Tonight on studio 12.

From a frozen wonderlan created from millions of icicles to a road trip to Salida, Colorado, where we take you inside a small company building.

Success.

One handmade bag at a time.

And we're showing you where conversation meets creative expression.

In tonight's edition of the Doodle Desk.

Plus a look inside a family run business that's helped shape Denver's Little Saigon for generations.

All thi and more right here on studio 12 from the Five Points Media Center in the heart of Denver, Colorado.

This is studio 12.

Hello, I'm Ryan Harris and I. Bazi kanani.

Welcome to studio 12.

If you're looking for a winter adventure that is unique, we have a magical story for you tonight.

The ice castles in Silverthorne transform millions of gallons of water into a glowing frozen wonderland every year.

But this isn't just about what you see.

It's also about how it makes you feel.

PBS Twelve's Erica McLarty loaded up her family and headed up to Silverthorne to explore the ice castles firsthand.

She found out just how massive the structures are and what you can expect when you go.

Have you ever seen the ice castles in Colorado?

Yeah you can see why we wanted to go.

I mean, where else can you truly feel like you are inside of a magical frozen castle?

We have a lot of stuff up there.

Oh, yeah.

That's my son.

What was that?

We decided to load up our kids and take a winter trip up to Silverthorne.

We heard if you go to the ice castles, you have to dres like you are going full on ski.

Because once you step inside, ice in every direction.

To look at the crystals.

Caves.

Archways.

Fountains.

Ice tunnels.

You can crawl through.

For familie that are looking for something to do besides sledding, besides skiing.

This is the perfect chance to explore and experience something totally different this winter.

You can visi the ice castles during the day, but when the sun goes down, the castle transforms, glowing from the inside out.

Oh, there is a lot of lighting underneath you guys.

If you look around, you'll see some of our bigger lights that are just in the towers and walls.

We have about 120 of those in the castle right now, and different degrees and levels.

And then our pixel wall are that's about 4000 to 5000 small, almost like Christmas lights in there.

That we set to a program.

And underneath it all, a hidden network making the magic possible.

We have over 35,000ft worth of water lines running underneath us and then running up into the walls.

So to build an ice castle will take a couple million gallons of water.

All freezes and then goes back into the natural resource that it came from.

We have 82 heads this season in this castle, so that's 82 places that spraying wate every single night of a million tons of ice that we're looking at here, between what's underneath u and what's all around the walls.

But we're standing about two, three feet above the ground right now.

That's how much ice has been crushed u to make the floor pretty cool.

As water freezes, icicle begin to form and those icicles become the building blocks of the castle itself.

We'll grow some icicles as well.

And every single day from that November period to until we open it in late December.

We're picking icicles off of these, racks in different places.

Harvesting them is what we like to say.

So once we have all of our icicles, we're going around to the entire castle, placing the strategically in different ways.

And then spraying that ever single night, night after night.

Layer by layer the walls grow in Silverthorne.

It took just about three weeks to bring this frozen city to life.

We have folks who have pretty much trained their entire life in sculpture and artwork that are on the team.

We have folk that are have done construction their entire lives and have just fell into a creative way of doing that.

I have an associate's degree in adventure sports.

All of the climbing that we do to get into the walls, all of the technical rope work, if we have to do any, that kind of falls under that category.

And then my bachelor's degree in environmental science and chemistry.

So my mom's very happ that I'm using that right now.

We like to get into the technical data of everything and how it all freezes together, how it all melts.

But even with years of experience, Mother Nature doesn't always cooperate.

This being one of the warme and driest Colorado winters did make building it a lot tougher than it would in past years.

However, the company over the last couple seasons, we have been working as hard as we can to make our model weather resistant as much as we can, really.

And all of that wor kind of culminated this season, and we were able to successfully pull it off.

Even with the warm weather and maintaining a castle made of ice, a full time job pretty much every single day.

You are climbing up into walls, placing icicles as best you can.

Then we'll also put out separate kind of auxiliary, like sprayers every single night.

So almost like watering your wall, your ice wall, and then also chain sawing and working on sculptures.

It's a lot of hard work, but very rewarding when you see all the people that come and get to see you even days before opening.

Things don't always go according to plan.

Our form that we used for the bar this season, decided not to work about five days before we opened.

Luckily, we have some amazing builders that have been working with ice blocks for a very long time.

And they were able to just pretty much adapt and make an igloo just out of ice blocks.

That was probably the biggest.

Oh.

But we made it work anyway.

I would say this igloo is proof that sometimes when a plan falls apart, it leaves room for something better for visitors, including my family.

The result is pure wonder.

