QVC Model Angel Blogs About Her New Gig

Quack! Quack!

QVC model Angel Smedley recently got a new job working as a vendor rep for Quacker Factory. And due to popular demand, she also started a blog called "Ask Angel" on the Quacker Factory website whers she answered all the questions that she's been bombarded with since the big news.

This how she says she got the job:

As you know I have been working with Jeanne and the Quacker Factory team for a long time. Modeling on the Quacker Factory shows, but also behind the scenes doing make-up for Jeanne and working with the product development team has given me a whole new perspective. A few months ago Jeanne mentioned that QVC had suggested adding another on-air guest, as a backup, for over-nights, etc. She asked if I was interested.Of course! But it took quite a while. I took some training sessions QVC offered. I auditioned, along with a number of other possible candidates. Quacker Factory and QVC management reviewed the tapes, etc. Then, after lots of discussions, the word came down: I was chosen!

Angel answers more of your burning questions on her blog, so check it out here.

In other former QVC model news, did you know that Renee Smith is now a motivational speaker?

*Sigh* ... our girls grow up so fast, don't they?

Has Jeanne Bice Lost Touch?

We all know that Jeanne Bice is no shrinking violet. In fact, she'd take that shrinking violet, slap a duck embroidered headband on it, bedazzle it with a rainbow of sequins, and light that sucker up with fiber optics just for good measure.

Personally, I like a sassy woman who deals in bawdy humor and witty retorts. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, but it makes life--and home shopping--more interesting. So even though I'm not a Quacker, I've always loved Jeanne's eccentric personality.

Yesterday, however, she said something that even took me aback. Not because I was offended, but because her remark just seemed so insensitive and out-of-touch with the everyday lives of her customers.

I certainly don't begrudge Jeanne's success. She's earned it. But has she forgotten what it's like to live pay check to pay check, hoping and praying that you have enough to cover the bills and the unexpected expenses? Can she relate to the constant fears that all us working folk have every single day that we're gonna get a pink slip or the whole company will tank? It's scary out there. Especially right now.

During the presentation for her Quacker Factory Coral Reef Short Sleeve Cardigan (click link to watch QVC video), she talked about how important color is this season. That much is true. Historically, the worse the economy gets, the bolder the colors get. But I think Jeanne might have taken it a bit too far this time.

Here's a transcript of what she said (emphasis mine). Antonella made small interjections throughout, but I left those out.

"Guys, this is the summer you're gonna want color, color, color, color. They say as the world is trying to pound us down, the way women retaliate, they put on color. And they just wear the brighter the color, the better we feel. I know it! You can not listen to what they're ... you know ... they're talking about 'oh, I've been downsized.' If I hear one more person say, 'Oh my husband's been downsized. He's 55, what is he gonna do?' My dream did not come true til I was 60 years old. So ... you know ... wear bright colors. Don't let the newscasters get you down. Really ... think about it people. It's all in our head. It's what we make it. Wear bright colors and stand up for yourself and say look at me."

I'm just guessing, but if your husband just got laid off, you probably aren't interested in spending $46.14 plus $5.97 S&H for a sweater, no matter how bright the color is.

What do you think? Was it just an inspirational sales spiel gone awry or has Jeanne lost touch?

QVC's Runway to Reality

QVC dipped their toes into the shark-infested waters of high fashion last fall at Bryant Park. The waters must have felt good because this time they are diving in head first.

According to FabSugar.com, the Q will be showing its new Spring lines at Bryant Park on February 14th during New York Fashion Week.

While all the other designers showcase their latest creations to a bunch of self-important buyers and beauty editors, QVC lets the people decide. Yeah! Power to the people! We don't have to wait for some fashion buyer to bring a particular trendy item into their stores months from now, we can order it immediately--and probably on Easy Pay too.

QVC will showcase its higher-end designer lines like Simply by Chloe Dao (a Project Runway alum) and M by Marc Bouwer--sorry all you Quackers out there! I still cling to the hope that one fateful day, I will witness a Fiber Optic Lighted Frosty the Snowman sweater embellished with sequins and rhinestones strutting down the runway. Quack! Quack!

