Best of Utah 2012: Goods & Services 

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Best bargains & Potstickers
Overstock.com
As outlet stores go, Overstock.com’s 18,000 square feet in a strip mall in Sandy brings warehouse-simplicity to displaying what are often some excellent deals in everything from DVDs to Hoovers, suits and shoes. Open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, bargain hunters, often young people or newlyweds keen to decorate their new homes, prowl the aisles full of ever-changing stock, some of it lightly used. If that weren’t reason to head over there, the neighboring Chinese restaurant, Szechuan Garden, continues to be one of the best Asian eateries in Utah.
8550 S. 1300 East, Sandy, Overstock.com

Best Lover of Light
Michael Fatali Photography
In 2002, landscape/nature photographer Michael Fatali was banned for two years from the two Utah national parks he loved and was fined $10,000 for leaving scorch marks on the sandstone base of Delicate Arch, the result of lighting fires for a nighttime photography class he taught. Over the past decade, he’s worked doggedly to return from the shadows and take his place as one of Utah’s most iconic nature photographers. He uses an old-school large-format 8-by-10-inch box camera to achieve an almost-surreal effect. His eye-popping images are shot only in unfiltered natural light, he says, with no coloration and no computer enhancements after the fact—just a “perfect moment in a perfect light.” He once learned the hard way not to play with fire, so he made light his true love.
145 Zion Park Blvd., Springdale, 435-772-2422; 556 Main, Park City, 435-615-6765, Fatali.com

Best Man Wax
Darrell McCurtain, The Golden Door Spa
A seasoned esthetician who has been practicing everything from man waxes to massage therapy for more than 10 years, Darrell McCurtain, who works in the Golden Door Spa in the Waldorf Astoria Park City, is the go-to guy for back-, crack- and sack-hair removal. Gentle and caring, his professional demeanor will make anyone from the veteran hair-hater to the most delicate of n00bs feel right at home. McCurtain also does skin care, pedicures and manicures.
2100 Frostwood Drive, Park City, 435-647-5555, ParkCityWaldorfAstoria.com

Best Crocheted Facial Hair
BeardBeanie.com
The cold chill of mountain air can cut into your face when you’re zooming down the slopes, and the temptation to grow a Unabomber-style beard to keep one’s face warm is strong. But now you don’t need a Viking beard to fight frostbite, thanks to North Logan knitter and entrepreneur Taralee Duffin’s Beard Beanie. It’s a beanie cap with a knit beard attached to it. The Beard Beanie classily covers your face from the elements while giving you a burly countenance from a distance.
BeardBeanie.com

Best Brewing Kits
The Beer Nut
Since most of us are more practiced in imbibing, it is actually quite sobering to learn the ins and outs of homebrewing—what with the assortment of grains, malts, hops, juices, yeast and equipment available in this jam-packed shop. The Beer Nut realized how daunting such choices could be and wisely created beer- and wine-brewing kits with simple instructions. Now, the power to brew is in your hands, waiting to ferment in your basement. And since the Legislature finally “legalized” homebrewing in 2009, you can even do so without fear of a vice-squad raid.
1200 S. State, Salt Lake City, 801-531-8182, BeerNut.com

Best Coop d’etat
Chris Gleason, Art of the Chicken Coop
Let’s just get the obligatory egg pun out of the way: This is an eggs-traordinary guide to chicken coops for chicken owners, chicken lovers and homesteaders. Local Chris Gleason, a woodworker by trade and author of several other DIY books, is a backyard-poultry evangelist who has compiled seven easy-to-follow chicken coop designs with gorgeously rendered pictures. He’s added several profiles and a flock of supplemental information that will make your inner rooster crow.
FoxChapelPublishing.com

Best “New You” Hair & Makeup
Jared Gomez
Got an image problem? When you need a new look, call or text Jared Gomez. Formerly of Ulysses’ trendy State Street salon, Gomez has ventured out on his own and now maintains his own suite at Image Studios. Gomez’s attention to color, style and hair health is the perfect antidote for any frumpiness that might have invaded your look. Gomez is also a passionate citizen, giving of his time to events such as Miss City Weekly pageant. Gorgeous to look at and fun to be with, Gomez is the best at helping you redefine your image.
1850 S. 300 West, Suite 117, Salt Lake City, 801-755-0649, GorgeousJared.com

Best Training for Yoga Teachers
InBody Yoga Academy
If the names D’ana Baptiste and Centered City Yoga mean anything to you, then you’ll be wanting in on the InBody Academy. Taught primarily by Baptiste, Centered City’s founder, who has more than 24 years of experience, the training draws from all paths of yogas and uses diverse teaching modalities to instruct a “root” 200-hour class on how to teach poses, and a more in-depth 500-hour “hybrid” program. Registered with Yoga Alliance, the next session begins May 2 with an annual retreat. As the saying goes, if you really want to master a subject, teach it.
Centered City Yoga, 918 E. 900 South, Salt Lake City, InbodyLife.com

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