GHC: Gross & Horrific Chumps

The tagline: Is it coincidence or a bad pun

that it appears over ads for male enhancement drugs on the GHC site?

Dear Gift and Home Channel,
(henceforth to be thought of in my mind as 'Gross & Horrific Chumps")

In 2008 I was speaking at a retail trade show, and met a man who was passionate about a new online 'Resource for Retailers' called the Gift & Home Channel. I threw my backing behind Ray Gaulke's new project and helped him spread the word about it through my blog and speaking engagements beause I believed in it's potential to help the little guys. I did that without compensation. When he asked me to become a guest blogger and Retail Expert for the web site, I did without hesitation. I contributed a blog post every week, and participated in forum discussions on GHC. Without compensation.

When this man told me he wanted to work with me to create video content for GHC, I developed a project, fleshed it out, and pitched it to him. He presented the idea to the board, and they approved my six-video project. Though Ray was removed from the project just before we filmed at the Farm Chicks Show in 2008, replaced by the young assistant to the guy running the show (whom she later married), he remained in the loop on the project. It is only because of him going to bat for me with the head office that I was paid at all. Young assistant renegged on every agreement and promise she made to me and to the people who helped make the filming successful. I had to write a blog post on GHC that included the names & web links for each of the six business women who contributed to the videos for them to receive credit - because GHC refused to include that info in the video border. 'Conflict with ad revenues', you said.

I reviewed two version of the 'newly revamped' GHC web site without compensation, yet never received a thank you or acknowledgment that I had done so. GHC later removed this man's founding presence from all involvement with GHC. Immediately after that, GHC removed the editorial director. Following that, I started to receive cryptic emails from two shady characters about the 'new direction' GHC was taking and how they valued my input so much that they wanted me to help develop another 'off branch' web site. I declined to provide any further expertise, content, or time to GHC at that point. And yet, I still promoted them via my online marketing.

I noticed long ago that the forums have had no activity for over a year, and that no new members were joining. I noticed that blog posts by other members and 'experts' were basically advertisements to hire them for services, or to buy their books;/books on tape/videos/tutorials, etc. I noticed that the profiles and pages on Facebook had incomplete information and no activity.

Now I have noticed the appearance of advertising presented as GHC 'blog posts' by members. That in an of itself is annoying - but to log in and find not one, not two, but DOZENS of duplicate ads for male enhancement drugs is offensive beyond measure. Clearly, GHC is not only not functioning as intended - an online 'Resource for Retailers' - but it is not being monitored by anyone with a brain. Tell me: is it pure coincidence or a perverse sense of humor behind the new GHC tagline ' Helping Retailers Grow' and these sophomoric ads????

I will no longer support or promote GHC, link to it from my business pages & sites, or list it on my resume. I'm keeping the embedded players for the video series I filmed (hosted by another web service, not GHC) because I know it offers helpful information to my readers... but every other bit of promotion for GHC is being removed from my professional resources.

While I am proud of my contributions to the original site and purpose, I do not want to be associated with the disaster that it has become of late. What a sad reflection on those involved at the top level, and a slap in the face to all of us who contributed of our time, energy, experience, and knowledge to help make you what you WERE. You used us, and now you abuse us. Unacceptable.

I have to ask:
Craig Park, Brittany Lund Park, are you even there anymore?
Do you have ANY IDEA what is going on at GHC? Do you CARE?

* A former GHC staffer contacted me and said that it is her belief that this 'company' is no longer in business, nor is anyone administrating the site. Whomever has control now has disabled member passwords - so I can't log in and delete my content How nice that all of us contributors were left to be forever associated with a spam ad site. *

Deb's Video Series

 

Are you a retailer who sells product at home shows?

A wholesaler who sells products at gift shows? 

A dealer of handmade, vintage, or antique goods 

who sells at antique & vintage barn shows? 

Are you a first-time Farm Chicks Show vendor, 

wondering what you've signed on for?!