The Q will also unveil some new designer lines such as A List by Alvin Valley (dubbed the King of Pants by Vogue) and Logo by Lori Goldstein.

Between this and the Sterling Designer Day coming up this Saturday, I'm going to need to find my own economic stimulus package.

Mike Rowe's Dirtiest Job

Dirty, clean, or otherwise, I have a bit of a thing for Mike Rowe. There's just something about that smart ass, opera-singing, oh-so-dirty manly man, former QVC huckster that definitely puts the Quack in my Factory! (Could you even imagine him with Jeanne Bice??? Hah!)

You know, I'm pretty sure that this blog is a dirty job. He should consider stopping by and giving it a whirl.

Check him out making fun of his old job at the Q ... only 9 easy payments!

Honeyshed Gives Home Shopping a Spit Shine

A new web-based home shopping channel, Honeyshed, has just launched. It’s supposed to be geared for a younger, trendier, sexier crowd … but will these hotsie-totsie My Space-generation speed-texters actually buy anything? Will they even watch? I don’t know, but it’ll be interesting to find out.

I gave it a quick spin and I have to say that it just seems to be trying waaay too hard to be cool. If being cool takes this much effort, I hate to tell you, but you ain't cool.





The videos for products immediately start playing as soon as you enter the site. You can let them keep going or click to whatever product video you want to watch. There are lots of leggy twenty-somethings in short skirts workin' what the Good Lord gave 'em to peddle their wares.

You can also listen to music, review the products, and even upload your own content (aptly titled, "Your Shit" so that you don't get confused).

Honeyshed is like the hyperactive lovechild of QVC and My Space who's being raised by a bunch of narcissistic MTV rejects.

Will appealing to the antithesis of a Quacker Factory lady work? Will this new format be cool or become saddled with the dreaded home shopping baggage? I'm afraid only time will tell.

Mental Health Break with Jeanne Bice

With all the terrible news coming out today, I thought we could all use a little pick-me-up courtesy of Jeanne Bice ...

Throw a Duck a Bone

Quack! Quack!

In celebration of Jeanne's well-deserved award from "The Soup," here's one of my favorite quacker moments ... those darling duckies are a naughty, naughty bunch, aren't they?




"They look like a bunch of little hard-ons!"


Be sure to catch Jeanne on "The Soup" tonight!

Tales from a Couple of Home Shopping Boobs

Today's Blue Plate Specials ... Quack! Quack! Oink! Oink!

I would have been in fake diamond heaven last night between Discover Diamonique and the Victoria Wieck Anniversary if I wouldn't have been so sucked into those Olympic gymnastics. Sorry fake diamond peddlers. I'll be back. It was just a fling. I swear. It'll never happen again.

The QVC TSV(s) are (in no particular order) a Quacker Factory Retro Waffle Knit Studded Shirt & Jeannes Set and a Paula Deen's Smithfield 7lb Sampler: Pork, Wings, Ham Sausage & Ribs.

I just want to say up front that I find both Jeanne and Paula highly entertaining (not to mention smart and talented). And being a Southern lady myself (well, Southern at least), I can relate. However, having the two of them together for a dual TSV just seems to ... well ... I'm having trouble being snarky without being downright offensive. Ok, how about this ... people who watch the Q today could possibly think that the QVC customers might have something in common with this lady:

I'm just gonna move on now ...

Anyway, to celebrate the 21st Anniversary of the Today's Special Value (otherwise known as the TSV), the Q is offering free shipping on all the TSV's this week. Not to mention on the extra bonus TSV (isn't that called a Hot Pick? I'm confused.) I think that free booze would be more appropriate for the 21st anniversary. Get Sandra Lee on and have her whip up a special drink. It's always cocktail time with Sandra!

