June 10, 2009

The QVC Studio Tour

My sister has been visiting us for the past few weeks. I offered to take her to some of Philadelphia's famed historic sites, but she made a wise choice and decided to pass up a trip to Constitution Hall and the Liberty Bell in favor of visiting an attraction that is ten miles west of downtown. I am speaking, of course, of the QVC Home Shopping Network Headquarters.

"What is this place?" my kids asked as we pulled into the parking lot.
"Where grandmas die and go to heaven," my sister replied.

Understandably, my kids were confused. Much to their dismay, they didn't find any coffins or headstones in the gift shop; however, they did find a large collection of angel figurines and "God made Grandma" throw pillows.

Our tour guide was a retired school teacher named Harriet who told us right off the bat that not all QVC customers are elderly, live 50 miles from the nearest Wal-Mart, or suffer from a compulsive shopping addiction. As proof, she pointed through the soundproof window below to where the Quacker Factory lady was peddling embellished t-shirts and crop pants on live television.



Despite the fact that my children lost interest in what Harriet was saying after five minutes and had to be bribed with gum and promises of Slurpees after it was all over, the tour itself was fascinating, and very informative. It concluded in the lobby, with Harriet handing me and my sister complimentary gift cards worth $10 each.

"Welcome to QVC!" chirped Harriet as she handed us our gifts.

My sister used her gift card to purchase a set of six light-up holiday brooches.

I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of a pair of foam shoulder pads.



***
Congratulations are in order to Hilary who won the $100 gift certificate to Alphabet Garden Designs. She said, "For an LDS chick, I am sorely lacking in the vinyl lettering department. Winning this giveaway will at least allow me to hold my head up high in Relief Society!"

Glad to be of service, Hilary. Glad to be of service!

30 comments

Carrie said...

The shoulder pads were a good choice! I would have also given serious thought to the "Let's Get Physical" headband that the granny is wearing in one of your pictures...that is classy!

Jennifer Uribe said...

Ah! My mom's favorite channel. She turns it on right after One Life to Live and it plays in the background all day. Occasionally, she calls me: "Jennifer, is $229.67 too much for a 10 mega pixel camera? It's on Easy Pay!"

Maybe I need to pack her up and take her on that tour. It would be worth the cross country trip!

P.S. She's a grandma (times 7)!

Kimberly said...

I have very close friends who work for QVC. We may mock it, but they make a killing off of those grannies! And I may or may not have purhased a thing or two using their employee discount...

KB said...

The girl's comment that won the contest almost made me pee my pants. Hold your head high sister! :-)

Kami said...

Dang, Jana, now I know why I feel like I don't fit in in Relief Society!

Amy said...

I'm so proud of you. Those shoulder pads are the gift that keeps on giving, well into your 70s.

Hey, I gave you a shout-out in my blog post today. :) Love your blog!
http://insidetheparsonage.blogspot.com/2009/06/im-okay-with-it.html

Laura said...

The saddest day of Aunt Lorna's life was when the Home Shopping Network went of the air. It was shortly followed by the happiest day of her life, when she found it on the internet.

She passed away two years ago. Uncle Jim still hasn't cleared out the thousands of delivery boxes from "The Network."

Hilary said...

For a moment there my heart went a flutter. I saw my name next to the word "winner" and got so excited until I realized that I hadn't entered that particular contest. So, I'm just another LDS chick named Hilary who won't be able to hold my head high in Relief Society because I'm still lacking in the vinyl lettering dept. . . .congrats to the OTHER Hilary. You go girl! (Love your name, by the way)

Anonymous said...

I literally screamed when I opened my email this morning and found out I won! That just solidified my husband's belief that I am a complete nerd.

:)

Thanks so much Jana! My daughter is getting a new "big girl" room for Christmas and this will be PERFECT!

Shannon said...

At a previous job, one of my co-workers and I had an ongoing competition as to who could find the best clothing deal. I shopped eBay regularly and she shopped QVC and HSN. (And we were both in our 20s). Try as she might, I always had the better finds. And, none of my purchases had elastic waistbands. :)

Babs said...

a radio show in town celebrates callers birthday's by they get to choose which shopping network to call into and they get whatever is on the screen at that moment. hillarious!

mintifresh said...

I am getting on their website right now! I gotta have that outfit! And the brooches. And the shoulder pads.

Beth said...

My Dad buys everything from QVC... any Christmas gift we receive from him are QVC. Actually, it's all been great stuff. Awesome crab cakes, lobster, books, dvd organizer, and the list goes on.

Beth said...

I discovered QVC about 6 yrs ago and LOVE IT! I am so jealous that you got to go on the tour. Did you see or get to talk to any of the host?

Unknown said...

I am trying very hard to be happy for Hilary. I am failing. Maybe I should go buy something off of QVC to make myself feel better.

Foursons said...

My mom just retired 2 weeks ago and I told her to NEVER watch QVC. She looked at me like I was nuts, but then I think she understood.

Malea said...

Oh, that pink pant and lime green ensamble is just hot off the geriatric runway isn't it?

Musings of the Mrs. said...

You didn't really get the foam shoulder pads did you? C'mon. Instead of the christmas broaches?

Unknown said...

Sorry, I'm with sis on the best purchase. Your shoulder pads neither light up or sparkle.
Maybe you can attatch them with Glow in the Dark Duct Tape and get back in the running. ;-)

Shelby said...

So I'm wondering how you pick the winners of your contests? Is it random, or do I have to come up with a brilliant and funny comment like Hilary left? I'm hoping it's random or I'm doomed to never win. Unless of course, I win the father's day 100 bucks! hint, hint...

Jen said...

Oops...that last comment was from me, not my daughter Shelby. I forgot that she is still signed in to her blog. She didn't enter the father's day contest, but I did!

Jan Russell said...

I've never been on the tour, but I did meet Kathy Levine at the KOP mall a few years back. My mom (who is a very young granny!) was pretty excited about it!

I take it as a good sign that "the boyfriend" is not along for this visit? Enjoy the time with your sister...just be glad she didn't want to go to the Mint!

Anonymous said...

I have a "Diamonique" ring from QVC as my wedding ring. No one knows. It's been 11 years and it still looks great. We could afford the real thing, but figured thousands of dollars were better spent somewhere else.

I'd like to "upgrade" to the Diamonique Platinum collection. It's beautiful!

Amanda said...

Ok, ok, so about 99.999% of their stuff is horrible, but they do have great deals on philosophy stuff. BTW, can I borrow your shoulder pads?

Seth and Natalie said...

You know, those shoulder pads can double as another kind of padding:) Good choice.

christine said...

I'm not sure if you are joking about the shoulder pads or not.

mama rose said...

Too funny. I recall discovering many unopened cartons from the "shopping shows" as my 5yr puts it, after we purchased a house with contents several years ago.

Lola said...

"Where grandmas die and go to heaven," indeed!

Stopping by for the June 1000 Comment Challenge.

http://lolasdiner.blogspot.com
http://lolasvictorygarden.blogspot.com
http://firecrotchrocket.blogspot.com

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