QVC Host Patti Reilly Bids A Teary Farewell, With People Still Asking ‘What’s Up With That?’

We came in on the tail end of Patti Reilly’s final show on QVC, and she has wiped tears from her eyes several times as we were watching.

She is going to need a truck to take home all the bouquets of flowers she’s gotten during her swan song.

She is now on the air with makeup queen Laura Geller, who she described as her best friend. The show is about to end.

“I’ve been crying here all night,” Geller told Reilly.

Patti Reilly (right) clowning around with Mally Roncal (far left) back in the day

Reilly, who looks pretty good in a cute grey vest and white ruffled shirt, has been taking calls from friends and even QVC vendor and shampoo pooh-pooher Chaz Dean, who told her, “You’re jumping ship! What’s up with that?”

That’s what a lot of people are wondering.

On Facebook a few days ago, Reilly seemed a little annoyed that fans keep asking why she is going.

She posted her answer Monday.

“Why am I leaving QVC?” she said. “I don’t want to look back 5 yrs from now w regret. I want to step thru a potential door of opportunity that I may have never known existed had I ‘played it safe.’ I’ve been praying for a new life & I believe this is part of the plan:) I am grateful for the years spent, but it’s simply time to move on.”

At the very end of Reilly’s last QVC show, hosts Lisa Robertson and Jacque Gonzales came out — and also got weepy –to say goodbye. Gonzales blubbered something about Reilly coming to her wedding that we didn’t quote catch.

“Thank you everybody, for watching me for 11 years,” Reilly said.

Ever-bubbly Mally Roncal, the red-carpet makeup artist, was also on Reilly’s final “Friday Night Beauty” show. In fact, Roncal created two products, a Highshine Liquid Lipstick Duo, just for Reilly.

“I had to take care of Miss Patti,” Roncal said. “You know Miss Patti Reilly, she is a sparkler, a firecracker.”

Geller, by the way, has now lost two of her good buddies at QVC. Host Lisa Mason, Geller neighbor in Manhattan, also exited this year. In fact, Mason and Geller are doing a meet-and-greet in Manhattan to promote Mason’s new book.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: People seem to love or hate Patti. QVC customers are bantering back and forth on our blogs about her, which mentioned the fact that she had lost a lot of weight vey quickly, making some suspect she had some kind of surgery.

QVC’s Patti Reilly Will Bid Farewell Friday

For those who have asked, QVC host Patti Reilly’s last day is apparently next Friday.

At least, that’s what her fellow QVC host Lisa Robertson said on Facebook yesterday.

“Just had lunch with Patti, she is in a good place,” Robertson wrote. “Her last show is this coming Friday Night Beauty. Hope you join her, I know I will. We can send her off with a lot of support and good wishes. She has a lot of adventures ahead :)”

QVC Host Patti Reilly, Long-Rumored To Be Leaving, Is Actually Leaving

Another long-time QVC host is flying the coop. Patti Reilly is following Lisa Mason out the door.

Reilly posted the news on her blog, on her own website. Thanks for the tip, Joanie-B!

Patti Reilly's photo from Puerto Rico

Here’s part of Reilly’s blog:

“It’s true that I am leaving QVC after 11 great years. I’m looking forward to opening myself up to new ideas and experiences in life, but I’d be fooling myself if I didn’t admit that it’s a little scary. I’ve been so lucky to have a healthy family, nephews, my niece, great friends and co-workers, all in their own way who have opened up and shared a piece of their life with me. Through a different lens, and mentally picturing myself for one day in their shoes, came the realization that I want to try other things. That I want to value and really, really be present with my family & friends more.

Reilly, fresh from a vacation in Puerto Rico, wrote that she had an epiphany when when her black lab got sick last summer. She said she lives alone with her two dogs, and was heartbroken when the lab could no longer get up the stairs to sleep with her.

I talked to my family and friends more and reached out to people I haven’t seen in years. I stepped back and looked at my life, which is not really where I ultimately envisioned it to be. I would love to boast about my children, husband & homelife, but my picture right now just looks different than what I would have thought had you asked me 10 years ago. I have an opportunity now to take a step, start a new journey and I’m going to embrace that. I know that if Piper could climb up those stairs one last time, she definitely would!

Reilly was doing executive training when she caught the QVC bug.