Whether you're 75 or 5.

What is your favorite part about this whole place?

I really like the lights and the slides.

And with that.

Yes, I love it.

How about you?

My favorite part was the Castle Quest scavenger hunt thing.

First you have to find dragon eggs.

Some got stolen and taken home.

Are you cold?

Yeah, but is it worth it?

But is it really this?

These ice castles are part engineering, part art, and entirely temporary.

A reminder that some of the most magical places are meant to be experienced, not preserved.

It's bittersweet.

I'd say some people like to see that happen, and other people are a little sad to see that happen.

You put about 4000 hours of collective team into making it, so stay present in the moments with the people you love.

For PBS 12 in Silverthorne, I'm Erica McCleary.

Yay, PBS.

Wow!

Yay!

I do feel a bit sad knowing that all of that hard work and all that beauty does have to melt away.

Eventually that time will come.

All the more reason to g now, because you could not find a coole winter experience in Colorado.

Maybe aside from skiing, but this is pretty cool too.

I can't wait to check it out.

The ice castles in Silverthorne are open until early March, depending on the weather.

They have another location in Cripple Creek and it's totally different.

So if that's a closer drive for you, you may want to check it out.

To find out more, you can go to Ice castles.com and be sure to take a look at our YouTube channel for more family friendly adventures like this one.

We ar introducing a brand new segment called The Doodle Desk and illustrated Interview.

PBS Twelve's Kyle Dyer sits down with familiar faces from the Colorado inside Out table for a deeper, more personal conversation as they reflect on the experiences that shape their perspectives on Colorado, the panelists tak on a playful artistic challenge drawing each other's portraits during the interview.

In tonight's sneak peek of the Doodle Desk, Kyle sits down with civil rights attorney Tyrone Glover to discuss law, justice and art.

Tyrone Glover is always collected and mindful, and he's passionate about people and about the law.

In civil rights, he protects those who need someone in their corner and in criminal defense, he listens to those who need to be heard.

He is a fighter in more ways than one, and we will get to that in a minute.

But first, Tyrone, what sparked your interest in going into law?

Because that's not something that was in your family.

Like a lot of kids, if you're kind of an argumentative, like opinionated kid with a real sense of social justice, your parents start directin you, you know, towards the law.

But I think I come from a real family of, I think, activists and, you know, trailblazers.

You know, my grandfather was sort of, you know, received, you know, medals in the Navy and then went on to have like a franchise for Texaco.

Williams, like a real entrepreneurial sort of guy.

My grandmother you know, was a school teacher and really an activist in the South for integrating schools and advocating for students.

And then my other grandfather on my father's side was a black farmer that no one can quite figure out how, but he was able to buy up all of this land despite being a black man in Virginia in like the 1920s.

But he became one of the most prominent sort of farmer in our little town in Virginia.

Really standing up and fighting for what's right is just something I think that's in my DNA.

And I saw the law a a great tool to accomplish that.

I was mentioning earlier how you are a fighter for people, but you literally have bee a fighter and a really good one.

How did you ever end up as an MMA fighter?

My little brother was going to karate at like one of our local karate school, and I would, you know, as kind of the sibling would go there and sometimes would sit and watch him.

And I was like, this is kind of cool.

So like, you know, my parents had to take a free class.

I tried it, I really, really had like a lot of fun with it.

And then, you know, was wrestling in high school and middle school and was getting good at that then, you know, went to college and was going down to L.A.

and was competing and doing well in these Brazilian jiu jitsu competitions.

And then I linked up with a good friend of mine from high school, Urijah Faber, who's now, UFC Hall of Famer.

And then we just started fighting in M&A shows like on the kind of Indian reservations, because it wasn't legal anywhere else.

I strung together a few wins an then ended up quitting my job.

Moving to San Diego, I got signed with an organization called Parents Say, kind of a funny story.

My dad, I wasn't I was hiding it from my parents for, like a while.

And my dad is an eye surgeon, right.

He's an ocular plastic surgeon.

So he does actual, like, orbital repairs and stuff like that.

So one of his patients is, you know, getting, you know, seeing him and he's done surgery and he's asking to get cleared to go back and fight.

My dad's office clears.

I'm gonna go back and fight.

And he's like, Doctor Glover, you should come to my fight.

And so he gives them a fight poster you know, and I'm on the poster.

And so he comes in an he's like, what you is this you?

And I was like, yeah.

He's like you're fighting in these things.

I was like, yeah.

Do you want a ticket?

Oh my gosh.

So that' kind of how I got outed on that.

Yeah.

So what?

So you retired from that, bu you were undefeated for a while.

