Denver native and jewelry designer John Atencio says he knocked himself out knocking himself off for a new line of silver jewelry he designed for shopping network QVC.
“This has been a whirlwind up-and-down ride,” Atencio said about the John Atencio 2 collection that took 2 1/2 years to produce. “It has taught me a lot and has taken me around the world. The opportunity is unbelievable. I can hardly believe it’s happening now.”
Atencio got in front of the QVC clan by way of a Thailand jewelry manufacturer he met at a Las Vegas trade show. The shopping network was in the market for a line of silver jewelry designed by a name brand. After the initial meeting, Atencio worked on ideas for more than a month before presenting his work.
“The head of merchandising met with us and gave me my head on a platter,” he said. “She said I wasn’t being true to who I am. My thought process was I was going to do something different than I already do. She said, ‘Nice try, John, now get the (he@#) out of here.’ She wasn’t mean, but she said, ‘I’m challenging you to come up with something that is totally you.’ “
Atencio, who owns and operates five high-end retail stores in Colorado, went back to the proverbial drawing board and created a line of goods that satisfied QVC.
Next stop was QVC school where he learned how to do a show. His first silver showcase debuted in February and sold out. Atencio is creating new pieces for his next show on April 27.
“We’re giving the QVC customer a very high quality product at a decent price. “This is an opportunity for me to get out and meet people and build my brand in a different way.”
Lucky duck.
It takes an individual with a lot of guts to stick with Denver’s fickle restaurant scene for 25 years. Hong Kong native Johnny Hsu has managed to keep The Imperial Chinese Restaurant, 431 S. Broadway, chugging along to reach its 25th anniversary.
“When we opened up, we were the only ones who served real Chinese food,” Hsu said during a celebratory dinner at his restaurant. “We had the whole fish with the eyes popping out. We really shocked the public.”
In 1995, Hsu moved into his current space. “After moving here, we were still doing good but now we had lots of competition coming in. When they redid the whole highway, it hurt us, then we were doing good business until 9/11.”
But Hsu survived by adding new dishes he discovered through his travels to China and Hong Kong, but sesame chicken remains the No. 1 best-seller.
“I look back and say, ‘Johnny, you are a lucky guy.’ Denver is a beautiful city, and I’ve loved it from the first day I got here.”
Through April 12, The Imperial is selling Peking duck for $25 (normal price is $37.50), and offering signature dishes at 25 percent off.
Mr. Rogers.
The Ritz-Carlton Denver may be GM Andrew Rogers’ neighborhood, but the golf course is also his hangout.
Rogers, a card-carrying PGA member who switched his career from the golf course to head honcho of hotels in The Ritz empire, discusses his links life for an interview in the April edition of Colorado Avid Golfer.
“Do you miss anything about the golf industry?” the magazine asked.
“Sure, but now I don’t have to worry about bunkers not being raked and greens not being mowed when I play,” he said. Lawyer’s lunch.
A host of folks gathered to celebrate the 85th birthday of semi-retired Denver attorney Herbert W. DeLaney Jr. during a surprise lunch celebration Tuesday at Elway’s Cherry Creek.
The event, hosted by daughter Paula DeLaney Dansinger and Herb’s wife, Ramona DeLaney, attracted roughly 45 well-wishers, including son-in-law Jim Dansinger; Herb’s ’80s mixed-doubles partner Rita Price; DU law school chum John Gaudio and wife Lillian; private investigator and singer Frankie Reno; Marjorie Reinhardt, Herb’s legal secretary for more than 30 years; legal beagle Walter Gerash, fourth- grade friend Clay David and former law partner Themia Sandven.
I’m told champagne flowed freely, and a festive time was had by all.
New car smell.
Check out the latest car models during The Green Tie Preview Party, a sneak peek at the Denver Auto Show, beginning at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the Colorado Convention Center.
The event, a benefit for the Clear the Air Foundation, includes a cocktail reception and a ribbon-cutting for the official opening of the 2010 Denver Auto Show.
Tickets: $85 per person at .
Eavesdropping
on a woman at Chili Verde: “I have a lot of recycling. I go through a lot of shampoo.”
Penny Parker’s column appears Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Listen to her on the Caplis and Silverman radio show between 4 and 5 p.m. Fridays on KHOW-AM (630). Call 303-954-5224 or e-mail pparker@denverpost.com.