QVC was the only watchable show on at 2 or 3 in the morning. I saw Lisa Robertson selling Smashbox Cosmetics and suddenly found my next goal. I auditioned for a Show Host position in February, 2000 and was offered the job a month later. I’ve been at QVC for 11 years now…can you believe it??? I love what I do, especially when I host beauty shows.

Reilly is a very polarizing figure. QVC fans either loved her or hated her. She sparked a lot of speculation when she lost a ton of weight, We suspected surgery, but she claimed it was just a diet. On some of her more recent appearances, she made bizarre comments about her moods and sometimes made off remarsk to vendors.

She is regularly brutally lampooned on the Television Without Pity website.

Sorry, Lisa Robertson’s Dress For QVC’s Red Carpet LA Party Makes Her Look Plump

We just got in and tuned in to QVC’s Red Carpet pre-Oscar shindig at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. We’ve got to hand it to QVC — there is a huge crowd there, and when we came in actress Marlee Matlin was using sign language to say something that we missed.

Now QVC jewelry queen Joan Rivers is talking to host Lisa Robertson, hawking sunglasses.

Lisa Robertson, we wished we liked your red carpet dress

Earlier in the day, on Facebook Robertson said she was heading out to get made up for the party five hours before it started. “It takes a village,” she joked, to get her ready to go on-air. So we were looking forward to see how she looked.

Robertson is a beautiful woman, but she is clad in a long beige gown that is pulling against her stomach area and making her look heavy — which we know she isn’t. This unflattering dress is apparently by QVC designer Isaac Mizrahi. Isaac, Isaac, Isaac.

Robertson’s side ponytail is not such a great look, either. And guess who did the hair? QVC vendor Nick Chavez. Nick, Nick, Nick.

We also got a gander at QVC host Shawn Killinger, who is running around with a microphone interviewing the partygoers. She’s wearing a short black babydoll dress, and her boobs are popping out of the top of it.

Now model Camila Alves, actor Matthew McConaughey’s baby mama, is showing off a pretty fringed bag and a huge bag she did for QVC. She is dressed in a beautful black sequined dress, and looks stunning.

Kim and Kourtney Kardashian are being interviewed on the red carpet, and will soon be pitching their QVC clothing line, K-Dash.

And FYI, vendors and hosts from different home shopping networks do fraternize together. Former QVC host Dave King, who is now at ShopNBC, is also in LA. And on his Facebook page he posted a photo of him, Robertson and Laurie Feltheimer, who does the “Hot in Hollywood” line for HSN, at a restaurant.

QVC Host Lisa Robertson And Dennis Basso In Vogue For Manhattan Makeover Shoot

We’ve been hearing and reading bits and pieces about QVC’s ad shoot at Vogue magazine — from host Lisa Robertson and furrier Dennis Basso — and today got a message from one of the makeover women. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Robertson and Basso, on the air and on Facebook, have been talking about the Vogue shoot last week. For an ad set to run in the April issue, QVC sent a horde of its vendors to the Big Apple to make-over four women.

QVC host Lisa Robertson made a good impression on at least one of the makeover women

One of those women, blogger Melody Lesser, posted on our blog today.

“I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Robertson last week while I was in NYC for a QVC/Vogue photo shoot,” Lesser wrote.

“I, and three other women, were chosen for a QVC makeover and to model Dennis Basso’s beautiful new clothing line. The experience was amazing. Lisa Robertson is beautiful and charming and made us all feel comfortable and welcome. Love Dennis Basso. He’s handsome, charismatic and gracious. His clothes are beautiful. The entire experience was one I’ll never forget.”

Lesser writes the blog EverBeautifu.com, and posted an account of how she was chosen for the makeover and what it was like.

The vendors that took part included not only Basso but also Josie Maran, Shoshanna Gruss (Jerry Seinfeld’s ex-) and Suze Orman, who apparently did financial makeoevers for the women.

Last week Robertson wrote on Facebook, “I am in NY working on a project for QVC, it has been a lot of fun. We had lunch at ‘Vogue’s’ offices today. It was like being in the movie ‘The September Issue.’ That was definitely a first for me, (check it off the ‘bucket list!). We are really getting snow here now, it is a mess. Perfect weather to stay in and go to bed early :)”

Later in the week she wrote, “Just walked in the door and I am beat! New York was a mess this morning. We were there to shoot an ad for Vogue that is supposed to be in the April issue. It is part of a project for National Makeover Day and it was a lot of fun. I will try to post some pic’s and more info soon.”

She did post photos, including a really cute one of her and Maran getting giggly.