I have a great resource to share with you:

In 2008, I filmed six videos at the Farm Chicks show, 

to be broadcast on the Gift & Home Channel for retailers.

The videos contain information about successful visual merchandising, 

combined with interviews of some creative women 

who are very experienced & successful in this area of business:

Serena Thompson & Teri Edwards, The Farm Chicks

Heather Bullard, of Present Past Collection

Bari J. Ackerman, of BariJ Designs

Tammy Gilley, of Tammy Gilley Studios

and me!

You can view all six of my videos on my web site

www.DebiWardKennedy.com

{scroll to the bottom of the page to see the six embedded video players}

Oh, and I wasn't a brunette until December of last year... ;0)

Image Credit: DWK images 2008; 
Thank you to the Emmy-award winning video crew from Peak Video Productions in Spokane, Wa.

Thank You, Farm Chicks!

Many thanks to The Farm Chicks, Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson, for their blog post today - they've featured me and the series of six videos I filmed at their show last June. They provide links to each of the videos in the post. (You can also access those from my sidebar, lower right.) The videos were a project for The Gift & Home Channel, which incidentally is not a television channel but a web site!

If you are preparing to participate in antique, art, craft, or gift shows this summer, check out these 15-minute videos. They are filled with inspiring & helpful ideas for display & design, from some of the top names in the industry: The Farm Chicks , Heather Bullard , Tammy Gilley, and Bari J Ackerman of Bari J. Designs. My eternal gratitude goes out to these sweet and talented ladies for participating in the project... I truly could not have done it without them!

The Envelope, Please...

And the Award goes to....

Wanna' know who won the Gift & Home Channel's Holiday Display Contest? Interested in some helpful design and display ideas? I was the 'Guest Celebrity Judge' - See how I rated the entries (and get some helpful tips to better execute your own displays) here !

Farm Chicks Videos!

I recently received an email from Jessica Brustad, online content manager for the Gift & Home Channel, telling me that I could get the codes to display my videos! I was all over that and quickly got to work.

I've embedded the players down at the bottom of my web page at www.debiwardkennedy.com,  where you can cue up all six of my videos, which include interviews with the Farm Chicks, Tammy Gilley, Heather Bullard, Bari J., and visits to some VERY creative retail spaces at the Farm Chicks Show.

2010: The videos are now hosted online by another service provider, not GHC. I am no longer involved with or promoting GHC in any way.

She Gets the Last Laugh...

And OH what a laugh it is!!!!
My video with Tammy Gilley of Tammy Gilley Design is finally up on the Gift & Home Channel - and you can see it here !

Even though Miss Tammy was the first 'guest interview' segment I filmed, it's been released last. In it, you'll see some of Tammy's creative ideas for display, products, and of course hear her legendary giggle. I dare you not to smile when you do!!!

Creativity On Display

Are you looking for some exciting new unique products to sell in your store? Check out the original and absolutely darling personal accessories created by designer Bari J. - we filmed a video segment for the Gift & Home Channel, and it's available for viewing here!

Thank you again, Bari - you were FABulous and it was a lot of fun!

A Video Journey Into 'The Present Past'...

This sweet gal is Heather Bullard. With her is her hubby Jim, affectionately known as 'The Man'.

'Heather and The Man' were at Farm Chicks last June, and it was so much fun meeting her in person, after knowing each other online. Mr. Deb and The Man had a great time pallin' around, too! Miss Heather graciously agreed to film some video footage with me, (Heather does everything graciously - and gracefully!) and we had so much fun creating a video that will provide inspiration to retailers and decorators alike. Thank you again for sharing your time, your knowledge, and your enthusiasm, sweet girl. You inspire us all!

And she's a pro - the video you see is one big take. No cuts, no stops. Badah BOOM, Baby!

