Finalists for the 2019 Apollo Awards have been named. On the night of Wednesday, September 11, at the Hilton Chicago hotel, the two winners will be named and recognized – not least by their peers.

In early August, Hearth & Home faxed a survey to 2,500 specialty retailers of hearth, patio, and barbecue products, asking them to compare July 2019 sales to July 2018. The accompanying charts and selected comments are from the 206 usable returns.

Initially, a three-tiered fire feature seems a bit of overkill, until you learn that the house is in Breckenridge, Colorado, where an average of 175 inches of snow falls each year.