What kind of skills from that part of your life do you feel like you stil tap into today as an attorney?

I think you know, the preparation, right, is a big part of it.

Right?

Sort of fight is, kind of lost.

And I think one on your preparation and then I think execution.

Right.

Which is kind of the second piece of it going in, being focused on, you know, really executing at every single turn, being calm, being sort of just like, yeah, unflappable and sort of the face of the storm and being able to, like, execute on your game plan the entire time.

You are calm.

I always notice that.

Why is it important for you to be on the inside out?

You're so bus with your having your own firm, taking cases not only here in Colorado, but take you're going into courtrooms outside the city, the state, but you're a regular on this show and you bring so much, you come so prepared.

Why is it important for you?

I think it's important, you know, to not only do the work, but especially as sort of person of color in space where there are not many of us to do that work in a really I think public fashion as well.

You want I think just the community to see that there's folks like us out there doing this work.

And you also want to inspire, you know, the kids out there, you want to show them, like, you can be an attorney and you can be here and you can be on call inside out and you can fight these good fights.

Did you ever watch Colorado Inside Out before you came on the show?

Yeah, I watched it a few.

My parents watch it like, oh, the legislature.

Oh, really?

So and especially now that I'm on.

Oh, really What did they think of the show?

Oh, they love it.

Yeah, yeah.

They're always like, oh, I there's other panels and always telling me about other people and stuff like that.

I am so curious what you're doing over there.

I'm just kind of doing my thing.

What?

I thought I had more time.

Give me a time.

Are you just putting, like, give me a time limit?

15.

Are you just putting color just to add color, like a portrait background?

What do you do?

Don't worry about what I'm doing, but I'm loving the creative process.

Kind of.

It's thing.

All right, well, I didn't do that.

All right.

Times I've done.

Okay.

All right.

Ready?

I got it.

Ready?

Yeah.

Set.

Go!

Oh my gosh.

Ty.

Tyrone, look at that.

What you are is I messed up on your mouth.

I'm sorry.

Well, look at yours.

Looks really good.

Let's show to the camera.

Holy smokes.

That is amazing.

You are artistic.

I might add some backdrop Yeah.

That's the fun, you know.

Yeah, that's.

That's a really good idea.

I mean, you like the the gold.

I was doing the frame because I love I love gold framed pictures.

Like old school frames.

Especially the golden.

Just so dope.

Okay, I gave you a gold frame.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Thank you Tyrone, thanks so much for playing along.

Thanks for adding so much color to my portrait.

I love it well, and thank you for being.

I just think, look, you're like such a warm, vibrant person.

So I wanted everything to just sort of pop.

And then so you got like the camera and the microphone and like a little like one of those whatever those director thing like to go to the camera.

Yeah.

And script and I don't know, just all the fun things that remind me.

Yeah.

I was like, well, I think you're fun.

I think you're amazing.

I'm sorry I gave you no life and excitement on your face.

Thank you for being a part of come inside Out and be m friend.

Yeah.

No.

My pleasure.

That was just a sneak peek of one of our conversations with our panelists.

For our full conversation with all of our insiders, check out the Dual Desk on the passport app.

PBS Twelve's YouTube channel or on our website, PBS 12.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.

We look forward to seeing yo the next time at the doodle desk in the coming weeks, we'll show you more of Kyle's Doodle Desk interviews right here on studio 12.

The sketches can be surprising, so make sure to stay tuned for that.

We're taking you now to Salida, Colorado, where a small manufacturing company is showing us what's possible when craftsmanship, values, and community come togethe to build a successful business.

Vona good produces high quality sewn bags, totes and purses that are made here locally, keeping production close to home.

Our business of Colorado host Frannie Matthews sat down with Susie Tray, co-owner of Beauty Goods, to talk about their origin story, how Suzy and her best friend Katie Meadows took their love of sewing and created a thriving business partnership together.

Here's more.

The origin story, basically, is that Katie and Mike, who's Katie's my partner.

She and her partner wen to spend a lot of time in Mexico surfing and just, living a great life there.

Yeah.

And she.

I actually brought a sample of it.

She brought back one of these, you know, which is a very common mesh that you would find in Mexico, but it wasn't very durable.

Right.

You know, so then being in Salin and being exposed to river mesh, you know, which is very durable and long lasting, and then modifying the design so that the strap go all the way around the bag.

Yep.

The you create a very durable mesh.

We were living in California and use it for groceries.

We would use it for just travel and the beach.

We went to the beac a lot, right?

Much as we could.

And you know, you put your wetsuit in there and that's the end of the all wet and gross.

But then it would just dry and shake out and it was just the perfect beach bag.