That video segment is now viewable at the Gift & Home Channel online:
Heather Bullard Inspires Us . Since the contact info is not on their web site, let me provide it for you:

Heather Bullard
'The Present Past'
blog
web site
Parisian Soiree Event

Heather is also a contributing blogger on the HomeGoods openhouse blog.

Jim & Heather parked their trailer next to ours at the show... and I am still wondering how she got all that fabulous STUFF that you see in her booth into that itty bitty UHaul!!!

Videos Two & Three on the Gift & Home Channel

Today another two videos in my series of six debuted on the Gift & Home Channel.
One is all about sourcing and using 'statement pieces' in your visual merchandising... see it here ! The other is about simple ways to up the ante in your shop displays - filmed in our retreat booth at the show. see it here!

Since it's not on the GHC web site, I want to provide you with information on all of the booths we filmed in. To all of the vendors featured, THANK YOU for your generous participation!

retreat: http://retreatdesign.blogspot.com/
Flutterby Girls: http://www.flutterbygirls.blogspot.com/
Garden Girls: (under construction)
Auntie Joys: http://www.antiejoy.blogspot.com/
Booth with the Green Volvo car!: 'Forget Me Not'

Sally Barlow & Nancy Frederickson

shop located at 1402 N. 4th Street Coeur d' Alene, Idaho 208.765.9493

"Action!"

So, last June, I went here

and did this

and now if you'd like to see the end result, you can!

My first video, filmed at the Farm Chicks Show in Spokane last June, features me interviewing the Farm Chicks themselves and sharing their great merchandising ideas.  When it debuted on the Gift & Home Channel online, this was the description that accompanied it:

Suffering from display dissatisfaction? Well, beloved GHC blogger and known speaker, Debi Ward Kennedy, aka 'the Decorating and Display Diva', is here to give you some fantastic ideas for creating unique and noticeable displays in your store. In this one of 6 segment series on displays, Debi talks with the founders of the Farm Chicks Antique Show about sourcing great product as well as inexpensive and unique ways to display product so it gets noticed. If you’re looking for new ideas for your store, look no further, because Debi’s bringing out of the box thinking right to you!

2010: visit my web site at www.DebiWardKennedy.com and scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find embedded players for all six of my videos. They are now hosted by another online service provider, not GHC. I am no longer involved with or promoting GHC in any way.

And a huge thank you goes out to the two ladies who join me in this first installment - Serena Thompson & Teri Edwards, 'the Farm Chicks' themselves. Amazing women, amazing businesswomen, and calm as cucumbers on camera. It was so much fun working with them (for a whopping twenty minutes...!) Girls, I owe you big time for this!

That's Show Biz!

I received an email this morning from Brittany Lund, Executive Producer for the Gift & Home Channel. Brittany was the producer/director for the video series that we shot at the Farm Chicks Antique Show in June, and she's been keeping me in the loop during the post-production process of my videos. Well, here's what she had to say this morning:

Hi Deb,
I wanted to give you an update so you can enthusiastically convey what is happening to those anxiously awaiting their debut. We are repositioning how we deliver content to our viewers. What this means, we are creating a theme for each month where we focus on a specific pain point for retailers and our videos speak to the solutions. The Farm Chicks videos you created are the feature pieces for the month of October.

There was more to her email, which was industry info that I can't share, but the gist of it is that my videos won't be available on the Gift & Home Channel until October. Shoot! My apologies to all of the wonderful ladies who allowed me to film in their booths - Tammy, Heather, Bari, Serena & Teri, the Garden Girls. I had no idea this kind of delay would happen.

My hope is that with an October debut, the videos will be just in time for holiday promotion of your businesses and products. And get the word out for next summers' Farm Chicks show, too!

And if it's any consolation, Brittany has seen the final videos, and says we are all stellar professionals on film!

Designing Women

Filming video segments for the Gift & Home Channel this weekend was a very rewarding project for me - for several reasons. First, I love the synergy that results when talented and creative people work together on something...and believe me, everyone involved in this was talented beyond measure. (I'm around the corner in that shot, but it's the only one with the whole crew in it so I wanted to use it!) My thanks to Mr. Deb for snapping shots during the filming.

