QVC will be back in Cali this weekend for the second year in a row to ride the red-carpet coattails of the Oscars.
Claiming that it got “impressive viewership” with its first such broadcast, “Buzz on the Red Carpet – Live from LA” will, or so the press release says, QVC “once again take viewers behind-the-scenes with exclusive content from top fashion designers, beauty newsmakers, celebrities and more.”
There will be two live broadcasts, this Friday at 9 p.m. (ET) and Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET).
During the shindig at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, “Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford will finally debut her luxury handbag line during the Saturday broadcast.
“Much like New York during Fashion Week, there is no place like Los Angeles during awards season,” QVC U.S. CEO Claire Watts said in a canned statement. “’The Buzz’ on the Red Carpet broadcast aims to offer engaging programming that takes our viewers where they want to go. With our lineup of personalities and industry experts, we feel confident that this season will be full of excitement for our customers.”
Fashion designers including Isaac Mizrahi, Dennis Basso and Marc Bouwer are scheduled to appear during the broadcasts along with Lori Goldstein, the Kardashians and Melania Trump.
Actor Matthew McConaughy’s girlfriend (and mother of his child) Camila Alves and costume designer Janie Bryant, of “Mad Men,” will also present their latest collections. They will join some of the best in the beauty business including Kate Somerville, Josie Maran, Laura Geller, Smashbox and Tarte, among others, will be on hand.
QVC.com will host a special online preview of the event now through Friday.
We get review DVDs from FX, and last night we watched the third episode of “Lights Out,” which airs this Tuesday. And the boxing drama, which we love, pokes fun at home shopping networks and even mentions QVC this week.
The show, which unfortunately has posted disappointing ratings, features Holt McCallany as Patrick “Lights” Leary, a former heavweight champ whose $12 million fortune has been mismanaged and squandered by his brother. Leary is broke, and he needs to raise cash.
As Episode 3, “The Shot,” opens we see a row of Leary bobblehead dolls. Leary is selling the tchotchkes on a home shopping network named CCN, Collectors Corner Network, where viewers bid on items.
The screen is set up just like it would be on QVC or HSN, with the item name, price, and network phone network listed in a box on the left side of the TV screen. We believe the bobbleheads were going for $57.50.
Learny is also selling signed boxing gloves, including a pair from one of his most famous bouts. The starting bid for the special set of gloves is $2,000.
Later in the episode, an up-and-coming boxing chides Leary about his home shopping stint. The young boxer takes a towel from around his neck, throws it at Leary, and says, “Sell this on QVC when I’m the champ. Make yourself some real money.”
“Lights Out,” by the way, is set in New Jersey, which is another reason we’re partial to the show. Nice job, John Landgraf.
QVC’s PR department finally got back to us Thursday about “Gossip Girl” Kelly Rutherford’s new handbag line for the No. 1 home shopping network.
QVC said that Rutherford will be launching a line of handbags for QVC during its “The Buzz on the Red Carpet – Live from L.A.” programming Feb. 25. But there was no additional information available, according to the network.
We also finally got a photo of Claire Watts, who was just promoted to the new position of president of QVC U.S. Here she is.
It was news to us, but “Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford is doing a handbag line for QVC, joining the army of celebrities selling products on home shopping networks.
At least that’s what we learned over our morning coffee Thursday when we opened up the Daily News and saw a photo of Rutherford on the gossip page, appropriately enough. The shot showed Rutherford, in jeans and winter coat, walking on a snowy Manhattan street.
The caption said that Rutherford was heading to “The Wendy Williams Show” to “hawk” her new QVC handbag line.
We did not see the show yesterday, but “The Wendy Williams Show” website had a blurb that said “‘Gossip Girl’ star Kelly Rutherford tells us about all the drama going down this season and shows off her new purse line on QVC. Be there.”
Sorry we weren’t there.
Anyway, Rutherford do not look very dolled up in the Daily News photo, and apparently she didn’t stop by into hair-and-makeup before going on-air to chat with Williams. Rutherford’s hair was in a messy bun, she didn’t appear to have makeup on and she was dressed in a raggy cardigan and jeans.
One viewer, Shanelle, complained about Rutherford’s apperance on the show’s website.
“u liked kelly’s look but i hated it. i found it a little rude. she looked like she just woke up and rolled out of bed and came to your show. she couldve fixed herself up a little bit. i thought her look was tired and cheap looking. and she had the nerve to push her handbag line?? she clearly does not know fashion and i wont be purchasing her bags. bottom line, as a woman, she should know better than to go on tv like that. period.”
We’d have to agree with Shanelle on that one.
Williams, a fellow Montclair, N.J., resident, also got Rutherford to dish about her nasty divorce and custody battle.