The HSN TS is the Youthful Essence Microdermabrasion Double-Up Kit by Susan Lucci. The Youthful Essence products seem to get good reviews, but to me it seems like the poor man's Clarisonic (not that I have a Clarisonic).

The ShopNBC OTV is the Sony U73T GPS Navigation System with Carry Case. Now, I'm no GPS expert, but I do know how to Google. It's cheaper at Circuit City, but you don't get any Value Pays.

No Soup For You!!!

So I just found out that last year HSN invited--yes, invited!--Joel McHale from E!'s The Soup to come and play on their set on live TV for a while. And by play on their set I really mean harass the hosts and vendors with inappropriate jokes about urine and cocaine. For some strange reason, they never invited him back again! I can't imagine why not.

I hold out hope that one day the Q will let him come on with Jeanne Bice. Oh, to dream the impossible dream! That would be a Tale from Home Shopping if there ever was one. Quack! Quack! :-)

Blue Plate Special Daily Round Up

The Q is quack-quack-quackin' up a storm with their Quacker Factory TSV. I'm not a Quacker, but if you are, this 4-piece set is probably a good deal. Honestly though, I think it's a little too tame--if you're gonna quack, QUACK LOUD! QUACK PROUD! Go for the rhinestone-encrusted golden duck ... get the fiber optic light-up Christmas sweater, for the love of all that quacks! (I was actually quite tempted to get that one! What fun!). BTW, if you haven't seen Jeanne Bice's recent slip of the tongue, check it out here.

It's Suzanne Somers day on HSN! She's breaking out her signature trilliant-cut faux diamonds. The goldtone rings (clear, lavender, or champagne) just aren't doing it for me. They look very uncomfortable and the "goldtone" scares me. However, that little "crown and tiara" ring set looks perfect for the Queen Bea of Home Shopping ... I mean, it's got it all! A crown, a tiara, fake diamonds, goldtone, and it's made by Suzanne Somers! It doesn't get much cheesier than that, chickadees!

ShopNBC ... ShopNBC ... what is wrong with them lately?! Their OTV is a classic-looking Pearlfection simulated South Sea pearl necklace, bracelet, and stud earring set. Measuring in at a whopping 14mm, the pearls are absolutely ginormous--think The Flintstones. The set is pretty and looks well made (I particularly like the clasp), so what's the problem?

Cultured pearls have gone waaaay down in price and up in size lately, so why charge almost $100 for fake pearls? I don't mind fake pearls, but the price should be significantly lower than the real-deal. I guess if you are a stickler for the pearls being absolutely perfectly round with no pits or rings, than this is the set for you.

Jewelry Television has free shipping on clearance items with the code DISCEMFS.

Last, but not least ... remember that chef on HSN, Scott Conant? He just opened Scarpetta, an Italian restaurant in New York City. A snooty review can be read here. Is Scott even still with HSN? I could only find 6 items on the website and they were all on clearance.

ShopNBC OTV: Fab Faux Art

Oil Painting w/ Antique-Inspired Rococo-Style Frame

Item# V36847
$99.96
4 ValuePays of $24.99
S&H $18.99 (wow ... that's steep)

Frame measures 31"L x 27"H x 3"W

So I guess ShopNBC is tierd of fake diamonds and wants to move onto fake art. There are three choices--all of which are "inspired" by a master all in an antique-looking Rococo-style resin frame that is distressed in gold paint (notice the use of key words like "looking" and "style." Typical!)

There are three choices:

"Moulin de la Galette" is inspired by Renoir's original Impressionist painting "Ball at the Moulan De La Gallette." You can view the original here, I noticed that every other website spelled the name differently. What's up with that ShopNBC editors?

"Wisteria" is inspired by Claude Monet's original Impressionist painting, "Wisteria." You can see the original here.

"Peonies and Sunflowers" is inspired by one of the masters of Impressionism, Vincent van Gogh. Here is one of his Sunflower paintings. They don't specify which one was the actual inspiration, so I'm just guessing.

Even though the paintings got rave reviews for their quality, personally, I'd rather buy from a local artist than one of these mass-produced pieces of faux-art.