From the crew of Peak Video Productions - Jim, Robin, and Rick - to GHC Executive Producer Brittany Lund (all shown above), and the women entrepreneurs whom I interviewed as part of the videos, this was a group of professionals. We had a short window of availability to shoot: 2 hours for six clips is only 15 minutes of filming time per segment. We are talking FAST paced here! It was seamless, easy, and fun, thanks to all of the people I mentioned above. You've seen photos of my shoot with the Farm Chicks, Teri & Serena...let me show you what else we did!

I truly enjoyed the opportunity to showcase some women entrepreneurs who are outstanding. Each of these women excells in not only the design of products, but the presentation of them. And since that was our focus for the videos, they were shoe-ins for a feature. Tammy Gilley, shown above during filming, creates every single product that was for sale in her booth. She also created an impromptu backdrop from pleated paper - and that was perfect for our video! You'll find Tammy's creativity at http://www.tammygilley.com/.

Next to Tammy's booth was Heather Bullard's 'Present Past Collection'. Don't be surprised if that name sounds familiar to you - Heather writes & photographs for Romantic Homes magazine, and has a very popular blog. In her online boutique, she sells romantic vintage style home decor & personal accessories. She is a darling gal, very professional, and you can see more of Heather's enticing displays at http://www.thepresentpast.com/.

Next to Heather was Bari J. Ackerman. Bari designs and manufactures a line of personal accessories - purses, belts, handbags, small cases, wrislets - that are absolutely breathtaking. Inspired by vintage styles but completely fresh and hip, Bari's designs & products appeal to a huge market demographic. She's already received quite a bit of press! For more info on how you can order Bari J's products for yourself or your shop, visit http://www.barijonline.com/.

Tammy, Heather, Bari J, and I, along with a bevy of other talented women entrepreneurs, are members of Women Take Wing!, an online community. That's how I first met them, and now that we've met in person I have even more appreciation and admiration for the businesses they are building. They are each smart, talented, creative, beautiful, and kind.... being surrounded by them all weekend was an inspiration. Ladies, thank you all for your participation and support in this project.

The videos are now in post-production, and should be available for viewing on http://www.thegiftandhomechannel.com/ by mid-July. As soon as I get word that they are up, I'll post the links here. The segments will be on-demand viewing for years to come!

All photos property of Debi Ward Kennedy 2008

all rights reserved, reproduction or use prohibited without express permission.

It's Farm Chicks Fever!

Do y'all know about the Farm Chicks?

Check out their web site to learn allllll about 'em: http://www.thefarmchicks.com/ . Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson are two POWERHOUSE women, thoroughly feminine forces of nature who produce an awesome antique show in Spokane Washington. Not only is the show promoted by Country Living magazine, for whom Teri & Serena are contributing editors, but it has a reputation as being one of the best in the industry. After being there and meeting the Chicks this weekend, I could not agree more!

I was at the Farm Chicks show filming some video segments for the Gift & Home Channel, and had the pleasure of interviewing Teri & Serena on camera. Just a short 15-minute session to get a shorter five-minute clip - but what fun! These gals are pros at this, and they made everything easy. Thank you again, ladies, for your help in making this shoot so smooth and successful. You are wonderful!

(Teri's gonna' kill me when she sees this photo...sorry, babe - Mr. Deb took it, not me!)

A quick and heartfelt thank you to Peak Video Productions, and Jim, Robin, and Rick. WOW. Your profesionalism and great attitudes made this an exceptional experience for me. Thank you for making me look good! Brittany (Lund, GHC producer): We did it!!! You can breathe now!!!

I'll share more photos soon, and as soon as the videos get through post-production and are up on the GHC web site, I'll link to them. I can't wait to se how they turn out...