2 VALLEY FIRMS SELECTED FOR CABLE TV EXPOSURE; SHOPPING NETWORK TO FEATURE PRODUCTS IN SPECIAL SEGMENT.Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer Two San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. companies - both pulling in about $1 million annually - could become much bigger next week when their products enter the wacky world of cable television shopping. Chatsworth-based Lights, Camera, Action! and Canoga Park-based Good Fortunes will make their debuts on QVC QVC Quality Value Convenience QVC Question Valid Command as a result of being two of the state's 20 winners in the shopping network's The '97 Quest for Verb 1. quest for - go in search of or hunt for; "pursue a hobby" quest after, go after, pursue look for, search, seek - try to locate or discover, or try to establish the existence of; "The police are searching for clues"; "They are searching for the America's Best - QVC's 50 in 50 Tour earlier this year. The 20 products will roll out on a nationally televised QVC broadcast Tuesday between 6 and 9 p.m. Lights, Camera, Action! owner Larry Garoutte will sell his film reel belt, made in part from 35 mm film with cels from Warner Bros BROS Brothers BROS Benefits and Retirement Operations Section (King County, Washington) BROS Barnes and Richmond Operatic Society (London, UK) . Looney Toons cartoons. Good Fortunes, a subsidiary of The Wish List, will pitch its gigantic fortune cookie fortune cookie - (WAITS, via the Unix "fortune" program) A quotation, item of trivia, joke, or maxim selected at random from a collection (the "cookie file") and printed to the user's tty at login time or (less commonly) at logout time. There was a fortune program on TOPS-20. , a 6-inch-wide decorated dessert for all occasions. The products were originally selected from among 600 trying out during a trade show that traveled through California in July, QVC publicist Robyn Blane said. Among the others tapped for the show - the Trick Spin Flying Disc from Ultra Sports, Blister Resister from Bryman Sport, and Blu-Max Toilet Bowl Cleaner from Gemma Industries. ``Our purpose was to go out and find the best 1,000 products in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , based on small businesses - this is all strictly entrepreneurs,'' Blane said. Products that prove popular could become part of QVC's ongoing stock, she noted. ``We're looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. products to put on our show not just one time, but for a lasting relationship,'' Blane said. The local entrepreneurs are looking forward to some major national exposure with their appearances. ``I hope it works - I can't see how it can't. But . . .,'' Garoutte said. Started in 1993, Lights, Camera, Action! has come out about every six months with movie-themed products like ties, suspenders, rulers and key rings. A strip of 35 mm film with frames from movies containing greats like Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy, American film comedy team. The duo consisted of Stan Laurel, 1890–1965, b. Ulverson, England, whose real name was Arthur Stanley Jefferson; and Oliver Hardy, 1892–1957, b. Atlanta, Ga. , Marilyn Monroe and James Dean Noun 1. James Dean - United States film actor whose moody rebellious roles made him a cult figure (1931-1955) James Byron Dean, Dean is mounted onto the material, and a clear emulsion is put over it so the film doesn't tear, he said. The company has made the belts for two years, though the Looney Toons belt - called ``The Chase is On'' and containing images of Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is a fictional cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters. He has one of the more convoluted and disputed origins in the Warner Brothers cartoon pantheon (second only to Bugs Bunny himself). chasing Bugs Bunny, Sylvester chasing Tweety and so on - was made exclusively for QVC, Garoutte said. ``The appeal is that it's a little bit of Hollywood,'' he said. ``Everyone wants a little bit of Hollywood. That's why these are universal.'' The fortune cookie business came about as a fluke more or less, Good Fortunes co-owner Karen Belasco said. A party planner from 1991 to 1993, Belasco was asked by one of her clients for fortune cookies big enough to hold invitations to a shindig shin·dig n. 1. A festive party, often with dancing. Also called shindy. 2. See shindy. [Probably alteration of shindy. the customer was planning. The nearly football-size cookies turned out to be a real eye catcher. ``That's how it all started - one person saw it and another person wanted it,'' she said. ``Our business has grown by word of mouth.'' Belasco; her mother, Harriet Belasco; and then-fiance Steve Staitman included the cookies in a mail-order catalog called The Wish List in 1994. Once again, the cookies turned out to be the hottest item, and in May 1995 they began turning out a catalog focusing exclusively on the cookies, Karen Belasco said. They're all-purpose cookies and can be used for just about any occasion, she said. Besides including personalized messages, they can be stuffed with gift certificates, Valentine's greetings, checks and, for the really romantic, engagement rings. Belasco said she was thrilled at the chance to sell the cookies on QVC. ``It's a great way to sell the product because they have the name, therefore they have the exposure,'' she said of the show. Belasco, however, isn't likely to appear on the show to pitch the cookies because she's preparing for an appearance of a different sort - she's nine months pregnant. ``I'm not going to go to the show; they won't allow me to fly,'' she said. ``I could have the baby any second.'' ON THE AIR WHAT: The '97 Quest for America's Best - QVC's 50 in 50 Tour. WHEN: Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 6 to 9 p.m. Twenty California companies, including Chatsworth-based Lights, Camera, Action! and Canoga Park-based Good Fortunes, will sell their products on this QVC special. Good Fortunes' gigantic fortune cookie is scheduled to appear at 6 p.m.; Lights, Camera, Action's! film-reel belt at 8:30 p.m. The program will be televised live from the Palace of Fine Arts
CAPTION(S): 3 Photos, Box Photo: (1--Color) Larry Garoutte's company makes belts using 35 mm film from Warner Bros. cartoons Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the animation division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the golden age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. . Hans Gutknecht/Daily News (2--Color) Good Fortunes makes giant fortune cookies, left, that dwarf the conventional variety. (3) Karen Belasco, co-owner of Good Fortunes in Canoga Park, shows one of her company's creations - a frosted fortune cookie for giving extra-large messages. Her wares were selected for a QVC cable home shopping special to air on Tuesday. David R. Crane/Daily News Box: ON THE AIR (See Text) |
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