And then we moved back to Salina and Katie.

We have been friends for a very long time.

And Katie, I kind of was like, okay, this tag is really special and I think we should do something.

And we had our first market here in saline at the it was called the Sherman Market.

And we were invited to go and, you know, set up a booth and we sold out.

You know, we we had just made just like, I don't know how many, but we thought it was kind of expensive when people really want this, you know, and people came out and supported us and I mean, we I don't think we would be still going if it wasn't for the local community that supports us and just as our cheerleaders.

But the ascent program was in 202 and we are not business people.

Katie and I are designers.

We have design backgrounds.

I did user interface design, Katie's graphic designer.

So that's just not something that we knew what we were doing.

Exactly.

And this gave us mentors, educators, entrepreneurs.

They also made us like, get out of the weeds and think about our business, what our growth strategy is, what is our brand identity, who are we?

What do we want to be?

You know, and we just are.

So because you're as a small business owner, you're just in the every day doing everything.

So it's hard to take thos moments and the ascent program forced us to do that and it was very valuable.

Like it definitely you know, gave us a springboard to to feel confident abou the next stage of the process.

I mean, this mesh is actually we call it electric beige.

It's a mesh that we designed, but it is kind of neutral.

But if you look really close, there's some really bright threads in there.

Right.

But we so we do have some neutrals.

But I would say that, color is a big part of our brand.

I would say that Katie is really good at product development like she is.

She is very good at that piece of it.

And together we were able to develop this.

There's the mother tote and then the we call it it's perfectly pocketed.

With the zipper pocke and the flat pocket in the front and the two in our internal pockets.

We just recently introduced like a base that's an add on.

So for people who want a little more structure on the bottom we just have been slow to grow and and not pushing for it.

We we want that connection to our product.

We have we have grown.

We have a bigger shed that we now call a studio, and we have a sewer that works for us.

We also have relationships with some sewing operations on the Front Range, so we're not making everything here in slide.

It's still a Colorado story.

But that said, like we still have a relationship with those sowers we see, we pick up the we drop off materials and we pick up the bags.

We have that connection to the product.

We try to be really intentional and have integrity behind every decision we make in our business.

And so I can't tell you what's going to happen.

We might grow to the point where we need bigger manufacturing, but I can't I can't say that right now.

It's working for us.

You know, all those those bags that you get for free and they end up in landfills.

Yeah.

Like this is the ba that you don't have to replace.

And that's part of the sustainability.

It's a multi-generational bag.

I will give this to my children.

Yeah.

We both have a a passion for a good design.

I think that we respect each other and we trust each other.

And we're not scared to push back on each other either, which I think is key to a good partnership.

And then if we have issues we work it out, you know, like if we we have already we've been in business long enough now that we've had moments of having to go back and forth and find figure out how to make a decision, even though we both feel differently about what we should do.

I wouldn't want to do this without her.

You know, her voice and her perspectiv is so important to the business.

What piece of advice would yo have for somebody starting out?

Besides, have fun.

Be open to learning and growing and changing as you changing your course.

Like be flexibl with with what's coming at you because, you know you have to be able to pivot and and and move, you know, move your business into a direction that makes sense, you know, for you for your family, for, you know, the consumers of your products, whatever it may be.

You know, you have to be able to pay attention and take input and then make decisions based on that.

I love that I I am a big fan of your product.

I really, really appreciate your time today and I can' wait to see what happens next.

Yeah me too.

We'll see what happens next.

Be sure to tune in later this month when Frannie and PBS 12 photojournalist Rico Romero bring us more business storie from their road trip to Salina.

At the state legislature, lawmakers are hearing plenty of wish lists as they debate funding for state programs.

And it's not just at the Capitol.

Smaller governments across Colorado are doing the same as they plan ahead for 2026.

In Denver, this marks mayor Mike Johnston's final year to deliver on his promises before potentially seeking a second term.

The Colorado Inside Out team has mixed reactions to what's being proposed, and questions just how much could actually get done in such a divisive climate especially with a tight budget?

Let's check in now with Kyle Dyer.

Hi, Bosnian Ryan, you know, as we move into February, I'm curious how you are doing with your goals for the new year.

We recently got to see what Denver's citywide goals and priorities are for 2026.

And so our insiders wanted t chime in on Colorado inside out.

This week, Denver Mayor Mike Johnson rolled out his citywide goals for this year ahead.

And while the plan include some new, specific strategies, many prioritie are very familiar from last year and making Denver vibrant, making it safe and affordable for all who live and work here.

Elena, you have really broken down what the plans are and for Axios Denver.

So fill us in.

Sure.

You said it.