This is from the Style at Home collection with Margie Commerford. She seems to have a similar story to Jeanne Bice (Head Quacker at QVC ... not HSN! Poor Jeanne can't remember where she works sometimes!) who started her $50 million dollar business selling clothes at flea markets: "We started our business from simple beginnings, selling stuffed animals from the back of our van in Miami." These woman are true inspirations.

Jeanne Bice Forgets Where Her Bread is Buttered! - UPDATE!

Head Quacker, Jeanne Bice of HSN ... oops, I mean QVC, (supposedly) has this response to her fax pas:

opps...they made a boo-boo i'm sure the world will see it no i am not going to hsn i will be on on tues and on mon at 5 pm with sharon for her ann. thanks for watching i did not get to preview the tape before they ran it and the moment i saw it i thought oh dea lord qvc will not like this so many people think they are one in the same now i am done jeanne

What about the part where she says "Home Shopping Network?" Did she mean to use the generic home shopping channel and messed up? And the post-production people didn't know the difference between any of the shopping channels?

Maybe Jeanne will adress the issue when she's on air. Maybe someone will call in and ask!

Quack! Quack!

Quck it Loud! Quak it Proud!

Jeanne Bice, Head Quack extraordinaire, wants your story:

Thank you for your interest in being a part of the Quacker Factory’s newest book project. This book is going to be different from the last two because we’re going to show you how to “pull yourself up by your bra straps” and learn how to put more “sparkle and shine” into your lives. And to make it even better, we’d love to hear from you, the Quackers, how Jeanne has helped you to do that in your life! Here’s what we’d like you to do: Please tell us in 1,000 words or less how Jeanne Bice and the Quacker Factory have made a positive impact in your life. Although we love to hear them, please do not send us tributes, essays or biographies for this project. We’re interested in life lessons, and how Jeanne & her philosophy have helped in your life. We’re interested in all your stories, but to help you get started we’d like to suggest any or all of the following topics: Girlfriends • Gratitude • Overcoming Adversity • Celebration Beauty • Family • Believing • Dreaming • Inspiration

Please send your stories to: Quacker Stories PO Box 273411 Boca Raton, FL 33427
Or email them to: tim@quackerfactory.com

Obviously we won’t have enough pages in this book to include every story, but if yours is selected we will send you a copy of the book personally signed and dedicated to you by Jeanne.

Thanks again for your interest. We’re so looking forward to your stories and here’s hoping you’re the next Quacker Star!

OMG! I totally want a signed copy! Love Jeanne! All I need is an inspirational story ... Queen Bea's gonna have to put her Diamonique-encrusted thinking crown on and mull this one over for a bit.

Queen Bea thought that we needed to spread a little Quacker love around today after all the negative HSN hoopla ... Keep Quacking!

Jeanne Bice Forgets Where Her Bread is Buttered!

Head Quacker at QVC, Jeanne Bice, did a special segment for the Crystal Cathedral's (Home of the Hour of Power) 2000th telecast where she seemed to completely forget that she sold her infamous Quacker Factory wares on the Q. She stated that she's been selling her Quacker Factory line on the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for fifteen years. Huh?

The segment even featured the HSN control room with HSN plastered on all the monitors. Is Jeanne plotting something? Leveraging a negotiation of some sort? She's always struck me as one smart cookie. Even my boyfriend, Rick Domeier, always compliments her smarts. Hmmm ...

Watch for yourself here. Scroll to the last segment--the one with her picture, of course.

Jeanne told a snippet of her inspirational life's story. She felt like she had the perfect life until her husband died when she was 40--apparently it was sudden and right in front of her. She had never had to work and thought that she had to have a man to support her. Then Dr. Schuller's Hour of Power inspired her to live her dream and let God be the man who supports her. She took her clothing creations to flea markets and then to ... HSN? Confused? Anyway, this lady took her little flea market business and turned it into a $50 million dollar empire. She. Is. No. Dummy.

Quack! Quack!