Basso also posted a gallery on Facebook of the shoot, which included a shot of him and photographer Art Streiber.

Big Whoop, Luddite QVC Host Lisa Robertson Is Finally On Facebook

We were busy blogging with QVC on the TV behind us when we heard host Antonella Nester saying that Lisa Robertson was finally on Facebook, and that she already had more “friends” than Nester, who has been on the social media site for six months.

Naturally, we had to jump on Facebook to “friend” Robertson. We saw she already has about 3,700 friends.

Lisa Robertson says please friend me

Here is what she posted nine hours ago:

Lisa Robertson QVC Hi Everyone! Welcome to my official Facebook page! I’m very excited to finally join and have the chance to say “hi” to all of you. I am new at this and will be learning as I go, so please bear with me! Look forward to sharing all the great beauty, fashion, jewelry news and more from the Q!

Robertson also posted some photos from her recent vacation in Dubai.

Hot, As In Sexy, Jewelry Designer Michael Dawkins’ QVC TSV Cuff Sells Out

Designer Michael Dawkins, good looking and charming, had a bit hit with his Today’s Special Value for QVC’s Sterling Designer Gallery Day. He sold out 10,000 of the limited edition piece by 7 a.m. Sunday. It was supposed to last the whole day.

We first spotted his wide petal cuff on host Lisa Robertson on Friday night — you couldn’t miss it — and was wondering who the designer was. It kind of looked like a John Hardy piece, but of course we knew it wasn’t.

The bracelet was online Saturday, and when we watched Designer Day kick off with Dawkins and Robertson at 11 p.m., Lisa spilled the beans, saying that the big cuff was the TSV for Sunday, coming at midnight.

The piece looked weighty, and was $180, on three Easy Pays. We think that Dawkins said it was 50 grams of silver.

By 12:30 a.m., just half an hour after its debut, 7,500 of the supply of 10,000 cuffs had already sold out. It was gone by 7 a.m., as we said.

Two viewers called in and said that they had vowed they wouldn’t be buying any jewelry this year, that they didn’t need it. But they admitted that they succumbed and had ordered the TSV, that they couldn’t resist it.

“I tried to talk myself out of it,” one woman said.

So much for New Year’s resolutions. That’s why we never make any.

We like the fact that the cuff, and most of Dawkins’ bracelets, come in small, medium and large. Our wrist is 5 1/2 inches, and we can never get a bracelet or cuff that fits.

Jewelry Designer Barry Cord To Unveil New Collection During QVC Designer Gallery Event

Jewelry designer Barry Cord has already done work for QVC, but this Sunday he will debut a new collection on the Q, one that was unfortunately described as “Wearable Whimsy.”

The collection will premiere on QVC’s Sterling Designer Gallery Event, which we’ve been waiting for like a junkie looking for a fix.

Barry Cord

Here’s what the crack QVC PR department had to say Friday about Cord’s new “ideas,” as host Lisa Robertson would say.

Barry Cord’s designs can be found everywhere from the collections of world leaders and Hollywood’s elite to the world’s most celebrated art museums. Now, the award-winning designer is scheduled to debut a timeless, whimsical collection on QVC Sunday, Jan. 9 at 6 PM.”

Inspired by his fascinating life experiences, frequent travels and the beauty of nature, this artist and award-winning designer has created a distinctive jewelry collection in sterling silver and sterling with 14K gold accents. Cord remains true to his artistic vision, seeking inspiration from the world around him and utilizing old-world craftsmanship to bring that vision to life with this collection of rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and pendant.

“We are thrilled to add the unique aesthetic of Barry Cord’s newest pieces to our designer portfolio,” Diane Paccione, QVC’s vice president of merchandising, said in a canned statement. “His uniquely detailed, fanciful designs are sure to resonate with our customers.”

QVC’s Sterling Designer Gallery event will kick off at 11 p.m. Saturday.

The 25-hour event will feature “accessible pieces” from designers including Michael Dawkins, Judith Ripka and many more. The highlights, according to QVC, include a signed limited edition Dawkins Sterling Petal Cuff, Sterling Pear Shaped Champagne Quartz Earrings from Ripka and the introduction of black diamond pieces from Dweck Diamonds, a luxurious line of diamond jewelry by acclaimed designer Stephen Dweck.

The Barry Cord Collections will range in price from $65 to $400.

See Lisa Robertson’s Three Christmas Trees, And Learn About Self-Absorbed QVC Hosts

Damn, QVC host Lisa Robertson is getting way more hits than we are with her video blog.