There' nothing really groundbreaking.

It was very much a continuation of its current playbook.

A couple of thing did catch my attention, though.

So he promised this year to deliver 2500 affordable housing units.

That's 500 fewer units than he promised last year, a goal that he only mad 77% of the way toward achieving.

His office as blame that on funding cuts from at the federal level and the state level.

But sort of an interesting, you know, decrease in and a goal making things a little bit more achievable.

Another thing that was new was he's promised to address every report of homelessness or distress within one business day.

So that will take real manpower.

It's an easy goal to hold him accountable to.

And the backdrop behind all of these, promises that he's made is that he's working with a city workforce with roughly 900, jobs reduced between layoff and, unfilled job eliminations.

He's also working with a budget that has $200 million in cuts, the most conservativ in 15 years, according to him.

Ongoing battles with, strong willed and distrustful city council that will, you know, push and pull, and complicate his sor of ability to get things done.

And then, of course, hostile federal administration that continues to cut funding and threaten, funding cuts.

So all of that could complicate his agenda.

And the timin is really important because it's his last full year to deliver on his promises before he goes out next year in 2027.

And asks for voters to reelect him.

So, it will be interesting to see, you know, what promises he can actually keep.

Okay, Adam.

Your thoughts?

To quote Tom Clark, he said governments are about power, and economies are about collaboration.

I look at some of the mayor's goals, and I think given the budget circumstance, given the staffing issues, it's going to require him to work with council and work with other business entities and work with nonprofits, because some of these things that he's listed, whether it's in housing or the revitalization downtown or even public safety.

He cannot do it alone.

I think we've seen a trend towards hopefully trying to work with counci on some of these larger issues.

And and we've seen council push back on things like the soccer stadium and some others.

But there's no question for m that if the member, if the mayor wants to get his goals complete, or attempt to get them complete, then he sure better start working on some serious relationships across the metro area to get them done.

Okay.

All right.

That's interesting that he had it at Alma Park, and I hadn't realize just how bad things have been, and the stats they gave on how it was improved, both homelessness and crime there.

Those were impressive.

But when you think about everything the city has on its plate righ now, talked about Birnam Yard.

Of course that will affect alma too, because that's right on the edge of where the Bronco Stadium development will be.

National Western, a huge project still going.

It was a very successful show, but there's so much more that has to be built there.

So at the same time, he's looking at building for the future and big project that need a lot of management.

There's all this micromanaging that has to be done on homelessness and affordable housing and crime to continue to reduce the homicide rat and also reduce traffic deaths and everything else.

So he has a very busy 18 months ahead.

And when it comes to the homelessness, the point in time count was made Monday night of this year.

It started for a few hours after he gave this speech.

Okay.

And we'll find those result out in the summer.

Right.

Right.

It takes several months.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thanks.

Hi.

My pleasure Karen.

It makes me a bit, I think, nervous with such an aspirational agenda, but not a recognition from the mayor of some of.

I think those challenges, the challenges with repairing relationship with, understaffing, with just so much going on in the city that needs to be scaled.

Because when there's not that recognition, far too often we see it harm the most vulnerable of our populations.

When you g with such an aspirational agenda and a city that is seemingly always in a perpetual, budgeting crisis, and you have to start cutting corners sort of mid-stride, it oftentimes falls on those who are the most vulnerable amongst our communities.

So I think I would have like to see some more pragmatic talk about how we're going to scal just some of the difficulties, as opposed to just pure aspiration, because I feel like once things get going, it's hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Okay.

All right.

That was just one of the topics we talked about on the latest episode of Colorado Inside Out.

You can watch the entire show on YouTube, the PBS passport app, or listen in on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

And make sure to catch our nex episode on any of those places, or right here on PBS 12 this Friday at eight.

Denver's Little Saigon is home to dozens of small businesses that reflect generations of culture, resilience, and entrepreneurshi within the Vietnamese community.

One of those businesses is Trung on Gifts, a family run shop that's been a staple for decades, offering everything from traditional items to everyday essentials.

But behind the storefront is a much deeper story.

In our short documentary tonight, we take you inside Trung on gifts to learn how the past, present, and future of one family's history intersects in Denver's Little Saigon.

The whole plaza itself plays a huge part in my role of who I am today.

Sometime we want to get together to play, sit down, have a cup of coffee, or have the bowl of, you have to.

Some people want to eat, food at the restaurant.

That's why we have this area and we start to open this one on 1987.

We want our community group.

And everybody can come in and to.

Get what they need.

And they can see the all together.

So da one 4181 being really homesick which I the name when I see the name, I think this a good name in Chinese in Vietnam.

