ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997 TAG: 9704030046
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MEGAN SCHNABEL THE ROANOKE TIMES
Three Roanoke-area businesses will have their six minutes of fame Saturday on national cable channel QVC.
It's tough to say no when a national cable station offers you the chance to advertise your small business to an audience of 62 million people.
"Even if we don't sell a piece, it's worth it, definitely, for the advertising," said Kevin Selfe, owner of the newly opened Davlyn Inc. in downtown Roanoke.
Selfe, who sells hand-painted wooden furniture at his Campbell Avenue shop, is one of three Southwest Virginia entrepreneurs who will be featured Saturday afternoon on cable TV retailer QVC. The three-hour broadcast from Virginia Beach is part of the retailer's 1997 "Quest for America's Best," a 50-states-in-50-weeks merchandise tour of the United States.
The Virginia show will air from noon to 3 p.m. Included among the 20 Virginia products will be Davlyn's "Springtime Bunny" hand-painted cabinet, Mario Industries' "Walking Bear" lamp and prints of artist Robert Tuckwiller's "Virginia Through the Seasons."
Months of worrying and working around the clock will end in a six-minute stint on QVC, when each merchant gets to sell on camera. Since beating out almost 200 competitors at a Richmond trade show in January, the 20 vendors each have had to ready an average of $10,000 worth of inventory.
That's caused some anxious moments for Selfe, who had to churn out 150 cabinets in about three weeks. Each handmade, hand-painted item takes seven to eight hours to produce, he said; the antique crackle finish alone requires five steps. He and several helpers worked day and night for three weeks, and then had to figure out how to pack the 43-pound cabinets to meet shipping requirements. "But we got it done," he said.
Selfe said he almost didn't take the cabinet to the Richmond tryout because he was a bit concerned that the price - it sells in the store for about $250 - would turn off QVC buyers.
But QVC spokesman Alex Soumbeniotis said the cable channel is always looking for items that viewers can't buy just anywhere.
"Our buyers are very well seasoned in what will sell," she said.
But while QVC is giving some relatively unknown merchants a chance to sell nationally, the cable retailer isn't taking a huge gamble. Sales contracts vary from vendor to vendor, but many, including Newport artist Tuckwiller, will be required to buy back any merchandise that doesn't sell.
Tuckwiller said he sold QVC 400 of his prints wholesale. The cable retailer has one-year exclusive rights to the merchandise, he said, so QVC could try to sell leftovers months down the road during a regular broadcast. During that year, Tuckwiller won't be allowed to sell the prints out of his Blacksburg gallery or Newport studio.
He expects QVC to sell the prints for about $70.
But the exposure is worth the risk, he said.
"It does have potential," he said. "There will be many more people watching on Saturday" than even a big art festival could draw. He may get more new business as a result of six minutes on QVC than he'd normally get in several months, he said.
QVC tries to tailor agreements to vendors, Soumbeniotis said. "We don't want them to break their backs to meet demands," she said. "We want it to be fun for them." The three best sellers in each state will be guaranteed at least one additional QVC appearance, she said.
This will be the second cable-TV appearance for lamp manufacturer Mario; the Roanoke company last year was featured on a similar broadcast on a different channel. With the stiff competition in the furniture and home-accessory business, Mario President Louis Scutellaro said, the company is always looking for new ways to sell.
The "Walking Bear" lamp to be featured Saturday is part of Mario's Silhouettes collection. The lamp, with a plaster bear as its base, features a shade that reveals a hidden scene when the bulb is turned on.
The lamp was an instant hit in Richmond, Scutellaro said. "They all zeroed in on this as soon as they saw it," he said. "It's got something to it that they can talk about on the air." It will sell for about $100 on QVC.
The 20 vendors will meet with QVC staff Friday to get ready for the broadcast. In the meantime, Tuckwiller said, he's been watching a tape of sample presentations QVC sent him, trying to decide how he'll fill his six minutes.
"I hope maybe I can just talk about what type of work I do," he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 91 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: 1. CARY BEST THE ROANOKE TIMES. Kevin Selfe, who sellsby CNBhand-painted wooden furniture at his Campbell Avenue store, Davlyn
Inc., had to churn out 150 of his "Springtime Bunny" cabinets in
about three weeks to prepare for Saturday's broadcast. 2. CINDY
PINKSTON THE ROANOKE TIMES. Joe Seminerio (left) designed the
"Walking Bear" lamp that Mario Industries President Louis Scutellaro
is holding. color. 3. ALAN KIM THE ROANOKE TIMES. Newport artist
Robert Tuckwiller is counting on QVC's national exposure to help him
sell 400 of his "Virginia Through the Seasons" prints.