Did you know that HSN first started with showcasing can openers over the radio? Little things can lead to great experiences, just like with our Arcade sweepstakes! Every year we get to give away beauty, fashion, and home goodies for FREE to our loyal customers. This past December one of our customers, Kathleen A., won an all-expenses-paid trip to visit our HSN home in St. Petersburg, Florida!
Kathy (as we are officially on first name basis now) came all the way from New Mexico and has been a proud HSN shopaholic for almost 7 years. Although we have programs and events going practically 24/7, Kathy and I found the time to meet some of her favorite hosts, try her hand at running a live show from the control booth, and get to see the jackpot of behind-the-scenes shopping!
To kick off our day together, we first gave Kathy the true HSN treatment–a makeover by our master stylists!
While Kathy was being primped and pampered with hair and make-up just like our TV guests receive, one of our veteran hosts popped in! Shivan Sarna is a beauty and fashion guru, so don’t let those hair rollers fool you, she knows her stuff!
Once Kathy had the experience of what it was like to get the celebrity treatment, it was time to meet some real celebrities! We had the chance to sit down with HSN host, Connie Craig Carroll, and Connie’s on-air guest, Amedeo Scognamiglio. Amedo is an award-winning jewelry designer with his line, Amadeo NYC. The line is well known for its cameo pieces that are hand carved. To say Kathy and Amedeo hit it off immediately is an understatement; they chatted like old friends as he shared stories with her about his life growing up in Italy.
After our special meeting with Connie and Amadeo, Kathy and I headed over to find our next celebs of honor—host Robin Wall, and R.J. Graziano! R.J. is also an HSN featured jewelry designer, well known for his metal work inlaid with diamonds and pearls. Jewels weren’t the only thing sparkling, however, as the three sat down and talked about Kathy’s life and her favorite HSN stories.
With some high-profile meet and greets under her belt and the day being yet young, I figured, why not let Kathy run the show?
That control booth can be intimidating (that’s not even half the monitors in there!) but Kathy handled it like a pro. Through the headsets we can talk directly to hosts that are live on-air. Kathy was able to listen in and hear the up-to-the-minute information the hosts get during their shows. It’s a well-oiled machine here at HSN, folks.
After our dizzy-dancing morning full of meeting hosts and designers, and then shadowing in the control booth, we took a relaxing lunch before it was time to give Kathy the true HSN golden ticket, so to speak. Just like Willy Wonka’s factory is the fantasy land for children with a sweet tooth, HSN is the fantasy land for all us ladies with a passion for our fashion collections, beauty supplies, and home goods. After lunch, Kathy and I went for a backstage tour of the studio at HSN. I should say studios and not just studio because HSN actually has multiple sets that are in near constant rotation. Whether we are doing The Beauty Report with Amy Morrison, The List with Colleen Lopez, The Tonight Show with Adam Freeman, or any other of our other 24/7-ready programming, there are always stages being set up, products being selected, hosts being whirled about, and Lights, Camera, Action!
Of course, no trip to HSN would be complete without giving Kathy the chance to take home some more goodies! HSN fantasy land 2.0 is our on-site Shopping Emplorium where merchandise taken from our showrooms and sample closet is then retailed at discount, usually only to employees. That means purses, jewelry, apparel, shoes, and more!
I think Kathy was a little sad to leave our sunny studios after such a treat of a day, but that’s the beauty of the Arcade, we have sweepstakes prizes like this all the time and we love getting to meet our best customers! Kathy and I will stay in touch, but we know there are a lot more HSN fans out there, so head over to the Arcade and get to playing so we can get to know you soon. 🙂