We have a call into QVC’s crack PR department to find out more about Rutherford’s line. But we’re holding our breath. We’re still waiting for the photo of the new chief of QVC’s domestic network, Claire Watts, that we requested yesterday.
On Sundays QVC design guru Isaac Mizrahi likes to have breakfast, oatmeal, at our favorite Manhattan restaurant, Pastis.
That’s what we learned tonight after finally getting around to reading The Style section of The Sunday New York Times, where the Grey Lady gave us a blow-by-blow account of the curly-topped designer’s “Sunday Routine.”
Of course, when we go to Pastis, which is in the Meatpacking District, it’s not for oatmeal. It’s at Happy Hour, for Bombay Sapphire martinis, with olives, to wash down our steak frites.
Pastis, where QVC's Isaac Mizrahi dines on oatmeal and we swill over-priced Bombay Sapphire martinis
The feature acknowledges right off the bat that Mizrahi has a lifestyle collection on QVC, and that he co-hosts the Bravo program “The Fashion Show” with model/entrepreneur Iman, who is an HSN vendor.
Mizrahi likes to go for a morning swim, and then has to wait for his boyfriend, actor Arnold Germer, to get up so they can walk their dogs. Germer lives a few blocks from Mizrahi in the Village. Mizrahi’s dog Harry has been featured in a number of the designer’s QVC items.
Mizrahi enjoys going to museums and the movies on Sundays (as do we, we saw “Black Swan” today, and thought it was great).
He’s a fan of Il Cantinori, another Manhattan eatery, and on Sunday nights Mizrahi is an avid HBO viewer, saying, “I’m mad about ‘True Blood,’ and I even got into ‘Boardwalk.'”
Good selections, Isaac.
We also tip our hat to you for this comment to The Times: “I made no bones about loving television.”
Hell, we don’t either.
And we’re with him on this one, too: “Sunday is a Xanax night for me.”
Suzanne Somers' husband dished on her fight tactics
We’re behind on our freelance work and have to run, but here’s our quick takeaway from ex-HSN and current ShopNBC vendor Suzanne Somers appearance on HSN vendor Fran Drescher’s new talk show Friday.
There were two eye-opening moments, and pardon us for paraphrasing. One of the topics that Somers and her husband-business partner Alan Hamel were supposed to address was how you keep your business and romantic relationship separate when you work a spouse.
So Hamel started reciting a business-related chat he was having with Somers, and then said, “And then I rolled off her.”
The audience laughed at this description of business-related pillow talk, and Somers looked rather shocked by her Canadian hubby’s comment. We guess they don’t keep business and romance that separate, from what Hamel said.
Then Drescher, the host of “The Fran Drescher Tawk Show,” noted that Somers has been quite public about the fact that she is from a dysfunctional family. Then Somers and Hamel started describing their marriage, and Hamel said that his blonde wife used to throw things at him when they fought.
Not the most flattering revelation to make about your wife on TV.
But Hamel put a stop to Somers’ bad habit, he said, when during one fight he picked one of Somers’ favorite Chinese vases, threw it and broke it.
A rather sheepish Somers conceded that his husband’s smashing of the vase ended her throwing-things days.
Hmmmmm… We would have loved to have been a fly on the wall with Somers and hubby after their appearance.
Actress-author-entrepreneur-ex-HSN vendor Suzanne Somers will be a guest on actress-HSN vendor Fran Drescher’s new daytime talk show today, Friday.
Maybe — not — Somers will dish about why she left HSN after more than a dozen years to join ShopNBC last year. The blonde was part of a wave of vendors who left, or were shown the door, when new HSN CEO Mindy Grossman came on board and started putting her stamp on the home shopping network.
Drescher’s program, which debuted on six Fox stations this week, is called “The Fran Drescher Tawk Show.” It airs on WNYW in New York City.
Drescher “joined the HSN family,” as the network likes to put it, this year with a skincare line, FranBrand. Somers is selling clothing, jewelry and skincare product on ShopNBC.
Lets's see, will Suzanne tell Fran why she left HSN?
Here is a description of today episode from the show’s website:
Fran Drescher’s not only naturally funny, but also a big believer in living a lifestyle that keeps you naturally sexy.
Today’s guests are all about staying lean, healthy and sensuous.
The iconic Suzanne Somers reveals how hormones and a positive attitude have kept her happy and youthful.
Then Fran has a rare in-depth interview with both Suzanne and husband/business partner Alan Hamel, who discuss their four-decade relationship and the challenges of keeping their business lives separate from their romantic lives.
Plus, Suzanne & Alan show Fran how to cook their favorite mushroom soup and the joy of growing their own vegetables.
You ever get a yen to eat a cupcake along with its wrapper? Then Debra Lee’s Bake Huggers are for you. That is, if you were up at 7 a.m. Saturday to order them for $20.
