Celebrity Stylist Rachel Zoe and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Vendors On QVC and HSN, Makes New York Post’s List Of Trendsetters This Decade

Two home shopping vendors, celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe and rapper-entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs, both made the New York Post’s list in its “A Decade of Trends” story Thursday.

Zoe, who does a fashion and accessory line for QVC, was lauded by the Post for building “a career on perfect taste, an eye for vintage and a knack for pulling fabulous gowns.” Zoe, who does “The Rachel Zoe Project” for Bravo, is pictured with client Nicole Richie.

Combs, who sold out his fragrances during is recent debut on HSN, won high praise from the Post. “By far, one of the greatest retail successes that doesn’t make us want to barf is Sean John — the label launched in the late ’90s by music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs,” the Post wrote.

The Post said that this “early entry in the celebrity clothing-line genre” has “staying power.”

QVC Fashion Designer Susan Graver Struts Out Her First Jewelry For The Network

QVC’s in-house fashion designer for two decades, Susan Graver, debuted her first jewelry for the home shopping network last night. It’s a faceted emerald cut necklace and earring set, only $24, and is a Today’s Special Value Extra.

Graver has a Thursday’s Today’s Special Value, which is a cardigan with georgette trim and matching tank. The damage? It’s $39.

On QVC’s forums, reaction was mixed at Graver’s first attempt at jewelry. Some online posters compared the necklace favorably to Joan Rivers’ QVC jewelry line, and others worried about the quality and workmanship of the Graver pieces.

ShopNBC Offers Six ValuePays On Any Item In Its ‘Once In A Blue Moon’ Special Thursday

ShopNBC has a cute promotion today for the blue moon: It is offering customers six ValuePays on any item for the day.

The “Once In A Blue Moon” special might help those who have had a big-ticket item, perhaps a Gucci watch, that they want to buy on ShopNBC but couldn’t swing in one big bill.

A “blue moon” is when two full moons appear in one month. December’s second blue moon is happening tonight, New Year’s Eve.

The Homeshoppingista Nabs Exclusive Scoop On ‘Jerseylicious,’ The Latest New Jersey-Based Reality Show, For NewJerseyNewsroom.com

Gayle Giacomo (right) and her daughter Christy Pereira at their Gatsby Salon in Green Brook

We got the first scoop on “Jerseylicious,” the new reality TV show that Style Network that just finished shooting in December. The “comedy docu-soap” will premiere in March.

Apart from being The Homeshoppingista, we wear many hats, including writing about New Jersey-related TV shows for NewJerseyNewsroom.com,
where our package of stories on “Jerseylicious” was just posted.

“Jerseylicious” is the latest in a wave of reality programs to come out of the Garden State, with the most notable ones being the controversial piece of garbage “Jersey Shore” on MTV and Bravo’s hit “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.”

In early December on a Friday night we traveled to foreign territory for someone like us from North Jersey — Green Brook in Central Jersey — to go to Gatsby Salon. “Jerseylicious” is about Gayle Giacomo, the salon’s owner, who is trying to relaunch the business after moving it to a new space just a few doors down in a strip mall on Route 22.

Afte getting lost on Route 22, we finally found the beatiful new Gatsby and interviewed Giacomo, a pretty redhead with huge grey eyes; her daughter Christy Pereira, the salon’s manager; Olivia Blois Sharpe, the petite brunette with a penchant for lace leggings, leopard skin and low-cut tops, who is a makeup artist; and the only man in the “Jerseylicious” cast, a very lovable Anthony Lombardi, who got into the hairstyling business to meet chicks.

Anthony Lombardi's salon in Verona

We felt right at home with these Jersey-bred group, who were down to earth and affable. Giacomo and her daughter Pereira are very close, and live only a mile apart in Bridgewater. Sharpe lives in Montville, and Lombardi resides in Fairfield. He also owns his own salon, Anthony Robert Salon, in Verona on Bloomfield Avenue, about five minutes from where we live in Montclair.

We don’t if “Jerseylicious,” and its tale of these Gatsby employees who range in age from their 50s to their 20s will be a hit, but it should generate a lot of interest among folks here in the Garden State. If you live in Jersey, who may know someone connected to the show.

We do. Our sister Karen goes to the Fusion salon in Denville, and one of the hairdressers there, Brielle, is roommates with Pereira! Brielle is in some of the scenes in “Jerseylicous.”

We go to Bangz salon on Montclair, and out hair stylist said that earlier this year, the producers of “Jerseylicious” were in Bangz, seeing it as a potential site for “Jerseylicious.” The Bangz staff had to fill out some questionnaires, but it did not pan out.

And Jersey residents may recognize places they have been on “Jerseylicious.” The show filmed at the upscale CoCo Pari boutique in Red Bank, where we couldn’t afford to shop even when we were employed.

“Jerseylicious” also shot at the 46 Lounge in Totowa. We’ve always wondered what the place was like, but if Sharpe goes there, it’s definitely too young a crowd for us.

We can’t wait to see how “Jerseylicious” turns out. We think it will portray New Jersey and its residents in a much warmer light than that crapola “Jersey Shore”: as down-to-earth, no-nonsense, unpretentious, hard-working, funny people — with our accent. And what’s wrong with leopard skin, anyhow? We love it.

