Best Of St. Louis 2014

Here's to the people who make St. Louis what it is: the entrepreneurs, the inventors, the tinkerers. They are the do-it-yourselfers whose hands-on approach to doing business sets the tempo for our city — be it introducing us to new ideas or cuisines, building new places for us to play and relax or creating works of arts that challenge and motivate us. Here at Riverfront Times our annual Best of St. Louis® issue has always been, in essence, a celebration of this D.I.Y. community. This year is no different. Over the past twelve months we've traveled to hundreds of local businesses and consulted dozens of experts en route to discovering and documenting the 250-plus people, products, shops and institutions found here. But don't just take our word for it. Do it yourself and use this Best of St. Louis guide to get out there and experience all the wonderful things this town — and its DIYers — have to offer. We're pretty sure you'll come away as satisfied — and inspired — as we were.

Contributors
Writers: Allison Babka, Cheryl Baehr, Michael Dauphin, Jenn DeRose, Ray Downs, Paul Friswold, Julia Gabbert, Chad Garrison, Malcolm Gay, Sara Graham, Richard Haegele, Joseph Hess, Daniel Hill, Patrick Hurley, Sean Kelly, Jaime Lees, Jessica Lussenhop, Kristie McClanahan, Mike McHugh, Bob McMahon, Mitch Ryals, Christian Schaeffer, Nancy Stiles, Mabel Suen, Lindsay Toler, Danny Wicentowski
Editorial coordinator: Joseph Hess
Copy editing: Kristie McClanahan
Fact-checking and proofreading: Amy Borrelli, Robin Deal, Julia Gabbert, Evie Hemphill, Jackie Parker
Design: Tom Carlson
Section openers: Joshua Rowan, photography; Adam Taylor, lighting assistance
Spot photography: Madelaine Azar, Caroline Yoo