Lee, the winner of Friday’s episode of TLC’s “Homemade Millionaire,” sold out her invention, the Bake Huggers, during her premiere on HSN.
The entrepreneur made a live appearance on HSN Friday night at 11 p.m., immediately after being announced the winner of the second of six episodes of the hour-long reality show. Then she made her official debut with her product Saturday morning.
The sold-out Bake Huggers, eat your heart out
In case you’ve been living under a rock, “Homemade Millionaire” offers aspiring female entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase and sell their products on HSN. The show is produced by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos’ production company Milojo Productions for TLC.
Here’s the poop on Lee, courtesy of HSN’s PR department.
“As a mother of three, Lee found herself baking and decorating cupcakes often. Frustrated by the time it took to get the results she wanted, she knew there had to be a better way. Lee created a wrapper for cupcakes that was not only decorative, but also edible. Her time-saving solution was fun, creative, and best of all, eliminated the mess of traditional paper cupcake liners.”
Lee’s newly popular Bake Huggers sold out in less than five minutes during her HSN premiere at 7 a.m. Saturday.
“I am thrilled that Bake Huggers sold out on its first HSN run,” Lee said in a canned statemement. “Perseverance and believing in your product is the key to the American dream.”
One of the judge’s on Friday’s episode was celebrity chef and Cajun cooker Emeril Lagasse.
Here is the canned quote attributed to both Ripa and Consuelos, who apparently have been married so long that they now speak in unison.
“In the words of our guest judge Emeril Lagasse ‘why didn’t I think of that?!’ We’re so proud of Debra and are thrilled to hear she sold out of her products,” said Ripa and Consuelos. “This is exactly what we set out to do with this show … give women the chance to take these incredible inventions and become a success story.”
And here is HSN’s piece.
“Debra’s product nicely illustrates the premise of ‘Homemade Millionaire’ — there are millions of great product ideas, but few people with the passion, confidence, great story and drive to transform their idea into a successful product,” said Sandy Conrad, HSN’s senior vice president of merchandising. “We are thrilled with the response of our viewers to Debra’s great idea and look forward to having her back on HSN again in early 2011.”
Each hour-long episode of the TLC reality show follows three women vying for a chance to sell their inventions on HSN. Open calls were held throughout the U.S., and thousands of women showed up with their products, aspiring to become the next successful entrepreneur.
QVC designer Isaac Mizrahi is buying new digs in the Greenwich Village, according to the New York Post.
Mizrahi, who is also hosting Bravo’s “The Fashion Show” with HSN vendor Iman, has a contract to buy a condo on West 12th Street, where he already has a place. The building boasts actress Cameron Diaz as a resident.
Gee, we’re surprised he didn’t look at our garden apartment complex in Montclair. Who’d you rather have as a neighbor, Diaz or The Homeshoppingista?
According to the Post, Mizrahi is paying more than $2 million for the new unit, and he plans to combine it with the one he bought earlier this year for $1.1 million. Sounds like it will be quite a crib.
The story notes that Mizrahi will share the expanded digs with his partner Arnold Germer and “their adorable dog, Jack.”
TV Guide CEO Jack Kliger sold Mizrahi both places, according to the Post.
We checked out “Homemade Millionaire,” the HSN/TLC production, last night. We’d give it a B-.
The show, hosted by Kelly Ripa, each week has three women entrepreneurs vying to have their product sold on HSN. In the first episode the items were a hair roller that heats up, a leather pony-tail holder and a cabinet to hold all your hair care gear, namely your hair dryer, flat iron, curling iron, etc.
The contestants had to take some blunt criticism from a focus group, sharp comments on their presentation by HSN folk, and a final going-over by a panel of four, which includes Ripa and an HSN vendor. Last night the vendor was Jennifer Stallone, of Serious Skincare fame.
Don't mess with Stacey Schieffelin
But the real surprise in this was Stacey Schieffelin, who sells the YBF Beauty line on HSN. That YBF stands for Your Best Friend.
On HSN, ex-model Schiefflelin’s gimmick is that she comes on-air with no makeup on and then uses her products to look gorgeous and glam (our mom swears by her eyebrow pencil). That takes lots of guts. We wouldn’t want to scare America by going on TV with no makeup. It’s bad enough that our loved ones have to see us like that!
But we digress. On HSN Schiefflelin is warm and fuzzy, just like your best friend. On “Homemade Millionaire” Schieffelin offered pretty tough love for the contestants. She was rough. She is one savvy, hard-nosed business woman (despite the fact that she once appeared in a Robert Palmer video).
Anyway, the cablinet for the hair-care tools won. Its inventor wanted to price it at $149, but the HSN honchos it would be have to be cheaper, $100 or less.
We agree. And we actually think it’s a great product.
Homeshoppingista's Blog By Linda Moss 