It means peace and harmony.

Yeah, but I didn't think about English, the heart or spelling and they heart.

Upon announcing Chung on.

This name.

Follow me.

44 year now.

My name is a farm.

My shop is a Chung on gift right of center.

1975.

We escape our from South Vietnam three days before clap.

I have no choice.

I don't know anything.

They clap.

I'm not back to south.

They slowly, slowly going south.

And we know, if we not step out, we got really big trouble.

Because usually come in a government they don't like Olathe high education is that they think high education cannot they cannot control.

I like to be, teach.

So I get it in and get in on the math teachers degree.

Everybody know it.

And not a good time to join in is not Vietnam communist.

So we.

Try to right now, up up to right now.

Just a little bit.

Okay.

I came was 1975, and my wife, she came 1979.

I think I may go back 47 years ago when I came to United State.

I really say I don't know nothing.

When we just come to tell you not to say we don't know nothing, we don't have come for them.

We they scare.

And that time now Google Translate is nothing.

And when we escape I have tak one dictionary about that thing.

Look at the handbook.

With that I need.

Every night I found a dictionary.

My wife have the older brothers Eagle.

Same school with my cousin.

So he.

I don't know how they connected.

They bring whole family to Denver and they stay in my cousin house.

So the next day, I. Just came to visit them.

And when I ring the bell and I go out, I open the door.

The person come out to open the door is my wife.

I see my husband.

And when I saw her, they say, boom!

That took my person.

I don't know what they say, but like a big shock.

So I follow her and I say, what's your name?

And he say, I'm Tom.

And I look at him, I saying, I think you, you you older than me.

How about I call you Tom brother?

I see him that time.

He say, how about we marry now?

We been married about 45 years.

Look back is a long, long, long time.

He never let me pay.

House bill.

What?

Electric bill.

Now he take care everything.

He never tell you, he straight about, we beh the financial, everything.

No.

Okay.

That's what I really love him.

I got the job.

Is a busboy at the top of the Rocky.

At downtown Denver, 10 p.m.

to to become a busboy.

You get that?

The good freedoms.

And we came to USA.

We found the freedom.

We can go what we want.

We can speak what we want and we can think what we want.

And not that I found another job in King Soopers I saw in King Soopers.

They got American foo and most the Vietnamese people, they eat rice and some Vietnamese food.

And over there they have this really small back.

They call Uncle Ben Rice.

We won't eat the long grain gra and we don't have like a fish.

Us we don't have like, any Asian food.

Even I want to be in crowd.

We have to grow the beans at home.

And the Ramona.

Oh my gosh, such a large selection.

Wow.

I haven't even seen all these flavors.

So we decided, okay, why don't we just open the grocery?

Grocery?

Well, how do you get to be Vietnamese community close.

So we opened the grocery store.

Small one we explore that time.

My husband here he have the business is at a small cursory Asian grocery they call type in market supermarket.

I try to come here to California to get the fish, ask and something like that.

Come back.

When I come out to the business.

I don't have anything.

I don't have money in my pocket.

I ask my husband because he come in United States in 1975.

I ask him, he say I only 5000.

I cannot help you more.

I say, okay, 5000 enough I take I use that 5000.

I go to business I ask, the business is a 40,000.

I go deal with him.

I say I pay you payment for a year.

Okay.

I'll court.

They take my interest every month.

I need paid 3000.

I paid 3300 something for him for a year, a payment.

I only make 30,000.

How I survive.

Is a not easy, but I go to.

I need make the shop.

I can make more money that I say I want open the shop.

That shop is retail.

It's only 700ft.

The name is a car trunk.

All growing up in this stor it started off as a blockbuster.

Like an Asian blockbuster.

It was a VHS movie rental.

And it was all like, kung fu movies to dramas to like all that for the Asian community.

So, like, our store was the hub for the Asian community on the weekends when they came after work or whatever, they can relax by watching movies with VHS.

So it was like renting different movies and drama.

So for me, those are like memories of mine, of like, every aisle is like it' like an archive of our history and culture and everything because every aisle with like, gifts or every thing that was in the store was a story.

This shopping plaza is actually, our home for my cousins and siblings because all my aunties and uncles woul have their store in this plaza.

Then we would have like a restaurant, a supermarket, our gift shop.

So it was kind of like where we grew up.

We would be kids just running around store to store.

We're hungry.

We'll just go to the restaurant and if we wanted a snack, we'll go to the supermarket.

If we wanted to, like, do ou homework, report to the aunts, you know, office, you know, stuff like that.

It was just, like, this is where I grew up.

So I grew up in it.