HSN Rock King Jay King Expects To Bring Lapis Bowls To Network In February

Jay King, HSN’s rock star, Monday night said he hopes to be bringing lapis bowls to the home shopping network in February.

King, who travels around the world to find unusual stones to bring to HSN as his “Mine Finds,” was on the home shopping channel all weekend, with the Today’s Special, a turquoise and opal necklace, on Monday.

One of King’s newest and most popular items have been turquoise bowls, a small one and a large one. The items, with the small 8 1/2-inch bowl costing $310, have quickly sold out.

During his presentations Monday King had such a bowl, this one made of cobalt blue lapis, sitting on the table. “I hope to have it in February,” King said. “And you’ll see turquoise bowls back in 2010.”

King, who HSN describes as its own Indiana Jones, said one of the issues in getting the turquoise bowls back is that they are using more stone rough than King and his crew had anticipated.

Yet Another Vendor, Prai, Makes The Move To HSN From ShopNBC

Please correct us if we’re wrong, but Prai beauty products, which we seem to remember were on ShopNBC, are now coming to HSN.

HSN already has many of the Prai products, which include serums, eye and lip creams, and perfume, on its Web site.

“Prai combines the latest breakthroughs in anti-aging beauty with the skin smoothing and perfecting benefits of prai root essence to provide results-oriented formulas with silky textures,” according to HSN.

Damn, we can’t keep up with all these vendors moving back and forth between ShopNBC and HSN.

HSN Introduces Kurgo ‘SkyBox Booster Seat’ For Dogs And Other Pet Products, To Match ‘Dog Whisperer’ Cesar Millan And Ellen DeGeneres’ Offerings On QVC

Taking a page out of QVC’s book, HSN is now selling a line of higher-end pet products from Kurgo, including car seats.

Even in a recession, Americans are still spending on their dogs and cats, which is probably why HSN has decided to start offering the Kurgo goods.

The merchandise, ranging in price from $23 to $80, includes harnesses, back-seat restraints and a travel carrier. Our favorite, however, was a Skybox Booster Seat for small pooches, like our parents’ min-pin Max or our neighbor’s Yorkie.

QVC offers a collection of pet products from the Cesar Millan, the animal behaviorist whose show “Dog Whisperer” airs on the National Geograpihc Channel.

My mom just bought a fancy dog-bowl “Neater Feeder Spill Proof Feeding System” for Max, for $27, on QVC.

The set holds bowls in place so that water and dog food from Max’s dishes won’t ruin my mom’s new wood kitchen floor.

Even Ellen DeGeneres is selling a line of premium dog food on QVC named Halo.

The Homeshoppingista Takes First Shot At Selling Dallas Prince Diamond Cross On eBay

We’ve in the midst of our first experience trying to sell something on eBay, a large Dallas Prince gothic diamond cross.

We purchased the designer cross, with almost one carat of diamonds (our birthstone), from ShopNBC five years ago.

We turned to eBay after reading QVC’s jewelry forums, where posters often mention buying designer jewelry, from Barbare Bixby and Judith Ripka, on the Bay.

Since we made our purchase, the lovely blonde jewelry designer Prince has since shifted and is now selling her upscale pieces on HSN.

We’re such eBay novices that we didn’t even realize that the price we put up was the minimum bid. We thought people could bid under or over that.

We also had no idea that the bidding process had a one week limit.

A family friend was kind enough to post our Prince cross, and we’re waiting to see what happens.

HSN Handbag Designer Carlos Falchi Gets Plug In Sunday New York Times

The “Sunday Styles” section of The New York Times today features a tote bag by HSN handbag designer Carlos Falchi, who was profiled by the paper back in late October.

In the “Pulse” feature, in an item headlined “Sunshine in a Bag,” there’s a mention and photo of Falchi’s snakeskin-embossed microfiber tote. It retails for $255 at Bloomingdale’s.

The Times has packed the Falchi bag with resort items, such as sunglasses, sandals and a bikini.

QVC May Be Pulling Jade From Its Inventory

Is QVC pulling the plug on jade?

That’s what it sounds like, if you take host Antonella Nester at her word. And her comments during a jewelry show last week had the QVC jewelry forum abuzz.

Last week Nester, who is the face of Italian Americans on QVC, presented a pretty carved green jade orchid enchancer. We saw the presentation, and Nester made a cryptic remark that QVC may not be bringing in more jade.

“She has one jade piece and every time they preview it she says that QVC doesn’t have a lot of jade in their inventory right now and they are not sure if they are getting any more jade in,” one woman posted on the jewelry forum.

Wrote a second poster, “A caller pressed her on it and asked why and she just said that QVC was protecting their customers.”

QVC viewers had a couple of theories about what was up. One poster said that jadeite is mined mainly in Myanmar, and that the U.S. does not trade with that nation. That trade ban also excludes Burmese rubies from coming into the country.

And yet another veteran poster said that there has been some question about the quality and authenticity of jade coming into the U.S., which may be why QVC is backing off carrying it.