The ups and downs of HSN and the sweet feeling of Selling Out.

Over the past few years, I have been doing appearances at HSN.   It has been a wild ride, loaded with sleepless nights, long flights and heavy makeup. (I’m in LA and they are in Tampa)  Some days, I wanted to cry from being so tired, having crappy sales or from being partnered with a host that didn’t let me explain the product. One day….I did CRY….but they were happy tears and they came on the heels of the words….SOLD OUT!

The world of 24 hour home shopping TV is a world of its own.  It takes some time and experience to get the “hang” of it and I am so happy that I have found a place in this fun and nutty world.

I started presenting items for my beloved Mod Podge and Folkart Chalkboard Paint.  I graduated to licensed items for Hanna Montana and High School Musical.  For that gig, I sat my tush down and watched a marathon of the HM and all of the HSM movies.  I needed to know the “ins and outs” of Troy and Hanna for a good show. I needed to know why the Troy rubberstamps featured basketball jerserys.  Can you imagine if I got a call from someone and I didn’t know???  That would be major egg on my face…. live 2:00 am egg.  I have also presented Silk Screen kits, glass paints and texture paints and each time the tales are nuts.

Seven months ago, I finally got a chance to present our own invention, Hot Glue Gun Helpers.  I was thrilled, freaking out and most importantly, I was a proud mama……. and then I got the news that I would be on for 5 min at 4:00 am {East coast}……ouch.  Who would be watching???? Well surprise surprise – crafters were watching and we sold out!  Steve and I, are so grateful….It has been hard to invent a brand new product, navigate corporate America and keep your chin up at the same time.

When I walked out the HSN door the P.A. who assists with the mics and earbuds says to me “hey kid, you did good – call your rep tomorrow.  I think you will be happy” I almost started to cry.  I couldn’t believe my ears.

I raced back to my hotel, turned on my laptop, navigated to my page at HSN and there it was in red.  SOLD OUT.  Take that XYZ retailers who told me crafters don’t use hot glue.

My next stop with HSN and Hot Glue Gun Helpers would be a return trip that was crushed before it got off the ground.  You can read the nightmare story here.  In the end it was a blessing in disguise as our next presenting day had better time slots and I got to see some crafty friends.

The halls of HSN on 24 craft days are sprinkled with designers and industry veterans.  We all support each other, check out the new products and share lots of giggles.  Kind of like a quick summer camp that involves make-up and demos.

The demos are pretty easy since you only get a few moments to explain your product.  It is the displays that take awhile to create.  For the Hot Glue Gun Helpers, I made all the displays back home in Los Angeles and packed them in a suitcase for the trip.  For my displays, I like to show lots of different ways you can use hot glue and Hot Glue Gun Helpers. 

 The day begins in the middle of the night with me rolling my hair in my hotel.  Most folks don’t travel to HSN with rollers in their hair….but I have no shame and a whole lotta hair.  I just like to give the make-up folks a head start.

Next is table set up…here are Carol and Gena working behind the scenes to breakdown a previous product.  We are constantly opening boxes, setting up tables and then tearing them down again.

 About 1.5 hours before you go live you get into make-up….hopefully with a cup of coffee in your hand.  Next stop is getting a microphone and an ear bud.  If you look close we all have ear buds where producers are talking in our ears the whole time…..that gets old. LOL.

 Ready to go live…..just waiting in the wings!

Whew….it is an adrenaline pumping fast few minutes.
Generally it is over before you even knew it began. 

And here it was again…..the sweetest words an inventor has ever seen……SOLD OUT.  Thanks so much to everyone who called in, log on or just said good thoughts for us.  It has been such a journey and we could not have made it this far without the support of Plaid and all of you.  I got the good news last week that we will be back in March and they doubled their order……no pressure.

Thanks for joining me on this journey~
Cathie