So honestly, I wasn't lik I was getting paid to work here.

It was like child labor.

You know, you work for your parents, so it wasn't always like my dream job.

Honestly, Angie Yang, her dream is a model modeling.

Yeah, okay.

And Ma, she won catwalk.

She won my photo on the screen.

And she won every time I let her go.

Try Unicef past happy and not really.

Okay, 23 at that time I say, honey, I think now is at that time.

If you wanna continue your job, you wanna follow that business, I let you think your choice are.

You want to go back to school?

No.

The school panda.

This was last year.

This is this year.

So every year, this year out, I knew she taking about one week.

I say she say mom I think I pick business I say okay, if you pick business you need clear the past your modeling, everything.

You're 23.

You are already a whole year.

You pass okay.

You need the rule and the time to learning something.

And she say she picked business.

I say, okay, for me, I just want to share our culture, traditions and heritage and roots.

And it can be anything from like traditional, like jade bangles, you know, that has different nostalgic meanings behind it to like the new pop culture stuff like from trinkets and collectibles like it could be from all sorts of different, genres in the stores, right?

Different areas in the store, but it hits somebody deep in their heart where it could be that that's kind of how I fee like everything is sentimental.

Oh my God we need a picture of that, too.

Everything has, a story behind it.

So if somebody is buying something for someone, there's a story behind why they are gifting that to someone.

So I feel like our store can give that to others.

See, I have a lot a lot of customer a lot.

Okay?

When they come and they say hi and I say.

You don't need buy anything.

You just coming, you say hi.

I'm happy because we have friend.

No, I need support you and they need pay something.

They need to buy some.

Luckily, Mimi's parents had done such a good job of building this business.

We don't have La Coconut, but we have a lot of ginger.

It's been an interesting balance, for sure.

It's something that we want to keep around.

We don't want to just be the trendy store.

We want to keep our traditions alive.

Obviously Mimi is a big believer in that, all the community work she does is in order to keep traditions and, educate future generations on, what we used to do or what our parents used to do, kind of balancing the past versu the present versus the future, because obviously our store has a lot going on.

It's not just the store but the shopping center as well.

We have, you know, Mim puts on these community events, and she mostly does it for kids.

Almost all the events are geared towards kids.

Lunar New Year.

We have, like, a kids fashion show.

The kids come out to see the lions.

Mid-Autumn Festival for kids.

It's for kids.

I say it's a lantern festival.

Obviously there are times when I wake up and I say, you know, I wish I could have half the store for all the products that I want.

But then there are days where when I wake up and, you know, there's I'll have like, like a 18, 19 year old kid come in and ask about a really traditional product.

And they're like, we do have that.

And or someone else will come in and ask about something that we don't have that I have no idea where to point you, because I can't think of a single place that would sell something like tha if it's not us, I have no idea.

We have sections of like, I can order everything in the store, but my mom gets all the, like, traditional stuff, and then Michael and I get pop culture and all that, and then I add on, like the beauty and the scenarios and all the cute stuff.

Michael has all the Pokemon, and so we all have a little section that really brings us joy.

It's not just a matter of me looking at a sheet and figuring out what's available.

Sometimes if it was available yesterday, it's not available today.

So there's risks involved as well.

Obviously, because it could be limited.

And then tomorrow there could be tons of inventory.

So now it's not as limited anymore.

I think experience gives you a lot of insight as to what could and may, may or may not be popular.

Also, staying up to date on, you know, pop culture and trends obviously helps.

There's a fair bit of luck involved as well.

I think that's the hard part, right, is to figure out what kind of gift or items to bring in and how to get it and what if it will sell here.

There's like fails or stuff, sit and collect dust, or there's things that are flying off the shelf where we can't even like, you know we just have to keep restocking.

Right?

In Asia, they're a little bit ahead of the game.

Asia is very fashion forward.

Their pop culture moves very quickly, and I think we get some insight into what we could be seeing here.

But it's not necessarily always the case.

But it does give you a bit of insight.

So I mean, I guess as a research tool, it kind of works.

We always know about six months ahead what's going to be hot.

And if the American culture, like community and culture can accept that kind of new trend.

So like, exampl like when love was more popular, it was already popular in Asia, like way ahead of time, like maybe like a year before and then America started, like getting in the trend and then the whole world.

I believed in pop mar and Booboos and stuff like that, long befor most people knew what they were.

I'm a collectible kind of person.

Oh, you can collect them.

It's like a blind box.

And I think that's where our anime section kind of started off.

A lot of our customers know, like they're know for the store, for the pokemons that are known for the store, for Sanrio items, like because we try to always get those items before they hit the American market.

