowan in his Boulder-based store full of handcrafted design essentials, Alpine Modern.

“I love to curate beautiful things and to share those curations,” says Vail native and CU grad Lon McGowan. After entrepreneurial success in Seattle, McGowan moved back to Colorado in 2010 to pursue his passion for design. His Boulder store, Alpine Modern, feels like a spare Museum of Modern Art with work from designers around the globe.

All in keeping with his modernista mantra: “to elevate the modern design and lifestyles of mountain communities around the world.” In 2014, McGowan launched a quarterly magazine, and this July he’s opening the Alpine Modern café. We caught him in-store. (“Be Brave” banner, $68); 2037 13th St.