On her Monday PM Style show word leaked out that Robertson’s blog, where she offers a tour of her gorgeously decorated home, had gotten more than 50,000 hits.

Robertson had not one, not two, but three different Christmas trees — each exquisitely trimmed — in her palacial home. In contrast, we have one three-foot fiber optic tree, with no ornaments, that we bought a few years ago at CVS for $25. And we love it.

Robertson is obviously way out of our league. In the 17-minute QVC video, we see one tree that’s decked out in bronze and gold-toned ornaments at the “Casa de Robertson.”

The second tree, in the dining room, is done up in blue, silver and cream-colored ornaments. Robertson has also strewn white feather boas around the room, on the chandelier and on her furniture.

Finally, Robertson has a red-and-gold themed tree — with more than 500 ornaments — in her family room. It’s a sight to be seen.

Our only gripe about the show-and-tell video is that Robertson was interviewed by QVC’s new and extremely annoying youth-skewing host, Courtney Cason.

She’s so perky she’s pesky: We’d like to hit her upside the head with a pot of pointsettias.

At the video’s end, Cason compliments Robertson on her homemade banana bread. Robertson tells Cason that now she can try the bread without worrying about messing up her lip gloss.

“I’m so self-absorbed, I can’t stand it,” Cason said.

“She’ll fit right in,” a laughing Robertson shot back without missing a beat.

We assume Robertson means that Cason will fit right in with all the other self-absorbed hosts on QVC.

You said it Lisa, not us.

QVC Hottie Rick Domeier Tells Us About Life Makeovers In His New Book, ‘Do I Get A Do Over?’

QVC’s resident heart throb, Rick Domeier, has a book coming out in January. Jeez, this guy gets a publisher, and this poor Homeshoppingista doesn’t have one? But actually, it’s not much of a surprise.

Months ago when Domeier mentioned on-air that he was going to the Book Expo with an idea, we e-mailed him and asked what he was up to and to keep us apprised if he got anywhere. We believe he said that he would. Screwed again!

We were on Facebook Wednesday night, contentedly eating our hot and sour soup, when we saw that Domeier had posted — for his 1,000-plus friends — that his book was coming out. It’s called “Can I Get A Do Over?: Unforgettable Stories of Second Chances and Life Makeovers,” with Domeier borrowing that phrase from his son.

The Homeshoppingista, and all your hundreds of Friends, thank you for the “exclusive” tip, Rick.

Here’s what the butterscotch beauty posted:

This just in! OK, here’s the scoop. Some months ago, I came up with an idea for a Book. Yep, a BOOK… Real stories of Real people, told first person, who have ‘reinvented their lives’. My sons inspired the title. Took the proposal to BEA (Book Expo America) in big ol’ New York city. The Craziest thing happened: It Sold! With a forward by Joan Rivers, quotes from Suze Orman and friends, and stories galore…l

The book, which launches nationally Jan. 3 in outlets such as Barnes and Noble, Borders and Amazon.com, already has a page on Facebook, with a video of Domeier flogging his tome.

Here is the description offered:

In Can I Get A Do Over?: Unforgettable Stories of Second Chances and Life Makeovers (HCI Books, $14.95, January 3, 2011), multichannel retail giant QVC’s senior host Rick Domeier and inspirational author Max Davis take an up-close look at the amazing

So Domeier is a “senior” host, heh? We never heard that phrase before.

In the video, he says, “This book is bursting with positive energy.”

It appears that Domeier put the stories of several familiar QVC vendors, such as Lori Greiner and Jeanne Bice, in his book.

Domeier’s Facebook Friends were panting about his new book.

And his fellow hosts came through for him, with Lisa Robertson and Dan Wheeler posting complimentary comments On the “Do Overs” page.

From Robertson:

“In the fifteen years that I have known Rick, he never gives up, he always finds a way. I don’t know if he was born with it or learned it from necessity, but his book is a living example of what you can do with a ‘do over.’”
—Lisa Roberston, television personality and host of PM Style

No mention of QVC.

And from Dan Wheeler:

“We learned the ‘do over’ at recess but never in the classroom. This book offers ‘real life’ lessons on one of the most important subjects for successful living in the 21st century.”
—Dan Wheeler, television personality and author of Best Seat in the House

No mention of QVC.

One person asked Domeier if QVC will be selling his book. No answer on that yet.