I don't have as much time now, so I kind of rely on my kids at this point, to know what's popular and what's not for me.

But, I'm a collector.

I like I like collecting a lot of different things.

Obviously, we like having, you know, trendy pop culture products.

But I've always said that, I don't ever want to lose the, the traditional aspect of the store, such as, like, products for like, memorials, and stuff like that, that we don't know if the future generation is going to use, but it's something that we kee around, not just in case, but, you know, there are different people.

That use them.

And there are people that maybe, they came over from another country.

So they're still, you know, using those traditions and stuff like that.

So, it's it's bee an interesting balance for sure.

It's something that we want to keep around.

We don't want to just be the trendy store.

We want to keep our traditions alive.

Obviously we got, you know, to Prada, always change everything or we can't.

We have to different thinking and what they are thinking.

Sometimes it's not easy to ge change to go with this new way, but they do really, really good job.

There's a question of if this future generation wants to take over businesses from the previous generation, and a lot of them aren't interested.

So you have kind of this cultural hub that needs to be continued, but who's going to pick up that torch?

And, so making sure we kind of stay grounded in the fact that we keep those traditional products is it's important to us at least, what I am and who I am today as an entrepreneur and a businesswoman is I learned it all from my mo and dad and my aunts and uncles.

Seeing them work so hard for everything that they do to give us a better future, right?

We are teaching you and we want training you out.

I did go to like college for like fashion, design, institutions, skincare, all of that extra stuff.

But I'm not doing any of that because I realized like, this is my home.

I actually had three Asian gif shops in the mall at one point when I was in my 20s.

After I had kids I realized how important it is to continue the culture and tradition and heritage and sharing the roots of wha my mom and dad and my grandma, grandpa and stuff shared with me.

I thought I was going to be a soccer player in the future.

Unfortunately, I was derailed by injuries.

I've had three ACL surgeries and Achilles surgery and, and I was going to school at the University of Denver at the time.

And, this is right around right around when I met Mami, but, I went to school for business and accounting.

In the future, I'd like to own a business as well.

So I wanted to go that route with it.

And so, she asked me to come out to the store and help with inventory to see if I could, just because of my background and stuff like that.

And it took me an entire summer to, to get some inventory done at the store.

Not every couple can work together and be together 24 seven, but me, me and I I guess we have a knack for it.

And so we enjoy being together, and, I enjoy what I do out here.

So it just kind of worked out.

We over here, we saw Mimi and Michael took the job and they do it.

So we really proud.

We asked, so I retire so I can go anywhere I want.

I can do every time I want.

We can take off a week, a month and they still can handle it.

When I take care when they laid out, I never have to be okay.

But today I really say I'm so proud.

Mimi.

Proud about her.

But I didn't tell her.

Honey, I'm so proud of you.

You took a job, everything.

No.

Okay, I just a look and I se she can handle everything now.

I let her go.

So that is why, like, for me now, this is my job.

I come to work, like, extra happy to work and like a place where I can sell items, but.

And trinkets and stuff that brings people happiness and joy, you know like they come excited to shop and for instance, like, buy like a trinket, like a movie or whatever.

And then they leave extra happy.

Like, those are the joy that makes the store what it is, you know?

And that's the same of how I saw my mom and dad working back in the da to their movies brought people joy and happiness.

They're gift items, small things here and there.

People come to buy to gift to other and that brings other peopl joy.

Thank you very much.

Yeah.

Thank you very much.

We'll see you later.

Yeah, yeah.

Thank you.

So those are things that I see that why these mom and pop shops are like very important, you know.

And it's important to share the stories behind behind it.

The trunk on gift store is part of a district that symbolizes generations of Vietnamese immigrant perseverance and contribution to Denver.

In fact the Far East Center on Federal, the shopping complex that houses their shop and other longtime businesses, was added to Colorado's Stat Register of Historic Properties in 2024, recognizing it as a site of cultural and historical significance from generations of families who fled war and built new roots here.

To the storytellers and neighbors preserving those memories, the Little Saigon District stands as both a modern day business hub and a reminder of the history of the people behind it.

To learn more, you can go to Little Saigon denver.com and visi Trung on Gifts on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

Thank you for joining us tonight as we got to explore a magical ice castle and draw out some deepe conversations with Doodle Desk.

We also love sharing the stories of businesses like being good and talking about communities that are helping to define Colorado.

That's what studio 12 is all about.

For more business features, short documentaries and family friendly adventures, you can find us on PBS 12.org and of course, our YouTube channel.

Thanks for joining us.

I'm bazi kanani and I'm Ryan here.

We'll see you right here next time on studio 12.

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