More Celebrity Jewelry Designers, Lisa And Brittny Gastineau, Join HSN ‘Family’

Lisa and Brittny Gastineau, of the E! reality show “Gastineau Girls,” are bringing a jewelry line to HSN.

The mom-and-daughter team will debut “Gastineau Glamour” March 21 on the home shopping network.

Here are the canned quotes from the pair.

“I’ve always had an eye for dressing and accessorizing, and Brittny and I are excited to bring our collection to life when we appear on HSN,” Lisa said.

And Brittny “added,” “My mom and I have always been extremely close and that will quickly become apparent when we appear on HSN. We can’t wait to share the inspirations behind the designs and be able to demonstrate to a large audience the passion we have for jewelry.”

We hate when people use cutesy spellings for their names, Brittny.

The Gastineau baubles will be modern interpretations of vintage, with pieces that feature estate-inspired looks and boho chic designs, ranging from couture-inspired necklaces and earrings, to rings, cuffs and bracelets.

“From the moment I met the Gastineaus, I knew they would be a great addition to our growing portfolio of jewelry brands,” said John Bosco, HSN senior vice president of apparel, accessories and jewelry. “Their charm, creativity and vast knowledge of jewelry will resonate with our customers.”

The Gastineau women apparently do have experience in the jewelry industry. Lisa has worked in the jewelry industry for 15 years both as a buyer and owner of two NY boutiques. The Gastineaus made their debut in fine jewelry with the launch of Tres Glam last year. Tres Glam has graced some of Hollywood’s brightest stars on the red carpet, including Debra Messing, AnnaLynne McCord, Kristin Cavallari and Guiliana Rancic.

Here’s the boilerplate on the Gastineau women.

In the 80’s, Lisa opened her first boutique, Lisa Piece’s on Long Island’s affluent gold coast, followed quickly with the opening of a second haute boutique, Avalon, in the Hamptons. Continuing from the successes of the stores, in the late 90’s, Lisa partnered with her own mother in a culmination of buying and selling expertise when they opened Trends, a vintage jewelry and textiles boutique.

Continuing her love for vintage jewelry, Lisa partnered with her daughter Brittny to create their luxury jewelry collection, Tres Glam. Launched in 2009, Tres Glam, marries timeless New York with modern Hollywood creating elemental jewel masterpieces. The unique reinterpreted and redesigned symbols make for a distinct yet recognizable statement.

The collection’s iconic Anti Envy eye is coveted by Hollywood socialites and supermodels alike, and is at the heart of the brand’s celebration of a woman’s intuition, awareness, and triumphs. Tres Glam has graced Hollywood’s red carpet, worn by leading international actresses Kim Kardashian, Emma Roberts, AnnaLynne McCord, Debra Messing, and many more.

DirecTV’s Suit Against Gems TV: Who Claims What

Well, the love is sure gone between DirecTV and soon-to-be-shut-down Gems TV.

Gems TV made its U.S. debut on DirecTV in November 2006. At that time, DirecTV lauded the network.

“[GemsTV’s] innovative reverse-auction format is unprecedented in the history of American television and offers viewers a fun and easy way to shop for high-quality gemstone jewelry from the comfort of their own homes,” said DirecTV EVP of programming acquisitions Dan Fawcett, a straight-up guy who we know from our days covering cable.

But that was then, and now is now.

Before Gems TV, which is ceasing operations, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, DirecTV had already been in court and won a restraining order barring the home shopping network from taking any action that would leave the channel with less than $25 million in money or assets, until further order of the court. Presumably, DirecTV believes it is owed that same $25 million.

DirecTV’s lawsuit has been stayed pending the bankruptcy proceeding, but we got a look at it. Large portions of the suit have been “redacted,” or blacked out. Those include the details of DirecTV’s carriage agreement with Gems TV. The suit charges Gems TV with breach of contract and fraudulent conveyance.

Basically DirecTV, which brought Gems TV to 18 million homes, was trying to stop the network from moving all its assets to the Cayman Islands — out of the reach of creditors.

In February, Gems TV came to DirecTV and asked to renegotiate their carriage deal, telling the satellite provider that it “was losing money and might be forced to discontinue their programming activity,” according to the suit.

DirecTV refused to amend or modify the contract. On March 8, Gems TV gave DirecTV written notice that it was terminating their contract because the network was in fact going black. The satellite company says that’s a breach of contract.

In one of the exhibits, a letter dated March 19 to DirecTV’s Toby Berlin, Gems TV president (and Charter Communications alum) Diane Schneiderjohn said that under their carriage deal, the pact can be terminated if the programmer “discontinues operation and distribution of the service.”

She writes that Gems TV will cease operations April 15, and therefore there is no breach of contract.

Around this time, DirecTV learned that Gems TV was planning to invest $60 million in Multimedia Commerce Group, which operates Jewelry Television. “Gems TV thus seeks to transfer its assets in a fashion that will leave no assets available to compensate DirecTV for damages caused by Gems TV’s breach of the contract,” according to the suit.

The transfer of assets to the Cayman Islands or to invest in JTV “is undertaken in bad faith and constitutes fraudulent transfer,” DirecTV alleges.

That investment was a way for Gems TV to liquidate the rest of its inventory, by taking it to JTV, according to DirecTV’s suit.

This may all be moot now, to be decided by a bankruptcy judge. In its Chapter 11 filing, Gems TV claims to have $51.2 million in assets and $120 million in debt, all unsecured.